Backstairs Billy - Duke of York's

[coco]

Dec 1, 2023 23:34:48 GMT mattnyc said:

Saw this tonight and really had a great time, save for the last couple minutes that I thought were bizarre and seemed completely out of left field. But that's not enough to change my view on it and I'd absolutely recommend it to anyone who wants some theatrical comfort food.

The Corgi absolutely did not want to be on stage tonight at the end, which was adorable. Wilton excused herself from the conversation and led it offstage. Dogs and kids, right...?

It seemed she managed the situation quoted well. I’m curious about what she said. Seemed like using the corgi as a metaphor? Then it smoothly led to the ending.

[mattnyc]

The dog jumped off the couch so she stood up and said “come on” and led it off stage and then right back into the conversation. Even sitting on the couch with it you could tell the dog was thinking “not today” and really wanted to go, she was holding it pretty tight so it wouldn’t leap off.

[n1david]

Interesting to see this in the same week as "Feeling Afraid as if Something Terrible is Going to Happen" at the Bush, the one-man play with Samuel Barnett, which was also written by Marcelo Dos Santos. That was a twisty, sophisticated, playful profile of a gay man of a certain age coming to terms with relationships, employment and his own foibles.

This was not.

[colelarson]

Saw this for the Matinee this afternoon; the first part was very funny and my friend and I were giggling away.

The second part went from weird to weirder! Really was a play of two halves in the interval we loved it, at the end meh!

Definitely more fiction than fact and recommend watching the documentary Channel 4 did a long time ago to know more about Billy (think it's on YouTube).

Nice to see real corgis, they were probably my favourite part of the play.

[distantcousin]

Dec 2, 2023 12:14:06 GMT mattnyc said:

The dog jumped off the couch so she stood up and said “come on” and led it off stage and then right back into the conversation. Even sitting on the couch with it you could tell the dog was thinking “not today” and really wanted to go, she was holding it pretty tight so it wouldn’t leap off.

She did exactly the same thing at tonight's performance. I suspect it is as directed.

[distantcousin]

I thought it was OK. As someone very interested in the life of the Royals, it was appealing, but I found it a little too gentle for my tastes - in comedy style and social commentary.

I wanted it to give me a lot more. I actually found the scenes with the Young Billy the most engaging.

I thought the ending was strange, but it didn't offend me that much. It seemed to decide to step into surrealism (a branch of comedy it hadn't touch on over the course of the night, so it was quite jarring)

My interpretation of it was an allegory to The Queen Mother pulling rank. She may have been close to him and let him get away with a lot, but for me she was asserting that she was the boss, a much higher ranking noblewoman (in her eyes) and by virtue she could and would instruct him to do anything she asked - however menial or unpleasant.

I agree, the audience "fussing" over the corgis was irritating and distracting. Gosh, we are simple creatures aren't we?!

[westendboy]

Dec 21, 2023 12:37:29 GMT distantcousin said:

I agree, the audience "fussing" over the corgis was irritating and distracting. Gosh, we are simple creatures aren't we?!

To be fair, the corgis were the highlight

[mattnyc]

Dec 21, 2023 14:37:41 GMT westendboy said:

Dec 21, 2023 12:37:29 GMT distantcousin said:

I agree, the audience "fussing" over the corgis was irritating and distracting. Gosh, we are simple creatures aren't we?!

To be fair, the corgis were the highlight

An audience is always going to fuss over puppies in stage. Same with little kids. Better than booing and hissing them.

[clarefh]

I saw this last night with a friend. I’m with those who are slightly baffled by it.

I found the first half very poor, to the extent I was considering leaving at the interval. Just not my kind of humour and all seemed to meander around pointlessly. I did think it improved in the second half, as it brought some more emotion and depth. The final scene was fine for me and made sense with the more serious points made earlier at times, underlying that he is at the end of the day ‘just’ a servant and the uncomfortable nature of that relationship.

Penelope Wilton acted beautifully, but wished id seen her in something else!

Scraping 2 stars for me - but it was fairly well acted and the majority of the audience loved it so horses for courses!

[theatrefan62]

Dec 22, 2023 1:12:44 GMT mattnyc said:

Dec 21, 2023 14:37:41 GMT westendboy said:

To be fair, the corgis were the highlight

An audience is always going to fuss over puppies in stage. Same with little kids. Better than booing and hissing them.

Animals yes, but I think kids on stage is slightly less universal.

[Rory]

I was at yesterday's matinee and quite enjoyed it. It's non essential, but as an old fashioned crowd pleaser (albeit with some subversive undertones) with a nice set and some funny performances, it does the trick. A lovely performance from Penelope Wilton and I thought Luke Evans was very good too. Michael Simkins, Nicole Sloane and Eloka Ivo were standouts for me.

It was an old school audience too. No standing ovation, although people did seem to like it a lot.

[distantcousin]

I love old school audiences that don't over emote like they're watching the Britain's Got Talent final.

[david]

A few thoughts from tonight’s viewing. Firstly, the £10 front row ticket I got was an absolute bargain to see this wonderful this cast and the two corgis up close. I certainly got full value from my seat even if I missed seeing people’s feet. Secondly, a shout out to the individual who picked the songs preshow. They had excellent taste in the songs selected. Walking into the auditorium with YMCA playing full blast followed by other 1970’s classics certainly put me in a good mood for the start of the show.

As for the play itself, it was a really funny piece from Marcelo Dos Santos that kept me and the rest of tonight’s audience laughing the entire evening. Both Dame Penelope and Luke Evans were brilliant in their roles and worked really well together on stage. Luke really has hot great comic timing and his impression of Charles is top drawer stuff. The rest of the cast I would say were just as good. I really didn’t feel there was a weak link in any of the performances. A quick mention on the corgis. An excellent bit of on stage acting tonight and they certainly didn't disgrace themselves alongside their human colleagues. It was a shame they didn’t make an appearance at the end. 

The only issue I had with this play was the ending. It was definitely a strange way to conclude it. Thinking about it on my tube ride back to my hotel I could only conclude was a power move by the Queen Mum to show Billy who was in charge. Despite the ending, it was a real fun evening and i had a big smile walking out of the theatre. 

Rating - 4⭐️

[Someone in a tree]

I really liked Penelope but the play itself was to me forgettable fluff.

[dd]

I thought that this show was alright, there were some funny one liners too. Whilst the last scene was bizarre and not in keeping with the rest of the play, I kinda get why they did it.

[sfsusan]

I get that the final scene was meant to show the QM flexing her power over Billy, but it just came out of nowhere. Nothing foreshadowed that aspect of her so it just came across as needlessly cruel.

I can't help but think that those who enjoyed the first act (like myself) were really put off by that scene. And those that felt the final scene gave depth to the play probably didn't enjoy what preceded it.

They did get a mostly standing ovation tonight, however (at least in the stalls).

I got a ticket on TodayTix for 35 pounds, center stalls... 20 pounds cheaper than through the box office, so it was enjoyable even if not outstanding.

[n1david]

Jan 12, 2024 23:01:52 GMT sfsusan said:

I can't help but think that those who enjoyed the first act (like myself) were really put off by that scene. And those that felt the final scene gave depth to the play probably didn't enjoy what preceded it.

This is an interesting perspective. I really didn't like the show but that last scene made perfect sense to me. Up until that point I'd thought that QM was toying with Billy in a way he didn't realise, and the last scene was the ultimate proof of it. But I thought the play up until that point had been overly indulgent on the power relationship. So maybe it does depend on one's views on the earlier scenes, and - perhaps more broadly - one's views on the monarchy in general. I still ended up thinking the play wasn't great, but the last scene made sense to me.

[sfsusan]

Jan 13, 2024 0:52:18 GMT n1david said:

Up until that point I'd thought that QM was toying with Billy in a way he didn't realise

I would have thought the same if there had been anything previous that hinted at her true attitude. Was there anything specific that led you to think this? I can't think of any dialog or facial expression that would have foreshadowed it. Maybe her line about "will you two old queens stop bickering..."* but I thought it was delivered with a light humor.

Some of the reviews seem to completely ignore the drastic change in tone between the two acts, like this one from The Jewish Chronicle: "Except Dos Santos’s play is decidedly less a drama than an out-and-out comedy.

More than that, it tilts exhilaratingly towards farce."

*On a side note, I'm surprised that the secretary didn't object to this characterization, although I suppose one couldn't talk back to the Queen Mother. But he didn't seem to react to it at all.

[n1david]

Jan 13, 2024 17:01:29 GMT sfsusan said:

I would have thought the same if there had been anything previous that hinted at her true attitude. Was there anything specific that led you to think this? I can't think of any dialog or facial expression that would have foreshadowed it. Maybe her line about "will you two old queens stop bickering..."* but I thought it was delivered with a light humor.

To be honest, I can't point to anything specific as I saw it in November and I haven't thought much about it since then! It might have been connected to the prejudices I brought into the theatre about the monarchy in general, so I may have read things into it that weren't there (given there wasn't much there from my recollection)

[sfsusan]

Jan 13, 2024 17:32:48 GMT n1david said:

It might have been connected to the prejudices I brought into the theatre about the monarchy in general

I suspect that's the same in my case, although given I've inherited my grandmother and mother's collection of coronation teacups, I tend to have a rosier view, especially of the older generation of royals.

[francistheatreboard]

Any idea on running time for this?

[drmaplewood]

Jan 16, 2024 15:03:38 GMT francistheatreboard said:

Any idea on running time for this?

It’s pretty much bang on 1 hour per act with a 15 minute interval. So you’re out at 9:45 / 4:45 for a matinee.

[theoracle]

Enjoyed this a lot more than I was expecting. I found the script very tight and the humour plentiful and tasteful too. I’m in the camp of finding the last scene rather cruel and disjointed from the rest of the piece but overall had a great evening. Nicole Scherzinger was also in the audience last Friday who seemed to enjoy too, although clearly this was a very British piece.

[mrbarnaby]

Jan 17, 2024 15:05:04 GMT theoracle said:

Enjoyed this a lot more than I was expecting. I found the script very tight and the humour plentiful and tasteful too. I’m in the camp of finding the last scene rather cruel and disjointed from the rest of the piece but overall had a great evening. Nicole Scherzinger was also in the audience last Friday who seemed to enjoy too, although clearly this was a very British piece.

Was she still holding that note?

[sfsusan]

Jan 17, 2024 15:05:04 GMT theoracle said:

Nicole Scherzinger was also in the audience last Friday who seemed to enjoy too, although clearly this was a very British piece.

Oh my gosh, I suspect I was seated 2 rows behind her (she would have been in Row H or thereabouts)! I 'knew' she was 'somebody' as she didn't look like the typical audience member... very polished, beringed, and behatted (to her credit, she took this off when the show started).