"Billy Elliot"

Leicester Curve

This musical has evaded me for so long, mainly because the size of the stage needed to produce this show on has to be large, so it's not often that it's in the area for me to go and see. Today, I ticked this one off of the list. I'd only been to The Curve at Leicester once previously, and that was to see my eldest son graduate, so this is the first time that I have seen a theatrical production staged here, as well as the first time seeing this amazing and emotional musical.

I have seen the Steven Daldry 2000 film several times, starring Jamie Bell and Julie Walters, and love the story, which takes on a whole new life on stage; it lives and breathes, it pirouettes into your heart. It's pure electricity.

This is a "Made at Curve" production, which has been directed by Nikolai Foster and choreographed by Lucy Hind. The soundtrack by Sir Elton John and Lee Hall, who also wrote the book. The children starring in this production are also locally sourced, which is a massive boost for local talent.

It's set in 1984/85 smack in the middle of the miner's strike in County Durham. Most lads of Billy's age are into football or boxing, but Billy has found a love of ballet, something his dad is dead set against, but Billy is determined to see this through with typical Northern grit. He, quite by accident, finds himself in the middle of a bunch of young girls in ballet class, and from there on gets the ballet bug, returning the following week, to discover that he has a talent for dance.

All this in the middle of a national mining strike, where the male population do not do ballet, they fight and box and go down the mines, and also the finances are not even there to put food on the table, never mind pay for the bus fare to London to audition for the Royal Ballet School!

This was particularly emotional for me as I am the son of a Nottinghamshire miner and can remember the strikes and how hard it was for my father to go to work throughout the strike, just to pay for my elder sister's wedding, all the while losing some lifelong friends in the process by working through and defying the strikers. I know how hard this period was, and this brought back the feelings of the period.

Joe Caffrey plays Billy's grieving and angry father. The family had recently lost a mother and wife, which is reflected in the highly emotive song "The Letter", which hits hard for anyone who has lost a mother or a wife. The anger is obvious and so is the lashing out, but the U turn regarding what his youngest son wants is incredibly life affirming for carrying on what his wife and Billy's mother would have chosen, even in the hard times. Played with great passion by Joe.

Luke Baker as the elder son, Tony, also turns in an emotive and passionate performance, especially where he turns against his father's wishes to return to work.

Billy's Grandmother is played by Rachel Izen, who has a theatrical CV as long as your arm. Rachel only gets to sing one song in this musical, but what a song. "Grandma's Song" is yet another emotive song, although at first listen would not seem so, but take a proper listen to those lyrics. Grandma suffers from Alzheimer's Disease and berates her late husband, who at first she had forgotten that he had passed. During this piece the young "grandfather" dances in the background quite beautifully. Louie Wood is the dancer.

Mrs Wilkinson, the ballet teacher, is played by Sally Ann Triplett. I loved Julie Walters in the film role and I can see a lot of Walters in this role, probably unintentional. Sally Ann's performance as the hard-nosed, Northern gritty ballet teacher with her potty mouth around the kids is softened right at the end when her emotional side peeps through the armour as Billy gives her a hug and tells her that he would not have been able to do it without her help. What a wonderful character, and played wonderfully by Sally Ann.

Mrs Wilkinson's daughter, Debbie, in this performance is played by Pearl Ball, who is making her professional debut here. There is a scene where she is chatting to Billy in his room where she asks if he likes her; the next sentence even shocked me! All the child actors in this show acted as if this were an everyday thing for them. No signs of nerves, only extreme confidence from everyone, never phased by the large audience, not to mention the vast staging!

Jaden Shentall-Lee, who I saw this afternoon, shares the spotlight throughout the run at Curve with Samuel Newby, Leo Hollingsworth and Alfie Napolitano as Billy, and I am sure that he was aware that he had big ballet pumps to fill, especially when you look at the previous "Billys" that had gone before him. From the confidence that oozed from his performance on stage, it seems that he has not let anything bother him where Jamie Bell et al pas de deux'd before him. The ending of Act One, "The Angry Dance", was performed with great drama, as was the "Electricity" set.

There is absolutely no denying this young man can dance and has attitude, and looking at Jaden's CV for stage work, he has worked hard to get to where he is at the moment. I was thinking on the train home that if this is the standard of dance and drama he is showing at his tender age, what will he be like in ten years' time!

Billy's best friend, Michael, is played by Prem Masini. This chemistry between the two young lads is pure magical as Michael encourages Billy to follow his dream, despite what anyone else may think of it, or Billy. I loved the scene where Billy finds Michael dressed in his sister's clothes and the dance number that goes along with this, "Expressing Yourself". The end where Billy gives Michael a peck on the cheek and then runs back to give him a massive hug is also one of the most emotive scenes played out between these two young and talented actors.

Jessica Daley does an amazing job playing Billy's late mother, who still manages to guide his hand - and foot. The song "The Letter", which is a song between Billy and his late mother, when seen performed on stage seems to take on a whole new feeling and emotion to when just listening to the soundtrack at home.

There are two teams of Ballet Girls and Boxing Boys, and the team that I saw this afternoon were Team Donnini. Whether you get to see Team Donnini or Team Dennis, you'll be in for a treat whichever way. Both teams are made up of some outstanding talented young people. Rahul Gandabhai, who plays the "posh boy" shows that he knows how to take a stage punch, delivered by Jaden, and both making it look really realistic.

The Set Design, by Michael Taylor, shows why this show can only be produced at certain theatres nationwide. It's enormous! It was like having Cinemascope on stage. Not only was the set wide, it was tall as well; no wonder audiences return again and again to see this show because they would see something that they may have missed in previous visits.

There are four fences which at one stage created a metal cage where Billy danced on a raised platform. This made me think that Billy was himself in a cage while the rest of the world fought outside of his personal cage, separated and in his own small world of dance. It also created walls for the boxing gym, dance class, picket lines and enclosed the mine shaft lift which raised and lowered. This was particularly affective in the end scene when the miners disappeared underground, singing as they went, with only the feint glow of their miner's lamps on their helmets to show that they had been there at all.

The tower, on three levels acted as Billy's home and was moved smoothly from the back of the stage to central position when needed, keeping centre stage free for all the other action.

The Lighting Design, by Ben Cracknell, and Sound Design by Adam Fisher were sensational. With such a large stage, there was a lot of lighting design to show, and it felt like I'd visited the West End production. This goes to show that Leicester Curve are really on a par with their Southern counterparts where creating great theatre is concerned. Visually this is a vivid experience.

The Sound Design was perfectly pitched, although there was just one section where Debbie's mic seemed not to have been faded up near the start, that was not repeated, so was rapidly sorted.

I didn't even notice the on-stage band until they were acknowledged by the cast at the end. With a stage and venue this large, there could have been a possibility of the sound mix being just a little overpowering, but that was not the case. It was loud enough for everyone to hear comfortably with crystal clarity, making this musical an aural enjoyment on every level.

I used the adjective "gritty" earlier and this really is. The language is earthy, and used by the adults as well as the children, and this is why there is an age limit attached to this show. The language injects a true sense of realism into this musical, never shying away from that initial "shock" factor. I must admit I was taken aback by the language used so liberally by the younger actors, but soon settled into the naturalism of the language.

If, like me, you'd never seen this musical on stage, go and see it. Go and see this production, even if you have seen a previous production, as I have been told that there have been several changes and adaptations to this production. I only have this one to compare future productions to, but I think that any future ones I see will have to really pull something just as spectacular out of the bag to match this one.

I can see why so many people return to see this show, and I'll be with them. My debut Curve Theatre stage production has been a real pleasure and I do hope that it won't be too long before I get to replicate the pleasure of such a beautiful theatre experience.

"Billy Elliott" is at The Curve in Leicester until Saturday 20 August.

 "People" by Alan Bennett

Nottingham Lace Market Theatre.

So, we come to the end of the season, it doesn't seem that long ago since we were welcoming the new season, but they do say that time flies when you're having fun. This season closes on a cracker, Alan Bennett's "People", a play I've not seen before.

Lady Dorothy Stacpoole is fighting against plans by her younger sister June to donate the families once grand country estate, Stacpoole House, to the National Trust as they can no longer afford to maintain it. Lady Dorothy however has other ideas from selling it to a questionable commercial concern, possibly moving it to Dorset or perhaps Wiltshire, to renting it out to an old flame as a location for dubious films, both seeming more appealing than having people traipsing through the property.

Dorothy hates the idea of crowds tramping through her lifelong home, and hates the idea that it may be turned into a museum by the National Trust.

June is an ambitious archdeacon at the local cathedral, with one eye on the bishop's job. In Ralph Lumsden, the man from the National Trust, she senses a kindred spirit, and a possible step up.

The play opens with Dorothy and her companion Iris, sitting in clothes that had seen better days, in front of an old electric heater, living out of one room of the once splendid house. Dorothy shows a man, Bevan, around with the prospect of either an attic sale or buying the property lock, stock and barrel and relocating, brick by brick to a "better" part of the country. This was all supposed to be a secret from June, who discovers what Dorothy has been doing as she arrives just as he is leaving. And so the story begins.....

June (Carol Parkinson) reminds me just ever so slightly of a masculine Geraldine from The Vicar Of Dibley, with plenty of dashing around trying to secure the transfer to the National Trust. She is practical but isn’t really a people person and thinks men, including the Archbishop are useless.

Dorothy (Amanda Pearce) is a woman who has lost all zest for life. There is a glimmer of her old modelling days though when she takes a small part in the film that is being made at the place, and that zest reappears slightly, helped by an old flame, Theodore and Louise, the production assistant. Although not antisocial, she rarely ventures out and longs for hot water and central heating, or even an en-suite.

Iris (Hazel Salisbury) gets her fair share of Bennett's witty lines in a fine display of character acting by Hazel. And there's a twist revelation to come with Iris right at the end to look out for. She is quite child-like, especially with her honesty, and appears to be slightly on the dim side, but underneath that facade, she has lost none of her marbles.

Bevan (Chris Sims) is not quite as straight forward as he first sees, but then again, he is an estate agent. On his second visit there is a twist to Bevan which changes everything about his first visit. Complete with camel coat he floats the idea of selling the house to a mysterious organisation called "The Concern" who want to preserve the past but keep people out. But don't forget there is a twist!

Lumsden (Richard Fife) is the man from The National Trust and very business-like as he moves through the country pile, relating how the Trust can preserve everything, something that Dorothy is against as she lets him know of its faults, which only excites Lumsden even more.

Bishop (Jim Brooks) has just had a new pair of bifocals and is getting used to them, which is impairing his vision. Just as well, as he is shown around mid-way through the filming that is taking place! There is a Bennett nod to the "Carry On" films in this scene.

Theodore (Richard Young) is Dorothy's old flame who makes adult films. He charms her and gets what he needs - the location - and then sails out of her life as fast as he swept in.

Bruce (Fraser Wanless) is the "slightly" camp Mr Fix It within the film crew, who just seems to want to be in and out of there as soon as possible! He does however fix the heating and like things to be clean and tidy.

Louise (Liza Pybus) is the production assistant, who makes Dorothy feel cared for after many years of being a recluse. There is a lovely, and quite touching bit at the end where Louise returns to the house after it's been done up and gives Dorothy a little present. In return, Dorothy also presents her with a little something.

Nigel (Jack Leo) is the assistant film director who is on hand to help the film's star, Colin raise his game with a natural remedy.

Colin (Matthew Thomason) is the male star of the film but has issues rising to the occasion. The scenes which are being filmed in the play are done in the best possible taste, although you do get to see a little more of Matthew than you've possibly ever seen on stage before! The accent is great as well.

Brit (Evangelia Angelinou) is the Latvian female co-star of the film that is being made at the property, constantly mocking Colin's short comings.

A brilliant exhibition of ensemble acting.

Directed by Helen Sharp, this is a pacy and very witty presentation of a play that is not often seen. Don't know why, it's as good as anything else Mr Bennett has penned. There is a lovely comical scene regarding a room full of chamber pots, which we don't see, but the whole descriptiveness of that room is priceless.

Max Bromley's set design is definitely a visual feast. From the dilapidated and mouldy walls through to its rejuvenation of regal splendour, the set is a real beauty.

Lighting Design is by Hugh Philip and Sound Design by Jordan Gibb. Both areas perfectly executed.

There were a few prompts at the start of the play, one even coming from another on stage actor, but Bennett's plays can be wordy.

"People" will be at the Nottingham Lace Market Theatre until Saturday 23 July.

 "Waitress"

Nottingham Royal Concert Hall

"Waitress" is based on the 2007 film of the same name written by Adrienne Shelly, a film that I have not seen, so this stage production is the first viewing of the story; the musical soundtrack I've been a fan of for a few years now though.

It's the story of Jenna (Aimee Fisher), a pie maker and waitress in a local eaterie, Joe's Diner, who is trapped in a marriage to Earl (Tamlyn Henderson), that she wants escape from. Things get worse for Jenna as she discovers that she is pregnant with his child. She yearns for bigger things and dreams of owning her own diner one day and making a fresh life on her own, away from Earl. She sees a possible way out, financially, if she won a pie baking competition in state.

With help from her diner friends, Becky (Wendy Mae Brown) and Dawn (Evelyn Hoskins), she has to overcome the obstacles she finds in her way to be able to reach her dreams. She then falls for the charming Dr Pomatter (David Hunter). Just one problem – he’s married as well!

There was a short delay to opening night as we discovered that Chelsea Halfpenny was not appearing as Jenna, so Aimee covered the role, rather well I must say. Hopefully Chelsea is OK. I'd been looking forward to seeing Chelsea in this role, but c'est la vie as they say; these things happen and it's situations like this that gives the understudy the break they have waited for.

You may also spot another soap legend in the cast as well. Michael Starke, who plays Joe, used to be in Brookside as Sinbad. You would not recognise Michael with his grey goatee and his Southern accent. His rendition of "Take It From An Old Man" was perfection.

Aimee Fisher must have been the most nervous of actors tonight, knowing that with minutes before the show was due to start that she was to be taking the starring role. Understudies will always dream of having the spotlight shone on them, but when that time comes, and it's always at the benefit of someone else's bad luck, their nerves will be through the roof, but the show must go on and Aimee did the show proud with her emotional performance, and tear-jerking version of "She used To Be Mine".

Wendy Mae Brown was so funny, just a certain look would kick-start a smile on my face, and she has a belter of a voice to go with that comedy styling. The song she opened the second act with, "I Didn't Plan It", after a certain transgression was revealed, was a belter.

Evelyn Hoskins was equally as comical, with that high pitched voice and her repressed urges, brought to the surface by Ogie (George Crawford), a man she meets online for a five-minute date which then lasts for the rest of the show. Both geeky, but the perfect geek match.

David Hunter, as Dr Jim Pomatter, has been described as a shy and nervous character in some reviews that I'd seen. In my mind, Dr Pomatter verges on being a sexual predator, and the comical sections made it seem quite wrong to laugh, but laugh I did all the same. All morality went straight out of the doctor's room window.

Tamlyn Henderson, who played Earl, I was half expecting to get a few "boos" when he appeared to take his bows, but he didn't. Earl was controlling and jealous of the attention Jenna showed to her friends and the reciprocation. He even made Jenna promise not to love the expected baby more than she loved him.

Earl is a seriously flawed character, and the ending for him is possibly one that a new mother may not have taken out of fear of possible retribution, but Jenna found the strength in her new position of responsibility to do what she deemed to be right for her, her new baby girl, and their future. Why I had pangs of empathy for him, I'm not sure.

I must also mention Christopher D. Hunt as Cal, who ran the pie shop. A non-major role but always seemed to be there in the background, and his dalliance with Becky made that scene unforgettable.

To add to the comedy and serious side of this musical, there was also added the "aaahhh" factor with Jenna's little girl, a few years later, and I am not sure which little lovely we saw tonight, but the role is shared by Olympia Fowkes and Arna Nigrelli. Both young ladies a bundle of cuteness.

The soundtrack is written by the incredibly talented Sara Bareilles and includes the gorgeous "She Used To Be Mine", which was delivered with such heart-felt emotion. Other stand out tracks from the soundtrack for me were "Never Ever Getting Rid Of Me", "Bad Idea", "You Matter To Me", "Take It From An Old Man" and "Everything Changes".

I have but two gripes about the show, but on the production side. I'm not sure if it is the acoustics in the Concert Hall, but sometimes the music seemed to swamp the vocals, the sound mix seemed at times to be in competition between the live band on stage, and the vocalists and I found myself having to really listen for the lyrics. Would the acoustics in the Theatre Royal have been better suited for the musical?

The other gripe was the follow spot seemed very wobbly in places, which took my attention away from the actor and their words.

The set design on the other hand was immense. The clarity of the back drop, which filled the Concert Hall stage from stage to roof. It was so realistic you wanted to wander on stage to open the doors and wander out beyond the diner.

This musical has the perfect recipe for a great night out at the theatre. With comedy as well as sadness, brilliant acting and a great soundtrack, it's as easy as pie to see why this is the massive hit it is. It's no way my favourite musical, but I did enjoy it, and would see it again.

"Waitress" is at the Nottingham Royal Concert Hall until Saturday 23 July.