THEATER
by: John Elsom
Straight from the THE LISTENER
Date: May 9, 1974
The production of Billy at Drury Lane, a new musical based upon Waterhouse and Hall’s Billy Liar, is brave for another reason. A lot of money has obviously been risked, and since recent musicals have suggested that our impresarios are down to their last cigar (which they share around with the scenery), the sight of a lavish set, a glamorous chorus line and a full orchestra should cheer up the coach trade. The choice of Billy Liar as its textual excuse came as a surprise. Every drop of energy has surely been sucked from this story years ago, but in any case it’s the sort of comedy, which depends upon an inescapably tatty box set. Why does Billy dream? To escape from the surrounding drabness. By actually showing his fantasies as the authors (Dick Clement and Ian la Frenais) and the director (Patrick Garland) do in Billy, the emotional reasons why Billy should lie seem paradoxically less credible. We have lost the sense of claustrophobia. We also lose the inherent mournfulness of the plot. If Billy can with a flick of his mind enter the kingdom of Ambrosia, it’s not so sad when accidentally on purpose he misses the train to London.
Apart from these reservations, Billy is a sturdy, old-fashioned hit, with some good tunes from John Barry, lively dance routines from Onna White and a mechanically fascinating set designed by Ralph Koltai. Michael Crawford as Billy proves that he’s not just a dumb blonde with an ingratiating smile and vacant mind. He dances and sings with the panache of Drury Lane star, despite the fact that he had a plaster cast on a broken arm on the night I attended. It’s difficult to dance with a broken arm; it disturbs the balance. And it’s even worse to be tossed in the air and caught within inches of the ground. I salute his professional dedication and hope he survives. His parents in Billy were those stalwarts from Joan Littlewood’s company at Stratford, E15, Bryan Pringle and Avis Bunnage, whose music-hall attack was a welcome reminder of days gone by. It’s all fun for the family, even for the benighted Lloyds.
