Billy Elliot - Leicester Curve

[Mark]

Yes it does seem to be a long way off from them cancelling. Glad we hadn’t booked the hotel yet!
Might do a combined day trip to see this and Identical later in July if they’ll honour the original pricing.

[richey]

Just got the same email too.
Think I'll just ask for a refund. Luckily I'd not booked a hotel so unless they honour the preview prices I'll not bother.

[Mark]

Had a missed call and voicemail from the curve and also an email to confirm there will be no extra charge for the new dates.

[robertb213]

Press Night is now Weds 20th July 😁

[Mark]

Rebooked for the new first preview on Weds 13th July. Amazingly the only date myself and the family could do together.
Two long days after another, with Crazy for You in Chichester the day before. Hoping petrol doesn't double in price again, although atleast we are saving on a hotel in Leicester this time.

Very helpful on the phone line and got through in about 5 minutes.

[mkb]

I decided not to wait for the call, as odds-on, they'd call while I'm in a meeting or otherwise unavailable. There was no problem processing the date switch, and any date was allowed without penalty.

Despite being number two in the phone queue, it still took 25 minutes to get answered, so I reckon they've only got one person manning incoming calls with the rest of the team doing the outgoing calls.  Once through, it took less than two minutes to sort out.

[richey]

Has anyone else had a call from them yet? Still waiting for mine.

[properjob]

I had an answerphone message a couple of days back but then I was booked for the first night so they may be going in order.

If you know what you want to do you could try emailing them.

[amp09]

[Mark]

Was at the first preview tonight. Let me start by saying that I saw the original production 6 times over the years (and the tour in Sydney in 2019) so fairly familiar with the show and the original staging.

Overall, I thought the new production in Leicester was excellent! Sounds fantastic, and it seemed to move at a much faster pace than the original in terms of tempos (indeed, the runtime was 2:30 including interval tonight). The performances are universally great, Samuel Newby was a fantastic Billy Elliot and in great voice. Sally Ann Triplett, Joe Caffrey, Jessica Daley - all brilliant.

Loved the staging, the set is quite industrial and four big yellow metal barriers are used throughout to great effect (especially in Solidarity), and there is a three tiered structure which has the house and also bathroom of the social club, and then lots of scaffolding at the back. Very impressive.

The main difference is that it certainly seemed less “dancy” than the original production. Most of the cut from the runtime seems to have come from dance elements, with what seemed to be a shorter Expressing Yourself, an abridged Angry Dance (no tap or riot shields), a good but less visually impressive dance with older self, and then the big dance following the bows, going straight into the reprise of Expressing Yourself/Shine. I’d guess this choice was probably due to this production overall feeling more industrial and gritty and less metaphorical and theatrical like the original. The choreography in general definitely lacked much ballet, with a much more contemporary feel to it. The only time I really missed it though was in the dance with older self and the end of Electricity.

In my opinion, still one of the best contemporary musicals and I would see it again in a heartbeat if it were to transfer to the West End.

[Ade]

Saw this this evening. Just wow! I absolutely loved the original but this version is so well done. I can’t fault it really… there was the odd thing where, comparing the two versions, I marginally preferred the original but it feels unfair to put the two side by side.

You also really have to give special mention to the lighting design - there are so many points where it’s just stunning. It’s in absolutely no way subtle, but is so crucial to the atmosphere of the whole production.

[Phantom of London]

I love Billy Elliot, it is in my top 3 musicals of all time, it was the last British musical to win a Tony for best musical. I saw the original many times, including Broadway and Chicago. It is the greatest musical ever set to dance, the story is a gift for that. The original Billy soared with breathtaking choreography, this one was more decidedly earthbound!!! Which is kind of understandable as this is regional and budgets are a lot less. The original had the Billy Academy, has no potential Billy had the pre requisites to play Billy as the role was that demanding. This production couldn’t do that, so a lot of the great dancing was gone and seemed to be replaced by lighting! Saying that the Swan Lake scene, which was my favourite bit in the original, where Billy flew like a swan, it was done differently here and this production did something that put a tear in my eye.

The acting was efficient and good without blowing me away.

[properjob]

I've just seen this. I agree with the previous posters in that isn't quite at the level of the London original for obvious reasons of rehearsal time for the kids etc but it is still very, very good and well worth seeing. I am already considering a return visit.
It still brings a tear to the eye in all the right places and seems very poignant with the current apparently empty claims by the Tories to level up.
The set/lighting combo works very well using all the Curve's tricks However I don't know if is the current weather but a lot of the smoke and haze came out into the auditorium so I wish I had sat a bit further back for visibility.

[TheatreTwittic]

I adored the production, I think stylistically, visually and performance wise it gelled and I honestly couldn't fault it.

Different to London? Definitely, but at the same time, it wasn't radically different. It just took a different direction.

The London production wanted polish and perfection, this focused on a talented kid being found and society at large having barriers in the way. It almost felt like they tackled it as a play but brought it together as a musical.

The themes seem very apt considering the current stats on arts education in schools and uni's cutting courses left right and centre.

As a side note, I really enjoyed being front row. Because your head is very much above the stage and the entrances come from the side, it almost feels like it's in a small studio setting and when the lighting rigs drop it feels like you're actually on the stage.

Full review: thetheatretwittic.com/2022/07/17/review-billy-elliot-at-leicester-curve/

[HereForTheatre]

***** What's On Stage
***** The Times
***** Broadway World
***** London Theatre 1
***** Reviews Hub
**** The Telegraph
**** The Stage

[robertb213]

I went with 5 stars, couldn't fault it. It's more raw than the original production and for me, more powerful because of it. Jaden playing Billy was excellent (had no idea he was Lisa from Steps' son). Sally Ann Triplett was as brilliant as you'd expect. Luke Baker is also distracting attractive.

Loved it. A lot.

[Dr Tom]

Jul 22, 2022 8:03:30 GMT robertb213 said:

Luke Bayer is also distracting attractive.

He is, but I expect you saw Luke Baker.
(also very good looking)

[robertb213]

Jul 22, 2022 8:13:17 GMT Dr Tom said:

Jul 22, 2022 8:03:30 GMT robertb213 said:

Luke Bayer is also distracting attractive.

He is, but I expect you saw Luke Baker.
(also very good looking)

Haha, thank you! Edited. 🤣 Bayer seems a sweet lad but Baker all the way for me!

[Ade]

They have released the trailer for it now too. Made me want to go for a repeat visit.

[xanady]

It’s a winner in my opinion… show still feels very relevant today.Big fan of Nik Foster and I think that he’s got another hit on his hands.
Lots of 5 ⭐️ reviews from the press and I totally agree.

[blobble84]

I saw the matinee yesterday and absolutely loved it for the most part. Effective staging and direction and some of the best lighting design I've seen.

My only issue with it was the tempo of some of the songs and some of the cuts. I seem to remember it coming in at about 2h45m/2h50m originally, so this has lost 20 - 25 minutes.

Some of the songs are just way too fast in my opinion and cutting some verses doesn't allow enough development. 'Born To Boogie' for example - you don't feel that Billy is having weeks / months of lessons to progress - it's all over too quickly. Also, the very end before the curtain call felt rushed and over too quickly.

But these are small points. Overall, it's a great new production and suits the space perfectly. If it was on my doorstep I'd be back again for sure.

[Deleted]

Caught the show yesterday afternoon and for the most part adored it ! Yes it is different to the original, this feels grittier which I really liked. It seemed to be a bit more focused on the mining aspect , especially in the nods in the set design and coming from a mining family, I liked that.

The main issue for me, and I know I am going to come across as a grumpy old man, the kids from the local community completely let it down. Some just looked completely bored and uninterested. And bless the young girl who made her entrance early in “expressing yourself” and just had to sit there in staring at the audience, thank god it was only for a couple of beats of music l

[Being Alive]

The community kids are what's putting me off - they did this for West Side Story and it was an absolute disaster

[robertb213]

The kids aren't in it that much, certainly not worth missing the whole production for.

[fiyero]

Jul 24, 2022 11:58:38 GMT blobble84 said:

Some of the songs are just way too fast in my opinion and cutting some verses doesn't allow enough development. 'Born To Boogie' for example - you don't feel that Billy is having weeks / months of lessons to progress - it's all over too quickly.

I couldn’t put my finger on it but it did seem like he was forced to quit after one lesson!

I was at the Saturday matinee too and thought the kids were great. Nothing against these kids but you have to remember they aren’t supposed to be great ballet dancers, they are miners’ kids doing it for fun. Yes one came on too soon when acting in more of a ‘dream ballet’ kind of way rather than being the actual little girl but the way it was staged there wasn’t much she could do about it. For me it being real kids worked.