Like Electricity…

Tearing my eyes away from the theatre stage I glance at my arm and see that my hairs are standing on end. The theatre has this effect on me. Billy Elliot was one such performance that managed to simultaneously be touching, amusing and of an impressively high quality. Lets softly rove through some of the impressions made upon my mind during the performance of Billy Elliot at the Victoria Palace Theatre.

A striking feature of this performance for me was the sound of voices in unison of the miners. The chant affirming that they are “all out together, all out as one” was chilling and uplifting. Their tone sombre yet their defiance hope inspring. As they “stand as one” through all of their hardship the fellowship and unity shown in these men is beautiful. The touching thing about this play is the how these are GOOD PEOPLE. Billy’s father is willing to give up his pride and his life to give his son a chance. The striking miners have no money yet club together to buy Billy a coach ticket. An example of the teaching from the writings of Abdu’l-Baha that…

“Nothing can be effected in the world, not even conceivably, without unity and agreement…”

The effect of screens and barriers on the stage was also very powerful. The bus window taking Billy’s father to the mines and the cage like fences highlight the sacrifice he is making for his son. Furthermore the shields of the policemen closing down on Billy as he tap dances his way into and around the chaos shows the audience how very impossible and despondant these people’s situation is, making the hope and unity amongst them all the more poignant.

The dancing in the show was actually excellent. Despite the girls ballet class being bad ballet, they pulled of dancing badly with beautiful precision and expression. The energy in these shows always makes me want to be dancing and not sitting on a chair … The joy in the dancing was really marked against the dark and gloomy backdrop of the miner’s strike. With the policemen singing alongside them, ballet becomes a mark of  ’hope in hopelessness’.

Another character of the show that made me ponder was Grandma. Grandma was hilarious. She was a bit crazy, forgetful, she liked to hide mouldy pasties and sausage rolls. She was good. I enjoyed her song about her husband, introducing a feminist element to the play as she sings about the expectations on women to marry and stop living when they had that ring around their finger. Grandma tells Billy that if she had her time again she would not get married to Granddad, but would be free and go dancing and never be sober. The emancipation of Grandma was displayed in a lively dance, contrasting the old frail woman with her young dancing partners; a fusion of her past and present. A fun, amusing, batty old woman, that dances funny and acts insane.

Little children saying “wanker” on stage always seems to be a crowd pleaser.  

The journey to London: Lian and Louisa.