Reactions to Our `Billy Elliot` Shows at Darlington Arts Centre
Thank you to all the cast members and their families who have left their comments about these shows already. Others may still do so in the comment boxes below - particularly James Dowson and Andrew Ashton who left comments, which I accidentally deleted and asked them to replace - but you both must have forgotten.
This `Billy Elliot` project has been a joy to me from start to finish - except when I was running whole cast rehearsals with big group numbers, when the chattering was very wearing - but that was a small price to pay I think for the universal aclaim that our students and staff have earned, in all phases of this wonderful project.
There were haunting individual performances from some of our lead actors, both in the main and understudy cast. I am so glad that I decided to give the understudies a real chance to perform their parts on the Wednesday night, in their own right, because the audience response for them was terrific. Besides individuals captivating the audience, there was a terrific response for the massed numbers. I was moved every night by the “Once We Were Kings” finale song and I know that the Easington contingent were too because I heard, and felt, their intake of breath when the returning miners appeared through the curtains at the start of the song.
I saw the shows from many angles throughout the week - crawling about in the wings, bustling about backstage, or perched in the sound control box and I was impressed by the sense of “team” that I always felt. Because of the many and varied inputs from staff from across the seven schools, these shows were different from all the internal shows that had gone before and showed what we could do when everyone pulled together. On a practical and organisational level, thanks must go to staff who volunteered to run the shows for no pay, so that Shannon`s fund could grow. Janie, Claire and Jodie organised back stage all week between them and Jane helped out with the chaperoning on several nights. Lucy also helped on one of the nights and Cat and Sue also volunteered but fell ill during the week - Cat ending up in hospital, so thatnks for the offer any way. Thank you also to Phil for the day and evenings that he spent on the technical side of things. I could not have anaged all of that without you Phil so thank you very much.
I was proud of the moments where cast members confidently `winged it` in true Stagecoach fashion, when things did not go quite to plan and I really felt that the cast communicated with the audience in a very adult way and the audience communicated honestly back to them so that it felt special to both sides.
What a joy! What a success for our first attempt at public performances.
I was too busy to take photos during the rehearsals and we weren`t allowed by our license, to take film footage, or photos, during the performances but I can post below all the group photos of the cast that appeared in the programme, so that cast members can download any for their own collections. Ignore any distortion appearing on the web site. When you rightclick over the photo and save to your computer it will save without the distortion.
Great work kids. I was immensely proud of you all. And thank you for your lovely gifts. I did appreciate them.
July 22nd, 2010 at 11:55 pm
Trudy,
We loved the show tonight (Wednesday). It was fab and the cast was brilliant across the board. The crispness and discipline of the group work was a tribute to you and to everyone else working behind the scenes. Great stuff.
Michael King
July 23rd, 2010 at 12:01 am
Just to say thank you for a wonderful show last night (Wednesday). The whole family had a fabulous time and were blown away by the talent on display and the tightness of the whole production. You really wouldn`t have known it was understudies night. Thank you for giving Matthew the opportunity as he has absolutely loved it.Again, well done to you and the whole team.
Dr Bonavia
July 23rd, 2010 at 12:05 am
I just wanted to congratulate you on last night`s show (Wednesday). It was amazing. They all did a fantastic job. I`ll bet you are so proud. I never stopped crying it was so powerful. I`m back again tonight. I`ll bring a box of tissues. Honest credit to you. It was brill!
Zoe Storr
July 23rd, 2010 at 12:07 am
I just watched the show - it was bl**y marvelous. Well done!
Cat Rea
I find the Billy language catching too Cat.
Trudy
July 23rd, 2010 at 12:10 am
Hi Trudy,
Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the show last night,(Wednesday) lots of comments were overheard in the foyer at the end.
“You wouldn’t know they were only the understudies Fantastic”
“How good were they, and I hear they’re the understudies!!”
“What a show, I cried my eyes out! How much work have they put into that.”
“They were fabulous,what a show, as good as anything you would see in the west end!!”
Sue Doshi
July 23rd, 2010 at 12:11 am
Hi Trudy,
Thank you so much for the tickets and show (Tuesday), which we thoroughly enjoyed! Particularly Billy and friend.
Rita Osei
July 23rd, 2010 at 12:13 am
Hi Trudy,
Great to see the Stagecoach kids doing the show last night (Tuesday), they were putting their hearts and souls into it! The lad playing Billy had a lovely clear singing voice. And Billy’s Gran was a hoot.
Sue Gates
July 23rd, 2010 at 10:48 am
I just wanted to send a quick note to say how much I enjoyed last night – what a great show!
It is such a real delight to see the very best of what theatre can offer young people – their talent, energy and sheer pleasure in taking part in performing is just awesome! Apart from the skills and the ability that were so evident (and Billy Elliot is a big show to pull off!) it was really impressive to see the way in which they supported each other on stage and their confidence and stage presence was just amazing. Sustaining that performance level for 3 hrs requires such concentration and hard work – what an achievement!
They were all brilliant, Billy was excellent ( and the little ones were hilarious!) but I have to say Andrew Ashton has a real spark – playing Michael that well requires something just that little bit special and he was absolutely terrific.
Sharon Paterson
Assistant Dean for Curriculum Development and Educational Partnerships
School of Arts and Media
University of Teesside
July 23rd, 2010 at 11:25 pm
Hi Trudy,
Having watched ‘Billy’ for the last 3 nights,I’m exhausted and quite sad that it’s all come to an end!So how you,the teachers involved and all those children must be feeling!
You all deserve a medal and a holiday. We thought every night was brilliant, Wednesday night was the same excellent standard as every other night, you would’nt of known it was understudy night.
So well done to everyone involved.
July 24th, 2010 at 8:44 am
Hi Trudy,
Beth & I saw the show last Night (Friday) and it was simply wonderful. Absolutely fantastic. The performances were amazing. I had tears in my eyes from the start to the finish. Congratulations to everyone involved, it was superb.
Alison Taylor
July 24th, 2010 at 10:33 am
Hi Trudy
Watched billy last night and it was amazing the boy who played billy was fantastic and everyone around him were great .
Elle Lamming and elle,s mam x
July 24th, 2010 at 11:14 am
Hi Trudy, went to see Billy Elliot last night (Friday) and wasn’t it incredible! It made me laugh and cry and I was just so proud to know people performing in it to such a high standard. The talent in that room through all aspects was so amazing and I wish I could have gone every night to see it! The songs are so catchy I’ve been going about the house singing the grandma’s song! Massive regret for leaving Stagecoach as everyone seemed like a big happy family and you could tell everybody was loving every second of it! Well done and thank you for a great night! Catriona x P.S. Would definitely suggest you make Jennie Henry a new piano player for dance she was hilarious!
July 24th, 2010 at 11:38 am
Thank you so much for the opportunity you have given us Trudy! I really enjoyed the last 6 months and I know I’ve made friends that I won’t lose contact with for a long time now. I just want to say I really appreciate what you have done and given up to offer us opportunities like this. Thank you so so so much!
Jennie Henry x
July 24th, 2010 at 12:50 pm
Hi Trudy
I just wanted to thank you for giving me this great opportunity, I have had the best time ever and really sad it is all over I still can’t believe I have perfomed on the West End its a dream come true. Playing Debbie on understudy night was awesome!! I have made some great friends and will miss everyone. Have a nice rest and see you in September.
Tori McDougall
July 24th, 2010 at 1:30 pm
Hi Trudy,
Billy of Billies has been brilliant! All of the hard work and rehearsals have clearly been worth it as this week has been such a success! It was great to see such a strong ensemble, enhanced by some fantastic individual performances. Even my husband, normally very reticent about such things, commented that it was a great production. Praise indeed!!
Thankyou to all involved for your hard work (especially all the stagecoach teachers!), patience and above all belief that you could pull it off! What’s next?
Sue Byrne
July 24th, 2010 at 1:35 pm
When I went into the Arts Centre this morning to complete the `get-out` the Manager told me that they had been very pleased with our run. He said all the feedback that they had heard from their customers had been very good and some had liked it so much that they had returned again later in the week. The seats had sold so well that they had sold areas of seating that were not scheduled to be sold on the last night (with very restricted view in the side seating). Both technical staff said that the quality of the work was some of the best that they had seen from young people in the Arts Centre theatre so that is praise indeed. Well done you!!
Trudy
July 24th, 2010 at 1:37 pm
Thankyou so much Trudy for giving me the opportunity to be part of such a brilliant show! I have enjoyed this week immensely and the last 6 months! I’m really glad I was able to make new friends whilst working on the show. I want to especially thank Claire, Janie and Jodie!! But most of all I would like to thank you, you gave me the opportunity to be part of something very special that I will really miss!
Alice Byrne xxx
July 24th, 2010 at 5:02 pm
We came on Wednesday night and were overwhelmed by the quality of performance and sheer wealth of talent on show as well as by the massive commitment and teamwork. I’m sure people who saw each performance will feel the same. We are hugely proud of what our daughter Hannah achieved in Billy - family and friends who saw her on Wednesday won’t forget the experience. (And yes, I did cry again!). But we’re also proud of all the cast, especially the friends old and new that Hannah has made through Stagecoach and STARE. There was more than one person on stage who we’ve watched grow up through Stagecoach. Congratulations to them, and huge thanks to you, your staff and to BYT for giving them this opportunity of a lifetime and guiding them through it. Anyone who saw the collective emotional breakdown after final curtain on Friday will know just how much this meant to these young people.
July 24th, 2010 at 7:07 pm
Thank you so much for this opportunity! I’ve loved every single minute of it! The past 6 months have been some of the greatest moments of my life and i’m so so pleased to have been given the chance to be in the billy of billy shows! I made some great friends and i know i will keep in touch with them! Also, a big big thank you to Janie, Claire and Jodie! They were a great help! I’m so sad it’s had to come to an end but thank you so much!
Well done to everyone in the cast, you were all amazing and didn’t we do well!
Karla Bradley x
July 24th, 2010 at 10:18 pm
Thank you so much for signing us up for this! It has been such a great opportunity and I have loved it all the way through. It has truly been the best 6 months of my life! I’ve made loads of new friends, that I hope I will stay in touch with for a long time. I have learnt so much from doing this show, not just stuff about being in a show but about what I can achieve. And obviously it wouldn’t have been possible with out you, Janie, Claire, Jodie and all the chaparones and teachers who have done so much to help us put on such a great show!
After the show last night (Friday) I was in floods of tears because after 6 months of rehearsals and shows, Billy Elliot has become a part of me and I don’t know what I’m going to do with out it!
I’ll be singing the songs forever now!!
Well Done again to the whole cast!!
Thanks again
Hannah Lambell xxx
July 24th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
Well i’ve just read all of those comments and cried! I can honestly say billy youth theatre is the best thing that has ever happened to me so far. I’ve loved it so much and I have made some great friends through it. Playing Debbie was a privilege and I just want to thank you again for giving us this incredible opportunity and helping me achieve things I thought I would never be able to do, and after all the time you have given up and the effort you have put into it I actually cannot thank you enough.
July 24th, 2010 at 11:20 pm
Thank you so much Trudy for giving me such an amazing experience! I’ve had so much fun and I really hope that I’ll stay in touch with the people I’ve met and we really have become close. I’ve also definitely become such a stronger person from Billy and i have so much more confidence which I want to thank you and all the teachers who have helped me through it all. So thank you very much and I hope you enjoy the holidays that you definitely deserve.
I don’t think any of us can possibly forget the past 6 months and I know I certainly won’t. I actually loved every minute of it even though it was hard work.
Thank you again
Kat Maxey x
July 25th, 2010 at 7:01 pm
I came to the show on Friday and really enjoyed the show watching with tears in my eyes from the emotions of the show and the pride for all of the young people involeved (especially Noah).
Thank you
Dawn x
July 27th, 2010 at 4:50 pm
I cannot believe its all over, I miss it already!
Thank you so much trudy for letting me be part of what seemed, such a succesefull show.
The entire cast was amazing and i had grown to love them like a family..
i think i’ll cry if i end up losing contact with the people in it.. no matter what size part they played!
i’m reading all these comments and i’m close to tears, it was obvious we did a good job, and even though there saying “Because of the cast”, Jodie, Janie, Claire and all of the chaparones where great.
again thanks a million
Sophie Baillie xx
July 29th, 2010 at 1:57 pm
Hi there
Well done to all the children involved in Billy Elliot at The Arts Centre.
Sorry I couldn’t chaperone on Tuesday due to myself and my family illnesses. I missed being a part of your rehearsal schedule and atmosphere of excitement. Glad we were well enough to enjoy Fridays performance tho.
Firstly, on behalf of all the Stagecoach Staff can I say how proud we are to have seen you on that stage and trying your very best!
I particularly enjoyed the en mass singing, a great impact of voices and tones from all schools involved. It lifted me and gave me goose-pimples!
My praise must go to the last minute adjusted children (you know who you are) who performed their songs incredibly well, beautifully acted, convincing performances and took all advice on board. See, it was worth that extra effort from you!
I don’t like to single people out but I would like to mention-
LITTLE ALEX, Yarm AM, You are a star…you make me giggle so much, your acting skills are AMAZING!…and FRANCIS…WOW! So funny! (My sons Oliver and George couldn’t stop chuckling at you either!).
Also, TOBY CHAPMAN and STUART THOMPSON who only have to start singing to make me a blubbering wreck!
The chaperones did a marvellous job as usual…hip-hip hooray!
One question remains; “What do we do now?”………….Keep smiling….x.
July 29th, 2010 at 11:43 pm
Went to collect a lost lead from my laptop from the Arts Centre today and the lady on reception was regailing me again with how well received the shows had been. She told me of a customer that she knew who had nothing to do with Stagecoach who saw it one night and said it was the best show she had ever seen and came back the next night to see it again.
July 30th, 2010 at 6:55 pm
Cant believe its all over…I had a great time doing the shows and making new friends. Thank you for letting me take part,it was fantastic and I am going to miss everyone. I will never forget the whole experience. From Kennedy Zipfel xx
August 2nd, 2010 at 1:19 pm
just wanted to comment on the billie elliott performance thought it was a fab show ! all the cast were excellent trudy and her amazing team of staff did a fantastic job of getting it all together it brought a tear to my eye, thankyou xx
August 6th, 2010 at 10:07 am
This week has been amazing - I went to every show and if it was on again next week I would go to every show again. The performances were all fantastic and it was great to see that every single member of the cast was giving it their all and enjoying it. I was moved to tears every single night, particularly by the beauty of the singing in ‘Once We Were Kings’.The understudies brought their own personality to the show, making it different and every bit as enjoyable. I am so pleased that my kids have been a part of this as it has been a fantastic experience shared with a group of quite amazing young people.
August 6th, 2010 at 2:26 pm
Just to say a well done to everyone involved in Billy Elliot in the Arts Centre. It was amazing to finally watch you all after being backstage.Well done to the kids in the green room for behaving themselves. Even though it was sometimes long and boring waiting for your stage apperances you managed to entertain yourselves and keep quiet most of the time. Nobody I spoke to afterwards on each night said they could hear anything from backstage.
Also thanks for your hard work with the London kids, Trudy and Claire. The 12 of them were awesome that night in fact the whole event was phenomenal and I’m sure you’ll all treasure it forever. I know I will as a proud teacher and parent. Good luck to you all -keep in touch with each other across the schools. I watched you all hug and cry after the last night! lol x
August 8th, 2010 at 9:08 am
I would to congratulate you all for the fantastic performances of Billy at the arts centre. We laughed and cried at every show. I fealt so proud of all of the kids, they did an amazing job. Jack has had a brilliant time being involved in this project, so thankyou for giving him the opportunity. We can’t wait to see what’s next!
August 8th, 2010 at 9:53 pm
I saw my two sisters-in-law for the first time since `Billy Elliot`at my grand-daughter Lily`s first birthday party at the weekend. They had been thrilled with the show. One of them said that they had come expecting to see a “kid`s show” and had been blown away instead by how good it was. The other was full of praise for Stuart. She loved his face, his voice and everything about his performance. If you ever fall out with your parents Stuart you have a new home to go to!!
Trudy
August 11th, 2010 at 1:52 am
2 people have been spotted in the audience, on different nights, standing with tear-streaked faces looking at the slide show of Easington scenes.
You could hear an audible intake of breath from the Easington part of the theatre when the miners appeared in formation at the start of “Once We Were Kings”
An Easington lady in the party came to seek me out in the foyer after Tuesday`s show. She was thrilled with the quality of what she had seen and said how it had brought it all back to her, how they had been a part of history.
Trudy
August 11th, 2010 at 1:54 am
Received BEFORE the show from Easington.
The Trustees of the centre are extremely grateful for your offer of 48 free tickets and everyone is looking forward to see the show.
Our bus is booked and will arrive around 6.30 pm or earlier if traffic permits.
Regards.
Geoff Price
Centre Development Manager
Easington Social Welfare Centre
Seaside Lane South (Back)
Easington Colliery
August 11th, 2010 at 12:06 pm
Received AFTER THE SHOW
The Trustees of the Centre and those who attended have asked me to thank you for making it possible for them to see the show. It was thoroughly enjoyed by all and was a great night out.
We all wish you well and trust that your good work with young people can continue.
Many thanks.
Geoff, Trustees and all who attended.
August 19th, 2010 at 10:18 pm
A parent wrote to me recently to say that his wife had seen the West End version of `Billy Elliot` three times and in her estimation Stuart was the the second best Billy she had seen in the role - only to be edged into second place by Liam Mower - the original Billy. A great accolade Stuart!!
August 31st, 2010 at 2:11 pm
Mia Tindall`s mum (Mia goes to the older Early Stages group in Yarm) came to see a `Billy Elliot` show at Darlington Arts Centre and has said that it is the best show that she has ever seen - now that takes some topping as praise!!
Trudy
August 31st, 2010 at 2:15 pm
My dad has recently moved into a retirement village in Middleton St George and it came out in conversation with one of the residents that I ran Stagecoach. She enthusiasstically told me that she and her husband had been to see one of the `Billy Elliot`shows and it was “marvellous”.
I think on the strength of this she came to see the Main school workshop show last Friday too and enjoyed herself again. She also left £5 for Shannon`s `Arms for Angels` fund. I think we will be going with STARE to entertain the residents closer to Christmas
September 2nd, 2010 at 8:18 pm
Dear Trudy , Just had to say that your production of Billy Elliot was absolutely brilliant - all of the cast were phenomenal particularly Billy and Michael , I could not believe how fantastic the show was - we were enthralled from beginning to end . We saw the last night performance but would have gone every night !- I am afraid I was one of the audience with tears in my eyes at the end - having lived through the miners strike at the age of 14 it was particularly poignant- my father never worked again .
Thank you so much for all the effort you put in - it really paid off . Your students and teachers have done an incredible job and have brought abit of the West End of London to the West End of Darlington - AWESOME as my 7 year old son said !
Kate’s mum ( Early Years Darlington )
September 9th, 2010 at 10:38 pm
You asked me to do my message again about Billy at Darlington, i cant remember what i put first time, but firstly “thank you” for giving the chance to be in it!, and “thank you” for all your hard work, it was brill, i enjoyed myself sooo much. I met some really great people too, it was like a big family. Billy and Michael were amazing, i hope i can be as good one day.
James Dowson
PS I accidentally deleted James` first comment to the site as I did Andrew Ashton`s at the same time so please send yours again too Andrew
Trudy
September 28th, 2010 at 1:33 pm
Received from Sophie Younger`s mum. Sophie played the small child who brought her piggy bank for Billy`s dad.
I should have said earlier but I was really impressed with the way
the cast for Billy all looked after Sophie. She was absolutely
thrilled to be part of it and the whole family loved the show - what a talented group. She was made to feel at home and has, since then, missed a number of the ‘friends’ she made.