Themes and sub-plots missed at first viewing

[accessmenj]

My friend went to BETM to be entertained and made no effort to understand it, as dongringo said was necessary to enjoy fully the layers of the show. My friend then expressed his uninformed opinion to his friends. That is at least understandable since it was about a private night-out in NYC. What is inexcusable, is the reviewers who wrote about the show as if they were experts. They did not even make a half-hearted effort to evaluate the show properly.

[accessmenj]

Closely related to the theme of fantasy vs. reality is the theme of how we perceive ourselves vs. how we really are.
The miners, in "Solidarity", perceive themselves as strong and united. But we later know that they are too weak to win and divided by scabs.
Mrs. Wilkinson, in "Shine", perceives herself as a star in a review. But she is only a local ballet teacher who works for fifty pence per student.
Grandma, in "Grandma's Song", perceives herself as a young dancer, but she is old and suffering from Dementia.
Michael, in "Expressing Yourself", also perceives himself as a star dancer in order to dance with Billy. But he does not take lessons, so he could not be very good.
The whole town perceives itself as happy in "Merry Christmas Maggie Thatcher". But it is quickly brought back to reality by "Deep into the Ground".
And, of course, Billy perceives himself as Older Billy in "Dream Ballet", so he can have the skills that he does not yet possess.

Fantasy vs. Reality theme explains why the mood and pacing of the show is constantly changing.

[accessmenj]

The extreme violence of the miners strike is another theme that is often missed by non-British who view the show. There are hints in the dialog about miners' bleeding and with multiple broken bones, and there are the people running across the stage to get away from the Police, but the viewer is overwhelmed by all the action. Americans do miss many of the shouted words.
Ten people died during the strike. There was one conflict involving possibly 10,000 Police on one side and 10,000 strikers on the other side. Police charged on horse-back and used truncheons to beat the strikers. After the strike, over 200,000 miners working in the coal industry were eventually reduced to around 1,000 workers. Poverty and unemployment remained for years. Yet Americans viewing BETM think that the strike was probably about higher wages. Not understanding the theme of the violence of the strike and its devastating effects is a major reason why someone would not appreciate large portions of the show.

[accessmenj]

The Arizona reviewer who only saw Act I, and then wrote a review, did not realize that Act I is used to build the many themes and sub-plots that are resolved in Act II. Very unfair to write a review, even though everything that this thread discusses was missed.
And we are still not done. Any more themes and sub-plots that are missed at first viewing, or in this reviewer's case, first non-viewing?

[accessmenj]

It has been said that you have to work at understanding great art, and the work makes the experience more vivid(" I get it!").
Remember the line "How come you can remember The General Strike, and you can't remember where you put your pasty?" If you do not know anything about The General Strike,(Non-British and young people do not know about this 1926 event), then you are missing clues to a major theme that everyone seems to want to ignore. I guess everyone is trying to be politically correct.

[VaRus]

It's interesting indeed how non-British (or rather not native speakers) perceive the show and what they miss at first viewing (which usually remains to be the last). In addition to my own experience I discussed this subject with a number of my compatriots whom I accompanied to the show.

The real problem even for those who knows English quite well is the accent and the slang. I don't think that it influences very much the understanding of the main themes and sub-plots. For instance, I don't think that people like me have had a problem with understanding the General strike subplot (I believe there's enough information about it in the play for those who have a vague idea). The most important thing - Billy and his journey along with his interactions with all the other main characters - should be easily understood by anyone.

Probably most jokes are missed by non-native speakers (some of them completely) and this means, in my opinion, the whole concept of the show is somehow shifted. That was definitely true for me... As to slang: a lot of people did not understand what exactly Debby offered to Billy - is it important in the whole context? Or what "a bairn" is - and this word is used in some important songs and dialogues. I could go on...

[accessmenj]

I am in total awe of someone(VaRus and friends) who is a non-native English speaker going to Billy Elliot The Musical and "getting" many of the themes and sub-plots. This took more effort than some of the reviewers were willing to exert.
No one gets all of BETM at the first viewing. That's the theme of this thread. But the lines
"How come you can remember The General Strike and not remember where you left your pasty" seems to have been missed by almost all.
Let's poll those of us who have seen the show many times. Do you know what The General Strike was, and how many shows did you see before you knew what it was?

[dongringo]

I don't think we need to know the details of the Generals's stirke. According to Grandma it was much worse than the miner's strike. Thats's all we need to know. Look, I got it, my brother got it, , my totally naive mother got it.

[accessmenj]

The theme of the Conservative British government vs. the Socialism of the miners seems obvious, except that the failure of the General Strike in 1926 and the changes in the law since then gave the miners no chance of winning. So government actions looked well planned, smart and ruthless, but the miners looked stupid, naive and childish. All the miners could do was call the Prime Minister a cow, make fun of her and wish her dead. Funny, but childish.
Knowing British strike history, or learning about it after viewing the show, will allow the viewer to recognize the hoplessness of the miners situation earlier. This, in turn, makes Billy's situation more critical. Most people, including me, missed alot in the first viewing, even if they enjoyed what they did pick up.

[accessmenj]

The theme of people, whose lives are doomed to failure, living vicariously through others is repeated throughout BETM. Mrs. Wilkinson's anger with Debby was because she did not have the talent to "Shine", but Mrs. W. could live through Billy's accomplishments. Dad and brother, once they realized that they had no future, used Billy's future as theirs. The entire town also adopted Billy's hope for the future, after the strike failed. Failure always creates the need for success, even if it is not your own.