Back in 2010 I had the wonderful opportunity of running away and living in the UK. Some of the best days of my life were spent there, and to this day I sometimes forget that it actually happened, that it wasn't all just some fantastic dream. Since coming back to Canada, I have two strong memories that I carry with me, one being a crazy adventure in trying to see my first Harry Potter film and having to run around London because we had actually bought our tickets for the wrong city (really, Leicester / Leicester Square, this isn't Canadian proof), and the second is my grand UK farewell. My last trip into London my friends and I bought theatre tickets. We split off into different directions, and I went to Billy Elliot. It was a show I had always hoped to see, and being in London it felt like the best time to go. So I did, and it was more than everything I had ever hoped that it would be, maybe not simply for the show itself (which was still amazing), but for what it meant for me. When that curtain fell, that was my chapter coming to an end, but boy, what a chapter it was!
A few months ago I found out that the American Broadway of Billy Elliot was coming to Calgary. I didn't think twice about getting tickets (and I spent about the same amount on them as I did in London, too). It was important for me to go, and it was important for me to bring Matt along with me. That time I spent in the UK, that adventure I had, he wasn't a part of it, so for me to re-live this memory, this small piece of my London adventures, and be able to share that with him, it may not be the same as turning back the clock and dragging him along, but for these few hours I hope that he got a small glimpse of my world, of what it felt like for me to be back in a time and place that seems forever ago now.
And the show? Well I suppose you're waiting for a review. It was well done. But, to be honest, it didn't replace my London experience, though I suspect that nothing ever could. I sat there singing all of the songs, because of course I have them all memorized, and it threw me off when parts were cut out or words were replaced; I have to say, I miss the free use of F-bombs and the children did not throw the W-word out nearly enough. I'm sorry, but there was no room for "shag[ging]" in this play, the line goes "we went and fucked your Mrs.; all of us at once!" I felt a bit like a tool for belting that one out when no one on stage was doing it right. Nonetheless, it was magical night. I laughed, I cried, I sang, and for a moment I felt like I was right back there, in worse seats with one hell of a long train ride to get me back home and loving every moment of it because I knew that it would be my last. Well, Billy Elliot in Calgary isn't my last of anything, and looking at the way this year has been going thus far, maybe my new chapter begins with it.
And the show? Well I suppose you're waiting for a review. It was well done. But, to be honest, it didn't replace my London experience, though I suspect that nothing ever could. I sat there singing all of the songs, because of course I have them all memorized, and it threw me off when parts were cut out or words were replaced; I have to say, I miss the free use of F-bombs and the children did not throw the W-word out nearly enough. I'm sorry, but there was no room for "shag[ging]" in this play, the line goes "we went and fucked your Mrs.; all of us at once!" I felt a bit like a tool for belting that one out when no one on stage was doing it right. Nonetheless, it was magical night. I laughed, I cried, I sang, and for a moment I felt like I was right back there, in worse seats with one hell of a long train ride to get me back home and loving every moment of it because I knew that it would be my last. Well, Billy Elliot in Calgary isn't my last of anything, and looking at the way this year has been going thus far, maybe my new chapter begins with it.
Well done cast and crew. This is not my final Billy Elliot. I will always come back!
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