Middle Child have another smash-hit on their hands. Critics are calling Billy With His Boots On ‘wickedly good‘ and ‘A twisted satire for the TV generation‘
Billy Jones has become a household name almost over night. You can’t open a newspaper without seeing yet more coverage of the sensational case that has gripped the nation, and continues to shine a light on the newly reformed justice system.
‘The gun was in his hand, he’s admitted to shooting the officer, how can he be anything else but guilty?
But Billy Jones, as we know all to well, is a product of Broken Britain, he suffered neglect and deprivation in childhood – he was brought up by his feckless nan in the city of Hull – he needs our help not condemnation.
In the past few weeks and months all eyes have been glued to the small screen for the endless programs exploring every aspect of the gripping case. Reporters and camera crews have been camped outside the family home since the news of Billy’s arrest was leaked. Billy’s Diary is being serialised in the tabloids and when it is published later this year is predicted to shoot straight up the Best Seller List. Meanwhile Rox-Z, the pavement junkie pop princess is proving to be not quite as blonde as she looks, and carving out a very profitable career in the music biz.
Middle Child Theatre can do no wrong at the moment, with a string of successful shows in the past year receiving accolades and praise a plenty, the Hull-based Theatre Company are telling stories to rapt audiences in more innovative ways. Billy With His Boots On, adapted by Middle Child, from an original story by Tom Needham, is a brilliantly crafted, arch satire on reality television; comparable to elements of Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror.
Billy, the hero of the story, is played by Mungo Arney in such a way as to provoke immediate sympathy. As the layers of fantasy and delusion are peeled away you may find yourself rooting, for the trigger happy cowboy nut.
James Stanyer‘s portrayal of the Host Jack is part Chris Morris’ quick fire news presenter and part Jeremy Kyle, with a good helping of schmaltz and cheese added.
Rox-Z is the lovable council estate junkie, played deliciously trashy by Sophie Thompson. She is an absolute scream, pouting and posing, strutting her stuff, in sparkly heels and suede fringed hotpants.
It is not hard to believe in the world in which the characters inhabit. With a real life murder trial televised recently on Channel 4, and the dark shadows of secret courts looming large, the efficacy of our own justice system is under threat. The shift is so slight that the alternative reality, extreme as it may be, appears incredibly close to our own.
The staging in the Studio Theatre of Hull Truck by Hannah Sibai, is subtle yet effective, the sound design and music score by James Frewer finds the balance between parody and credibility: the hooky finale has all the elements of a telethon show-stopper.
Middle Child have held a mirror up to our media saturated world, and delivered a tale so cynical, as to have audiences question their own morality.
Billy with his Boots on is sure to get the critics talking when it plays later this year at the Fringe in Edinburgh.
Twitter @MiddleChildHull