April 2009 - UK reviews

[JohnH]

Oh, you'll love Tanner. He performs the role differently, in that he's quite a serious Billy which makes the few times he does smile really special.

His ballet & singing are amazing (but then again, I think all the child cast are amazing ).

[patc]

Thursday Matinee 9th April.

Clazzimay, you are spot on - truly phenomenal it was and I concur with all your comments. It is very hard to come down to earth after such a mind-blowing experience like the cast gave to its audience at the matinee. The atmosphere during school breaks is always extra special and the entire cast made sure that everyone got more than value for money.

2.30pm at the VPT. All set. An astronomical audience laughing their heads off at the word 'fillumin' in the pre-show announcement, Staff run off their feet with requests for seat cushions for the hundreds of smallies but all done with the greatest of care and consideration. School is out. But who will come through the doors on stage today?

The Extra 300 is a very special aerobatic plane but it doesn't come close to matching Fox in Electricity and it certainly can't do pirouettes and all the other extraordinary and exhilarating moves that Fox has brought together in a truly astonishing version of this showstopping dance. What he does doesn't seem humanly possible and yet week after week he does it. In my day I seem to recall a comic book that had a character called Plastic Man who could turn himself into any shape but Fox doesn't need plastic. The crowd went wild as soon as he landed after the wall flip. We had to wait a mere 16.37 seconds for THAT smile and it served to raise the volume of applause even higher. You haven't lived until you've seen it.

Swan Lake was magical with Barnaby. After a most graceful display by the pair of them Barnaby gave Fox an incredible spin (must be the most powerful I've ever seen) and he soared up to the ceiling as if there were two Fox's spinning together. Whoever was on the smoke today certainly didn't use any half measures. At one point the MD and Row A disappeared from view and that was from C15!! If you've seen John Carpenter's fillum The Fog you'll know what I mean but it most certainly enhanced the view of what was going on onstage.

Angry Dance was another blow-you-away experience and Fox's leap up onto the riot shields was so high that it looked as if he was going to go over the top and land on someone's head. Such athleticism after all that had gone on before.

George Maycock's progress is like going up a ladder, a fireman's ladder but at a rate of ten rungs at a time. It's a neverending ladder and there seems to be no limit to his talents. Once again in Expressing he brought off a classic and hilarious performance full of verve and a clear indication that he was loving every minute of it. With Fox joining in with his own inimitable style those of you who couldn't make it today will just have to use your imagination to guess what this fantastic scene was like. BTW, whoever is doing the tall falling-on-the-floor dancing dress these days is doing a really great job. I suppose the secret will not out .
With the exception of last nights it is very rare, indeed, that the audience applauds as Michael exits the Winter Scene but they gave George the full treatment as he walked off.

The harmony in Once We Were Kings is a magnificent piece of work but there is one thing in particular that really stands out and is well worth listening out for. As the miners sit on the chairs, Craig seems to have a harmony all to himself (maybe not but his voice soars above the others) for a few of the lines and it is absolutely powerful stuff. I suppose it won't ever happen but I do believe that it would be a great idea to record a new OCR because the power of the music and the intricate and magical arrangements thereof that are in use today, in my opinion, greatly exceed that on the current OCR.

After the show, on exiting through the side door we saw an amazing sight. Like a last night there were hordes waiting outside the stage door including loads of youngsters all hoping to catch a glimpse of their hero. They got more than a glimpse. As Fox came out a group of about 20 "lads" drinking their pints outside the Stage Door pub in the idyllic ambience of Allington Street raised their glasses and cheered him to the echo. Luckily, Fox's Dad was on hand to prevent him being mobbed and a (reasonably) orderly circle formed for photos and autographs. Fox must have had writer's cramp from all the signing on various items including Tube Maps but he did it all with a smile. I must confess that standing back watching such a superstar and inspirational role-model being hailed by his peers brought a lump to my throat.

Phil Snowden was again absent but it was nice to meet Daniel Page at the theatre afterwards. Even though we all love the new cast the previous cast will never be forgotten for the many, many hours of enjoyment they gave us over the years.

BTW, If you really, really want to see Plastic Man go here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIoHDB1FUOM

Pat

[Westletonion]

Thanks for the reviews folks! This show is such an enormous inspiration for young and old alike and it is always good that such a large number of children experience the magic of this story which, from a metaphysical perspective, is a true archetypal metaphor of humanity's journey, as portrayed earlier in Myths and Legends, and Folk Stories. Westletonion (formerly Malcolm).

[billybuddies4eva]

Thursday 9th April- Evening

Full Adult Cast

Billy : Tanner
Michael: Dean
Debbie: Annabelle.

This was the first time I have been to a show and not had any idea which billy I was going to get, so i was incredibly pleased when the board read " Tanner". I'd hoped so much that I would see his portrayal of billy again after the phenomenal performance he gave last time, and he certainly didn't dissapoint the second time round. Infact the whole cast were on top form and I was sooo happy to have Ann, Joe and Craig as i think they work so well as a trio, you can really believe they are your average family. They are all amazing.

Tanner's billy has really come out of his shell, a bit sulky and surly to begin with, but by express all of his billy's inhibitions have been released, and he works sooo well as a team with Dean. Express was just hilarious, so over the top, they both looked like they were having sooo much fun. Also...I'm still like this ------> at how they tap so fast. Dean milked it for all its worth and the audience really appreciated this

I've just realised I've missed out about 4 songs. Stars look down always sends a tingle down my spine, and like Solidarity, with a strong, full ensemble, both numbers were as powerful as ever and were both show stopping numbers. Shine was great, the ballet girls full of fun and making alot of " organized chaos". It was nice to see Kate Graham again, she's such an amazing Mrs W, a real mother figure for billy and although she's very blunt, alot softer than most Mrs W's I've seen. I have to also mention Annabelle. She's a real star and he Debbie is hilarious, seems soooo uninterested in the ballet and his very straight to the point

Ann never fails to amaze me, Grandmas song is so energetic in it's own way and Anne plays the part so well, my face always lights up when I see her come up with the table in the breakast scence

The letter was sooo sweet, Tanner has got a really nice voice, you can sense that this must be the only time billy may have had to really speak out about his mum so trys to be brave and keep in the emotion, but he's quite indepent billy becomes fragile and innocent at this point in the show.

Born to Boogie was so upbeat, fun and enthusiastic, it brought a smile to everyones face. Everyone just let loose and pulled out all the stops. To be honest, I wasn't that fond of Sean Kingsley's Mr Braithwaite to begin, but this time, I don't know how, but was he different..and i grew to love his portrayal. He completed a great trio and really stood out in the number and he most certainly stole the limelight for most of the song...apart from Tanner's flip of the piano

The angry dance left me speechless, i don't know if im aloud to say this but it was possibly the best I've seen. There was so much anger, rage, passion and despair put into the dance it was an absolutely amazing end to act one which got a massive round of applause.

Hmm now I didn't mean for it to get this long, so I'll try and pick out the most standout numbers of act two. Firstly, He could be a star. Craig and Joe work sooo well together, they put so much meaning and dedication into the song, it definetly makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand on ends.

Both Dream Ballet and Electricty were flawless and so graceful. I prefer ballet billys ( that said layton was one of my favourite billies ) and Tanners electricity is such a wonderful, flowing routine and the spins, flips and turns are just wow. Tanner got a huge applause and finally broke into a smile and had that " Oh yes, i know, i was amazing look"

The finale was fabulous, with the whole theatre brought to their feet and the cast just lapped it up...despite Tanner kinda tripping flat on his face whilst coming on with his tutu, he laughed it off and carried on like a tropper to deliever some amazing flips and it was a great end to what had been one of the best shows I can recall.

Thank God I have another 2 shows booked

[Billy Whiz]

Thanks for the reviews folks! This show is such an enormous inspiration for young and old alike and it is always good that such a large number of children experience the magic of this story which, from a metaphysical perspective, is a true archetypal metaphor of humanity's journey, as portrayed earlier in Myths and Legends, and Folk Stories. Westletonion (formerly Malcolm).

What's he on about?

Den

He did a B Tech at Sunderland Poly.

[Billy Whiz]

Thanks Clazzimay, patc, Den and billybuddies4eva for your terrific reviews. It would seem that everybody is firing on all cylinders at the moment.

Roll on May 12th.

[bubsycm]

Thanks for the reviews folks! This show is such an enormous inspiration for young and old alike and it is always good that such a large number of children experience the magic of this story which, from a metaphysical perspective, is a true archetypal metaphor of humanity's journey, as portrayed earlier in Myths and Legends, and Folk Stories. Westletonion (formerly Malcolm).

What's he on about?

Den

He did a B Tech at Sunderland Poly.

[jacob]

Friday April 10th

Tom, George, Megan, Thomas Mckenna as Tall Boy.
Usual adult cast with Romy Baskerville as Grandma

A Full House as I believe most Houses have been during the week. This is encouraging for those of us who hope to celebrate a 5th Birthday in 2010.

George has grown a lot since I saw him last and he now towers over Tom. That is not to say that they do not work well together but I trust that George does not actually land his punch in the boxing scene. The reason that I say this is that Tom had grazes on his face which I feared had come from a close encounter with a Michael's boxing glove. Actually, I gather that he has had a fall.

I do not review scene by scene but more in terms of overall performances and audience response. On this evening I was intrigued at the way in which the large and appreciative audience responded. They seemed to laugh out loud a lot less than usual and they also declined a standing ovation at the end of the night. In my view it was a Show of outstanding quality and possibly only surpassed by some of the Gala Nights. And I am usually regarded as a harsh critic! It was probably the best performance by Tom that I have seen. His acting was superb. From his first entrance he was totally inside the character of Billy Elliot which is difficult for a 12 year old from Kingston on stage in 2009. We could feel his emotions, not just of his grief in the letter scenes but also of his hilarity at Grandma's song and dance. He even yawns convincingly when waking up. In short his background in acting shone through his performance last night. The other aspect that impressed me was his timing in delivering his lines. And his use of pauses between lines. Unlike Pinter I doubt that the script has these built in. He thinks as Billy might think with all the nervousness and self doubt that Lee Hall's character shows. Tom has an expressive face that responds vividly to the varied situations that he finds himself in. His dance is interesting too. To me it is a mix of all sorts of dance all of which are performed with passion. When he grows I guess his ballet side will develop further. George is very funny and is an absolute pleasure to watch.

Of the adult cast I am invariably astonished at the versatility and panache of Trevor and Barnaby. Of course they play quite different characters both in their ensemble roles and as George and Older Billy. My goodness Working Titles are getting full value from these actors. Kate and the Ballet Girls interact in exactly the ways that teenagers do with their teachers. Lots of hilarity in there last night! I noticed that the costume dept have come up with some new woolly hats many of which have bobbles I find it interesting that Billy does not wear a woolly hat(navy) until his final goodbye scene which is in contrast to the Film. But then I do have a thing about hats!

It was a pleasure to sit next to Tall Boy's Mum last night and share her delight at Thomas' many roles. At the end of the night the young cast members left in their bus as usual (Michaels in the front seat) but Tom left the theatre from the Stage Door. Many members of his family had come along and so he was able to spend time with his fans. Lots of photos and autographs. This is not that common these days.

A lovely Show...................................the spirit lives on.

[aimeewill_2002]

Fantastic review, made me feel like I was there thankyou

[pucka]

Nice Jacob.