June 2009 - UK Reviews

[Todd]

Friday, the 12th of June

Billy - Ollie Gardner
Michael - George Maycock
Debbie - Annabelle Crosby-Stewart
Dad - Joe Caffrey
Tony - Tim Funnell
Mrs. W. - Gillian Kirkpatrick
Grandma - Ann Emery
George - Phil Snowden
Accordian player on Deep Into the Ground - no one tonight

Several alternates on tonight as you can see, including a different Mr. Braithwaite I had never seen before. I didn´t have a ticket lined up for the show tonight, but when some other plans changed, I stopped by the theatre and pèeked through the window to see that Ollie was listed on the cast board as Billy, and as I´d never seen him before, I got a last-minute ticket.

It was another packed house, as I had to settle for stalls seat C-1 on the far right side. Not sure I´d recommend being that far over, but at least I was close to the front and it was interesting seeing things going on on that side of the stage that I´d never noticed before when my attention was focused more towards the center.

The first thing I noticed about Ollie when he came out was how he looked like a young Colin Bates. However, I don´t remember ever seeing Colin looking that young, as he was one of the older Billys and Ollie is one of the youngest - or at least one of the youngest-looking. As I also observed about Tom Holland´s performance, I thought Ollie was a very strong actor and never seemed to break character . . . .except when a slight smile broke out during his well-deserved, long applause at the end of "Electricity." His singing was also very tuneful and almost always on-pitch. He sounds like he could be a choirster with more training. I´d be interested to know if he has a lot of singing experience already. I admit I did have some problems getting past such a young-looking Billy, but that´s my problem and certainly not Ollie´s, as he gave it his all and appeared to be having a grand time on stage. I do think age and increased size and strength will benefit him in the future on numbers such as "Angry Dance."

I´ve really enjoyed Gillian Kirkpatrick as Mrs. Wilkinson in all 3 shows I´ve seen since I´ve been in London. Her interpretation of the part is one of my favorites I´ve seen, along with Haydn Gwynne and Jackie Clune. Joe Caffrey is a very good Dad in my opinion. I enjoy his deeper voice that he slips into when beginning his conversation with the ballet dancer in front of the curtain at the audition. George Maycock is a real find I´d say, as he´s very funny to watch during "Merry Christmas Maggie Thatcher" as he hams it up with several girls next to him, and completely switches gears to deliver a very poignant farewell on his bicycle at the end of the show.

The cast as a whole deserves much credit for trying to milk as much life as they could from one of the deadest audiences I´ve ever seen at a "Billy Elliot" show. Despite the packed house, they only managed a few scattered chuckles on many lines that often receive loud laughter. There was strong applause at the end of "Swan Lake" and "Electricity," as well as a standing ovation at the very end, but a long work week must have taken its toll on many of these folks, as you could hear a pin drop on stage much of the time. For the first time I can remember, Billy had to zig-zag in between numerous people who had already started heading up the aisle as soon as the curtain fell when he came running back down to the stage at the beginning of the curtain call.

[Todd]

Saturday night, the 13th of June

Billy - Ollie Gardner
Michael - George Maycock
Debbie - Annabelle Crosby-Stewart
Dad - David Bardsley
Tony - Tim Funnell
Grandma - Ann Emery
Mrs. W - Stephanie Putson
George - Phil Snowden

Just got back from my 4th and final show of my Billy-a-thon here in London. Once again, very few of the regulars were on. But one of the great things about this show is that it doesn´t seem to matter who´s on, it´s always a great night of theatre.

I won´t add much to what I said about last night´s show, as far as the child cast since it was the same ones again tonight. There appeared to be some last-minute shuffling going on, as I stopped by the theatre this afternoon to peek in and see who was performing for the matinee. It said Brad was on as Billy and Jake Pratt was on as Michael. But when I stopped by just a few minutes before the show was set to begin, they had changed the board to Fox being on instead of Brad. I decided to wait and go tonight, thinking Brad would be on since he´s the only one of the current 4 I haven´t seen yet. So I was surprised to walk in and find that it was Ollie again for a 2nd straight night. Hope Brad didn´t get sick or indisposed somehow.

I never had seen Stephanie Putson as Mrs. Wilkinson, so it was interesting seeing her more reserved and less brassy portrayal than the way the part is usually played. I´m glad I got to see David Bardsley while I was here, as I´ve thoroughly enjoyed his performance everytime I´ve seen him over the past few years. Tim Funnell is probably at the top of my list of all the Tonys I´ve seen. I was sorry not to get to see the new Tony who´s considered the regular, but Tim was great in each show. And of course Ann Emery never disappoints.

Special recognition should be given to the ballet girls, who I found as entertaining as any group I´ve ever seen. Tracy Atkinson is hilarious, as is Susan Parks. And Annabelle as Debbie also has a natural comic touch. She rushed her lines a few times, but other than that I thoroughly enjoyed her in the part.

The audience was a huge improvement over last night, as they were very receptive and hugely appreciative. They also stayed seated at the end so Ollie didn´t have to weave through traffic in the aisle when he came running back down to the stage ! On the contrary, they seemed like they didn´t want to leave the theatre and would have stayed to see it all over again. Lots of "wows" and smiles from the audience when they finally did get up to leave.

I was disappointed not to get to see Brad or Tanner on this trip, but hopefully Tanner will make another stop on Broadway later in the year so I can hopefully see him there. The show seems to be in good hands, based on the packed houses at each of the 4 shows I was at. Long may it run !

One final humourous note - during the Finale, a ballet girl kicked her shoe off accidentally and it ended up in the 2nd row of the stalls ! A lady picked it up from under her seat, and when Billy came back out for his solo of hand springs towards the front of the stage, he smiled and motioned for the lady to hand the shoe to him. She did, and he gave it to the ballet girl who was next to him. She looked embarrassed and mouthed, "It´s mine." Ollie smiled back at the lady and gave her a thumbs-up sign.

[sleepylins]

love the part about the shoe,that poor women must have been pretty surprised and embarresed to see a shoe coming at her from the stage.What a story to tell people though when you talk about it afterwards.

[MrWestEnd]

One final humourous note - during the Finale, a ballet girl kicked her shoe off accidentally and it ended up in the 2nd row of the stalls ! A lady picked it up from under her seat, and when Billy came back out for his solo of hand springs towards the front of the stage, he smiled and motioned for the lady to hand the shoe to him. She did, and he gave it to the ballet girl who was next to him. She looked embarrassed and mouthed, "It´s mine." Ollie smiled back at the lady and gave her a thumbs-up sign.

Awwww! Memories like that make me want to go see Billy soon!

[sfo]

great reviews everyone

[BEJB]

Tuesday 16th June

A performance with a difference this evening.

Ollie started the show but was replaced after Grandma's song "being indisposed."

Brad took over and had to be replaced after the "Dream Ballet" during which he appeared to have sustained a slight injury - he limped out of the theatre after the show.

Tom, after a pause for him to warm up, finished the show with great zest.

Tanner was in the Billy Bus... just in case!!

I do hope both Ollie and Brad make speedy recoveries. Their performances were both exceptional until they had to stand down.

We also nearly needed a replacement MD during the finale when Debbie's shoe came off, almost hit Nick on the head, before falling into his podium.

I wonder if this was a first, when two Billys had to be replaced in the same show?

[bubsycm]

Oh dear!! Hope the boys are ok. 3 for the price of 1

Tanner is back already?

[ERinVA]

Wow! I have experienced a "twofer" before, but never a "threebie." I do hope that Ollie and Brad are okay.

[Billy Whiz]

I had a conversation recently about what would happen if the backup was injured. We thought the show may have to be stopped. To be honest I didn't realise they had a backup for the backup.

I hope Ollie and Brad are back performing ASAP.

[jen]

I thought the show would have to be stopped as well. Maybe it was chance that there were other Billys there as well the audience must have been getting confused. I know on the 1st birthday we got 3 Billys for the price of one but that was different.