Final day in Milton Keynes and the UK
Posted: Sun Jun 18, 2017 12:47 am
I attended both performances in the Milton Keynes Theatre today, the matinee saw Emile playing Billy with Elliot as Michael, in the evening Haydn was paired with Bradley.
It was a sweltering day here in MK with the heat reflecting back at you off of the ever-present concrete outside. In the theatre this had a cummulative effect, by the evening performance it was really very warm inside.
For both performances the audiences were more responsive than has been the norm for Milton Keynes. In the afternoon Emile received long applause after Dream Ballet and a much deserved standing ovation for Electricity. It's hard not to like Elliot as Michael, I've seen him the last 2 Saturdays and he's been on sparkling form.
But, this all was just the appetiser for the main event. From the outset there was a buzz about tonight's performance, almost a party atmosphere, and this was helped by a fantastically enthusiastic audience. I'm running out of superlatives for Haydn's performances, but this was better than ever and he had the audience in the palm of his hand from the outset. He brings great comedy to the boxing scene, and you can see at this early stage in the show how much he is enjoying himself - and that enjoyment is infectious.
Expressing Yourself brought the house down, as it always does, the applause tonight was so great that Bradley didn't even bother to milk it. The letter scene was wonderful and shows Haydn at his best. There was a fluff in Haydn's skipping tonight, but it didn't seem to matter, and later he also dropped the spinning chair in Dream Ballet. But, as ever, you could feel his tension and frustration growing towards the end of act 1 and we were rewarded with a tremendous Angry Dance.
The stamina and energy all of these boys display never ceases to amaze me. This evening it was clear that Haydn was feeling the heat. I wouldnt say it adversely affected his performance at all, this only added to the admiration felt, I'm sure by the whole audience, for such a committed and energetic performance in these conditions.
Act 2 proceeded in its usual seamless way. Notwithstanding the already mentioned chair drop, Dream Ballet brought the audience to their feet (although I was disappointed the high arial spin didn't get more applause). Immediately prior to Dream Ballet Michael (Bradley) got a round of applause as he exited stage at the end of the tutu scene, I don't recall that happening before in the tour shows that I have attended. There was sustained applause, including "whoops" at the end of Dream Ballet.
Then we have Haydn's Electricity. This has been at a sustained high level for quite a while now. At the start of the number he really acts the song. You can see in his facial expression how he is searching for the answers, and his timing is incredible, he makes you wait. But then his singing and dancing are so strong, the whole routine is just incredible. To be fair, all 4 of the current Billies deliver incredible Electricities, someone backstage is doing a good job!
Once We Were Kings is perhaps my favourite song in the show, it moves me every time. Tonight, with it being the last time I will see the show for the foreseeable future it had added poigniency. As I discussed with a couple of other forum members afterwards, I don't think Haydn scans the audience with the mining lamp for anything like as long as he used to, I guess this is testament to the fact that he has grown and (along with Adam and Lewis) has probably got a bit heavy to have on your shoulders for very long.
At the end of the show the ovations were long and heartfelt, people continued to clap after the final, final curtain.
It was a sweltering day here in MK with the heat reflecting back at you off of the ever-present concrete outside. In the theatre this had a cummulative effect, by the evening performance it was really very warm inside.
For both performances the audiences were more responsive than has been the norm for Milton Keynes. In the afternoon Emile received long applause after Dream Ballet and a much deserved standing ovation for Electricity. It's hard not to like Elliot as Michael, I've seen him the last 2 Saturdays and he's been on sparkling form.
But, this all was just the appetiser for the main event. From the outset there was a buzz about tonight's performance, almost a party atmosphere, and this was helped by a fantastically enthusiastic audience. I'm running out of superlatives for Haydn's performances, but this was better than ever and he had the audience in the palm of his hand from the outset. He brings great comedy to the boxing scene, and you can see at this early stage in the show how much he is enjoying himself - and that enjoyment is infectious.
Expressing Yourself brought the house down, as it always does, the applause tonight was so great that Bradley didn't even bother to milk it. The letter scene was wonderful and shows Haydn at his best. There was a fluff in Haydn's skipping tonight, but it didn't seem to matter, and later he also dropped the spinning chair in Dream Ballet. But, as ever, you could feel his tension and frustration growing towards the end of act 1 and we were rewarded with a tremendous Angry Dance.
The stamina and energy all of these boys display never ceases to amaze me. This evening it was clear that Haydn was feeling the heat. I wouldnt say it adversely affected his performance at all, this only added to the admiration felt, I'm sure by the whole audience, for such a committed and energetic performance in these conditions.
Act 2 proceeded in its usual seamless way. Notwithstanding the already mentioned chair drop, Dream Ballet brought the audience to their feet (although I was disappointed the high arial spin didn't get more applause). Immediately prior to Dream Ballet Michael (Bradley) got a round of applause as he exited stage at the end of the tutu scene, I don't recall that happening before in the tour shows that I have attended. There was sustained applause, including "whoops" at the end of Dream Ballet.
Then we have Haydn's Electricity. This has been at a sustained high level for quite a while now. At the start of the number he really acts the song. You can see in his facial expression how he is searching for the answers, and his timing is incredible, he makes you wait. But then his singing and dancing are so strong, the whole routine is just incredible. To be fair, all 4 of the current Billies deliver incredible Electricities, someone backstage is doing a good job!
Once We Were Kings is perhaps my favourite song in the show, it moves me every time. Tonight, with it being the last time I will see the show for the foreseeable future it had added poigniency. As I discussed with a couple of other forum members afterwards, I don't think Haydn scans the audience with the mining lamp for anything like as long as he used to, I guess this is testament to the fact that he has grown and (along with Adam and Lewis) has probably got a bit heavy to have on your shoulders for very long.
At the end of the show the ovations were long and heartfelt, people continued to clap after the final, final curtain.