Review: Billy: Twirling Through Time, Watershed – ‘A vibrant exploration of queer friendship, dance and identity’

Bristol theatremaker, writer and artist Tom Marshman has made work across many mediums, from theatre and cabaret to performance art; video projection to museum audio-tours.

Across much of his work, Marshman focuses on amplifying queer stories through his own unique, multimedia visual language, and together with artist and collaborator Ryan O’Shea, he has now turned his creativity to dance – and specifically the impact of the movie Billy Elliot – on his own life.

In Billy: Twirling Through Time, which has been touring in the weeks preceding to this festive run at Watershed, Marshman and O’Shea invite audiences into their creative exploration of dance, queer identity, and the challenges of aging; devising funny sketches and dance routines to parody various scenes from the film that have resonance for both performers.

Immediately beloved by its audience, Stephen Daldry’s film Billy Elliot (2000) gave rise to a smash-hit Olivier and Tony-Award-winning West End musical five years later which has since been staged around the world. Set against the turbulence of the 1984-85 miner’s strike, the story follows a young boy (memorably played in the film by Jamie Bell) who goes against his father’s wishes and opts for ballet over boxing class.

At 11, Billy has already internalised that dance is not something he should be doing. But he’s at an age when those rules have not yet solidified in his heart. He’s aware of them, but he hasn’t accepted them. The film is a gorgeous exploration of what it’s like to live in the in-between years, when you’re at the precipice of late childhood into early adulthood.

With a BAFTA-winning performance from Julie Walters as the ballet teacher who saw in Billy a chance to follow his passion for dance, the film juxtaposed a very raw and recent piece of British social history with a moving exploration of gender identity and belonging.

Together, O’Shea and Marshman – who is the same age as Billy would be today – bring humour and heartfelt reflection to the stage, reimagining iconic moments from the film while exploring the challenges of ageing in dance.

As you would expect from the team, we get spins, pirouettes, audience participation, lip-syncs, cheap wigs and even cheaper costumes, and a rich tapestry of life experiences.

Marshman has long held a creative preoccupation with storytelling, spanning performance art, theatre, and spoken word to inhabit the voices of the characters that have figured large in his life.

In recent shows, he has explored grief, friendship, and the LGBTQ+ community of Old Market, Bristol, where he still lives, as well as revisiting the Weston-Super-Mare of his youth, after nearly 30 years away.

This show, too, is brimming with nostalgia. Using the film as the core of their exploration, the pair revisit some key moments, from Billy’s first dance lesson with his teacher, to the T-Rex dance sequence and his professional feathery-legged debut as the lead in Swan Lake. It’s all performed in the spirit of gentle and loving parody, and laced with winning, tongue-in-cheek humour.

Weaving together coming-of-age comedy, nostalgia, history, and memoir, Marshman and O’Shea have devised dance routines and comic sequences which offer plenty of humour through the interaction of both characters. Buoyed by smoke and subtle changes in lighting and music, Billy: Twirling Through Time is a vibrant exploration of queer friendship, dance and identity.

Billy: Twirling Through Time is at Watershed on December 20-28 at 8pm, with an additional 2.30pm matinee show on Saturday 21. Tickets are available at www.watershed.co.uk.

The show is presented by Beacons, Icons and Dykons, with funding from Arts Council England, Pervasive Media Studios and Watershed.

To keep up with news of future events and performances, follow @ryanosheatheatre and @tom.marshman.

Main photo: Vonalina Cake

Read next:

• Tom Marshman and Ryan O’Shea channel Billy Elliot in ‘A celebration of dance, queer friendships and identity’
• After almost 30 years, Tom Marshman revisits the Weston-super-Mare of his youth
• Review: Tom Marshman: Old Market (Remixed), The Wardrobe Theatre – ‘A deeply engaging, historic journey’

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