July 2010 - Reviews - London

[Billy Whiz]

Keefy (live from a rather grey and overcast St Andrews)

I never thought I would see the day when I would say this Keith "but I wish I was there with you"

[ERinVA]

Ellen is there anyone left over there, London is absolutely stuffed full of American's at the moment?

Well, I'm not there, so all the "quality" is here on this side of the Atlantic. I haven't made a trip to London in July in years! It's too hot, too crowded, and the airfares are too high.

[Billy Whiz]

I haven't made a trip to London in July in years! It's too hot

[burtond]

Wednesday 14th July 2010

Vibrant and energetic show tonight in the capable hands of Ollie, Jo and Fleur. Fantastic audience, really up for it and providing an enthusiastic cast with all the ammunition required to deliver a cocktail of entertainment embracing fun, laughter, frolicks, sadness, emotion, sensitivity, colour and spectacle.

Ollie is an extremely confident guy whose Billy character is both polished and stylish. If occasionally there are times when his performance is slightly less than perfect tonight was not one of them. He is at the top of his game and totally deserving of his status as senior Billy. Of particular note tonight was his performance of the dreaded American version of B2B which he does with ease including the fast and accurate skipping as well as all the complex dance interactivity with Mrs W. Also, I think it was the best Angry dance I have ever seen from Ollie – it was angry to the point of being violent. His face oozed anger as he threw himself around the stage. His comments and expletives did not even require amplification as they erupted from his mouth and his tap was loud, heavy underfoot and menacing. I watched ever so carefully and was very impressed with every element of his timing in this dance, each beat of music was supported by a move albeit hand, foot or head but every single beat and corresponding move was timed perfectly. In terms of his singing, although there were one or two bits slightly out of tune, for the most part, his voice was accurate with many sweet and melodic moments which are just a joy to listen to. Fantastic job as usual Ollie.

Jo – well what a difference. This little guy was simply excellent tonight. He has clearly worked very hard to make his version of Michael his very own. It is so different to the other Michaels – gestures, walks, dialogue, and in particular the way in which he personally interacts with Billy. He is much more dramatically intimate with the Billy character than others including a carefully crafted move during Express when he uses his finger to touch Billy’s nose and lips to expose his initial feelings for Billy. He uses his size to great effect especially when working alongside Ollie – he almost makes Ollie look 6 feet tall!. His delivery of the dialogue was also carefully worked out to great effect with deliberate pauses adding impact to some of the more important lines. All this coupled with his newly acquired confidence and his cheeky little grin which is directed both to the audience and to Billy suggest to me that Connor and Jake should beware. Lots of praise tonight Jo – well done.

Fleur did a brilliant Debbie yet again. She is really skilled at pitching the Debbie character just at the right level as appropriate throughout the performance. Her stubbornness comes across in ‘shine’ as she stomps across the stage together with Tracy Atikinson as does her teenage admiration or besottedness of Billy as Mrs W explains the pirouette technique. Even during ‘Solidarity’ we see just how feisty she can be with her personal attacks towards Billy – of course we all know that this is just a cover to mask her true feelings for him. Fleur is also a very capable dancer and this manifests itself whenever she is on stage.

Of course we cannot forget the excellent Ballet Girls who always do a fabujlous performance. Tonight, they were especially good. Well done gilrs.

Finally, just want to praise Caroline who played a great Mrs W and Sergio who performed Older Billy. Both were totally fantastic. But of course, the show wouldn’t be the same without the other key characters, the ensemble and the band – all of which were truly excellent as usual.

Well done guys and gals it is a pleasure to see you all over and over again.

[*Lottie*]

Todays Matinee was stopped for 10minutes in the 2nd half due to a technical fault

[patc]

Thursday Matinee 15th July

Aaron, Joe, Fleur

Mrs. W: Caroline
Grandma: Romy
Mr. B: Phil

At last. Following his stunning debut 35 days ago, the Thursday Matinee regulars have been gasping to see Aaron on “their day” and their wish was granted this afternoon on a day in which it looked like it was a full house with even the boxes occupied. It was certainly a great, lively and appreciative audience who watched this super-scintillating Billy performance from the new kid on the block and cheered him to the rafters in the process.

Applause after applause was the order of the day. Not a word was missed. Aaron’s diction is crystal clear and he places different emphasis on many of the classic lines in the show. Just one example is the ,”You’re not goin’ home in it?” Winter scene comment to Michael but there’s much more.

Right let’s talk about Angry Dance first. This seems to be getting ever more fierce. Aaron virtually took out three of the squad when he leapt up on the shields and, as they threw him backwards, he took it very badly and let rip with some sensational footwork that could have been precision steel castanets at work. Sensational to watch. The floor re-polishers must have had a hard time during the interval. BTW, some of the regulars heeded my advice from last week and took their seats in Rows O and P for today’s show. (cowards )

On the two previous occasions I had seen Aaron it was early days when he was settling in and keeping things “tight”. Now, he has the confidence to let himself go emotionally and this was evident in the likes of The Letter, Pre-Angry Dance Kitchen scene and Goodbye Mrs. W. superbly crafted to open our tear ducts. Mine overflowed each time.

Now to Electricity and, just like on his first night, not only was it powerful and with style but the combination of the rousing swirling music near the end and those final spins and pose raises my soul and spirit to incredible heights.

In Joe, the company has found an absolutely brilliant Michael. He, too, kept a little “tight” in his early days. Now, every word, subtle facial expression and eye movement has been carefully constructed to extract the maximum from every situation. His interaction with Aaron in Expressing was hilarious, the Winter scene both hilarious and poignant and I have never before seen the final curtain “stare” done the way Joe does it. In fact, it is so much more than a stare. It is a few moments of saying so much with not a word actually spoken. Pure class. Likewise, Paul the Octopus has predicted that Fleur will progress to being famous as a classical actress and I wouldn't argue with that assessment.

Still doing their brilliant thing week after week are the Ballet Girls. It is true that they don’t get a lot of mention in reviews but I hope that they know that their performances are truly appreciated every single show and that all the funny little things going on in the background are noted. And, if they happen to look down into the audience and see a big Irish smile staring up at them it’s because the owner of that Irish smile is thoroughly enjoying what they do.

BTW, David Nellist, in his Part Two opening scene appears to have dropped the political satire and “picking on” audience members. I wonder if this is permanent. Must say I loved all of it and is always funny no matter how many times you see it.

Romy deservedly won over the audience for a spirited and regaling Grandma.

I didn’t think that yet another take of Posh Dad was possible but Tim Funnell, even in the new shortened version, has produced a classic.

Laughs galore from Phil as Mr. B for the second Thursday in a row.

Last but by no means least, Caroline was absolutely magnificent as Mrs. W. Shine was a lively, all-action, colourful sway of movement and even swagger with wonderful cohesion with the girls and a beautiful singing voice to top it all. The brief but tender moment with Billy after the Toilet scene very touching and the blazing row with Dad and Tony a testament to her acting skills.

Thanks, Aaron, for filling so many hearts with such joy, none more so than mine. And to all the cast/crew and music gurus for another great Thursday.

What a strange result those highlighted-in-red letters produced. It’s xxxxx weird, if you ask me.

Pat

[ERinVA]

Excellent review, patc. And very original, too.

[Billy Whiz]

Very clever Pat. Thanks for the review.

[KeefyM]

Keefy (live from a rather grey and overcast St Andrews)

I never thought I would see the day when I would say this Keith "but I wish I was there with you"

ha-ha-ha, thanks Billy Whiz, made my day. (you can come next year then!!)


Great Reviews Dave and Pat,


Pat you are a genius, that is bloody brilliant, and another mention of Paul the Octopus.
Loved reading it.


Keep the reviews coming folks!.


Cheers
Keith

[Barry Appleby]

Hi
Thanks again Pat, for another great review.
Again another enjoyable show, a real thanks to all!!! the cast' it is really appreciated. Wow!! so pleased to see Aaron for the first time, what a great performace throughout from him, "Well Done"
Hope to be there again 29th July, mantinee

Barry