Billy LIar

Billy Liar is a novel by Keith Waterhouse, written in 1959. It was adapted into a play for the Cambridge Theatre in London in 1960 and was later turned into a film and TV series.  Billy Fisher is young, lazy and dishonest. Daydreams help him escape the mundanity of life with his parents and grandmother as well as his dreary job as an undertaker’s assistant in the northern town of Stradhoughton. His dreams become lies which get out of control creating various scrapes in life and love, which then generate more lies. The play is semi comic, mixing gritty reality with humour –a difficult blend to get right, but the cast nailed it with expert direction from director Ann Atkins.

The superb production team produced a detailed set which pulled the audience back to the sixties with a cluttered room well furnished with chests, cabinets, a couch, table and wireless with clever touches such as the three flying ducks, display plates and a mirror on the wall and a crowded mantelpiece. 

Outdoors was depicted by the home front door opening out to a bench downstage left, with a garden gate on the opposite side.

With deft interplay between the characters, the cast succeeded in creating the intense, domestically claustrophobic atmosphere required.

Mary Matson excellently portrayed the grumbling tone and body language of Billy’s grandmother Florence Boothroyd while Helen Fyles was perfect as mother Alice Fisher, wittering around trying to appease everyone.Nige Atkinson’s performance as Billy’s father Geoffrey amass of pent up frustration and rage towards his feckless yet loved son was outstanding.

Barbara, Rita and Liz (Alice Rogers, Karin Grierson and Lucy Walker) were faultless in their different roles as Billy’s girlfriends. Their exasperation with, yet devotion to Billy was a perfect portrayal of the confusion of young love.  George Booker gave a winning performance as Billy’s friend Arthur Crabtree showing brilliant comic timing and expressions.

Now I come to Milo Gardiner who played Billy Fisher.  It was only after the performance somebody revealed that he was a few years younger than I had taken him for. This of course is a great compliment to the maturity of his acting.  He was utterly believable as lazy, dreamy, lying Billy who somehow managed to make himself likeable despite his flaws. 

I have to commend the society for their front of house team who generated a happy and expectant mood with their welcome.  The programme was colourful with engaging artwork on the coverand important touches such as the ‘director’s note’, a list of recent and forthcoming productions and of course the NODA logo!

A great play by a hugely talented society. 

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