#lewis smallman

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See ya, sunshine!

Good-bye to the four amazing Billys: Emile, Adam, Haydn and Lewis.

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Billy Elliot closing weekend - part 1

Saturday 22 July 2017 Billy: Lewis Smallman Michael: Elliot Stiff A few thoughts and comments on the last performance of Lewis and Elliot.

This was my 4th time seeing the tour and I was hoping to see Emile (Adam had already had his last night and I had already seen Lewis and Haydn), so I was a little disappointed to see Lewis and Elliot's (who I had also seen before) names on the board. But in retrospective I could not be happier! The first time I saw those two they felt a little bit low energy, even though their dancing and singing were top notch. I know every performer has a bad day once, so maybe this was it. This time however both were beaming, exuding energy across the stage all night! Lewis is a fantastic ballet dancer and he baffled the audience one last time. The standing ovation after Electricity easily went on for two minutes - when Lewis broke his pose and stepped forward with this big smile the audience went crazy (he really has a talent in milking the audience for applause). His family was the loudest :D  my favourite moment of the whole night was when Jackie said 'He's my son!' (which got a loud applause), Lewis' grandmother shouted 'He is MY gandson!' I would be proud, too, if Lewis was related to me :) I already complemented Lewis on his singing the last time - beautiful. One aspect that I have always loved about the tour was that in the beginning of Expressing Yourself, when Michael is being pulled out with his closet, every Michael sings another song. Elliot's song was Girls just wanna have fun and OH MY was he singing it brilliantly! I won't be surprised if he'll start a singing career soon! He and Lewis were having the time of their lives on stage, smiling and laughing at each other all the time. Both were very amused when Lewis lost his purse-hat during their dance. I wonder if Elliot also does ballet? In the Christmas scene he easily pulled of the split and his facial expressions had the audience in stitches and cheering for him even BEFORE the nut-cracker line. Elliot really is a natural comedian! Even though I missed Emile as Billy I saw him twice as Tall Boy and he certainly left an impression even in this small role! His acting as Posh Boy was so spot on, for example the way he took of his hat and positioned it carefully on his bag before going over to Billy. And also how he looked left and right to make sure nobody's watching before saying in a low voice 'It was only a stupid audition.' I can only imagine how fantastic his Billy must have been. This was a show I would not have missed for the world! What a great pairing those two were and what an amazing last night for both! I loved it how grandma gave Lewis a kiss back on the hand after Grandma's Song. Dead Mom also got very emotional during the reprise and sounded like she would start to cry soon. Lewis was welling up at the curtain call but controlled himself very well and was all smiles again in the curtain call. This was also the third time for my mom to see the show (she saw it 6 years ago in London) and she told me 'There is something so special about this Billy.' I think she liked it ;) PS: I would love Daniel Page's Mr. Braithwaite on tape as an anti-depressant. Usually I cannot take my eyes of Billy but in Born to Boogie Mr. B easily steals the show. He had me in the stitches every time  :D

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The Letter - Lewis Smallman, Anna-Jane Casey, Nikki Gerrard | Billy Elliot, Hamburg | 06.07.2017

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So, I saw Billy Elliot twice this ast weekend and thought I’d share some thoughts on it :)

The Billys:

I really hoped to see Haydn so seeing his name on the cast board cheered me up big time after walking through Hamburg’s rainy weather. Haydn is an amazing allrounder. Even though his dancing was very good, especially the tap, I felt the acting was his strongest point. First of all, his timing was very good since he knows how to include pauses – of the right length. Further, Haydn was reacting to the scene even when the focus wasn’t on him. For example, when Dad told George and Big Davey that Billy got in, Haydn made two fists and held them up triumphantly, looking very proud. Another scene that I remember very well was right after “me mum would have let us!”. I have never seen any Billy building up his anger as convincingly as Haydn, and also his screams during the dance were bloodcurdling! Singing is not Haydn’s strongest point, but the way he performed ‘Electricity’ was just amazing. It really felt like Billy struggling to explain his feelings to the judges, not a boy performing an Elton John ballad. In addition all that, Haydn is a boy with loads of charisma and charm and I could tell the audience adored him. After Michael’s good-bye the whole audience was at their feet, and did not sit down again. You could not hear the tap at the beginning of the finale because people were clapping and cheering so loudly. It was just amazing to witness J

Lewis was the Billy the next afternoon and I have to admit that I liked Haydn’s performance a little better, simply because Lewis was not as convincing an actor plus he seemed to worry about his hair and clothes too much, which annoyed me a little bit. That said, I could not fault his dancing at all and his singing…WOW what a voice! His diction was crystal clear and his singing just beautiful. The best I have heard since Scott McKenzie. Both boys are very good but have different strengths, so which one you like better depends on what you are looking for in the role.

The Michaels:

My first time seeing Elliot. I liked him very much, even though sometimes it felt like he tried too hard to be funny. His Christmas scene had the people in stitches, though.

This was my third time seeing Bradley and even though I hoped to see Samuel or Henry, I was not disappointed. Bradley feels at home in this part and it shows. He just looks and sounds so natural on stage. His Christmas dance certainly has changed a lot and now includes a pig and a snake J I love how far he has come in this role since I first saw him in January 2016.

Adult cast:

Was that really the same Martin Walsh I saw in Cardiff one year ago? I liked him so much better now! Back then I felt like he was not angry enough in certain scenes, like when he confronted Billy after Solidarity. Oh, so much anger now! Also ‘Deep into the Ground’ was much better now, sung with more emotion. I really like his portrayal now, even though David Bardsley is still my favourite.

Scott Garnham as Tony did not change his portrayal a lot, but he was already convincing last year. Anna-Jane Casey is a very feisty and fit Mrs Wilkinson and I liked her portrayal a lot. You could tell how much she hated teaching the girls, which I criticised Annette for. Her good-bye scene was also very emotional.

The new Big Davey really is a giant! Everyone looks so tiny besides him ;)

Translation:

Most of the time I watched what was going on on stage but sometimes I was just curious. How would they translate that part? They were actually very creative with the insults. ‘Fat fanny’ turned into ‘fette Qualle’ = ‘fat jellyfish’ and ‘dickhead’ turned into ‘Arschgeige’ :D overall, I felt they translated it very good and the audience seemed to be able to follow the scenes and dialogues. I felt sorry for Michael because his ‘People will think you’re mental’ did not get laughs in both performances. It probably was lost in translation…The cast even spoke some German during the show! In the beginning of the second act, Tony asked the audience to donate for the miners in English, but after that he took a brochure which said ‘Deutsch für Anfänger’ (German for beginners) in giant letters and asked in German, which got a big laugh. In addition to that, during the finale, both Haydn and Lewis said “Mädchen. Und Jungs.” instead of “Girls. And boys.” They even said 5, 6, 7, 8 in (very good) German. That was such a lovely addition!

The theatre:

Definitely not my favourite :/ the acoustics were alright but it simply does not have the charm of an old cozy theatre. It used to be a big market hall and is used for all kind of events nowadays. On the sides, the auditorium was semi-open to the bar and toilet area which I really did not like. But this could not damp my excitement!

I am so happy I got to see the tour again! The cast is in top form, so you should go and see it. On both occasions the audience was very appreciative and gave very loud applause after every dance and song. Go see it if you can!

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Billy Elliot photoshoot in Birmingham

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Lewis Smallman performing ‘Electricity’ at the press conference in Hamburg (22nd Nov 2016)

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Billy Elliot the Musical on Tour

The 4 Tour Billys on Opening Night: Matthew, Lewis, Haydn and Adam