Tony Graham’s “Billy the Kid”: The Play Design Essay (Review)

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For the review of the design, I chose Tony Graham’s play Billy the Kid. The director’s adaptation of the story by Michael Morpugo tells about the long-forgotten Chelsea footballer that once was a legend. Throughout the piece, the main character recalls his failed football career that was shortened because of World War II. The plot intertwines with the past and the present, wherein the time being, his grandson is aspiring to have a tremendous football career and trains for the trials at Stamford Bridge.

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The set of the play is unchanging throughout the performance, which makes the audience fantasize about different sites when Billy talks about separate periods of his life. Lightning is what makes a significant difference, establishing the mood and emotion of the setting. For instance, during the present time, the set is mundane and grey, representing the dull, monotonous life of Billy that has no perspective. Scenes of war are lit up with red colors, highlighting the cruelness and fatality of that period. Lastly, the episodes of Billy the Kid occurring post-war, when he finds out about his injury, are dark, enhanced by heavy rain to accentuate the feeling of depression and desperation. Therefore, the lightning of the set was the primary signal for all the location and mood changes, perfectly supplementing the play, and the characters.

The costumes in the Billy the Kid play are not too sophisticated, representing the personality of each character. For example, Sam, whose dream is to become a famous footballer, wears a symbolic t-shirt of his favorite team – Chelsea. Due to the fact that only two actors are playing all the characters, the costume designer – Adam Wiltshire made a decision of on-stage fast costume changes. Actors rapidly changed a few elements of their garment to metamorphose into a character from a different era. The costumes ideally represent every play character and their inner world. The attire in the first scene of the war, where Billy was captured, combined with the lightning represents the hotness of the weather, and simultaneously the impossibility to handle the events around. The most noticeable costume change was Billy’s attire in the final scene, where he was wearing a red suit with medals, demonstrating his glory and a long-waited recognition even if it was for a short moment.

A great addition to the play is songs, each representing the mood, hopes, and dreams of the characters. The melodies complement the performance, excellently incorporated into every scene, supplementing and enhancing the experience. The symbolic song about the Chelsea football team expresses the unity of Uncle Billy and Sam, Billy the Kid and his father, Billy, and his son. The song becomes figurative to the whole family, making it a metaphor that disregarding any grievances and hardships family is always there to support, even if they are not physically present.

The set, lighting, costumes, and songs perfectly intertwine and make an excellent play that helps get to know the nature of each character and excel in the experience of the audience. All these elements are well-balanced together, to the extent, where each complements the other and would not be as complete individually. For instance, the scene with the rain would not be as infused with desperation without the dark lightning, or the final scene with Billy’s triumphant moment in the red costume with the awards would not be as ceremonious without the dramatic melody.

Moreover, all the enhancement elements should help the actors explore their characters more, better feel their emotions, and consequently convey it to the audience. It is vital for each actor to research and interpret their role comprehensively and the set and costumes are essential in that process. Clothes, in many ways, are the representation of a character’s inner world; their perception of the surroundings and a talented designer must be able to demonstrate it. Similarly, it is the director’s responsibility to create the atmosphere and surrounding appropriate for the play, which was perfectly incorporated in Billy the Kid.

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IvyPanda. (2022, June 13). Tony Graham's "Billy the Kid": The Play Design. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-play-billy-the-kid-the-review-of-the-design/

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"Tony Graham's "Billy the Kid": The Play Design." IvyPanda, 13 June 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/the-play-billy-the-kid-the-review-of-the-design/.

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IvyPanda. (2022) 'Tony Graham's "Billy the Kid": The Play Design'. 13 June.

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IvyPanda. 2022. "Tony Graham's "Billy the Kid": The Play Design." June 13, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-play-billy-the-kid-the-review-of-the-design/.

1. IvyPanda. "Tony Graham's "Billy the Kid": The Play Design." June 13, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-play-billy-the-kid-the-review-of-the-design/.


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IvyPanda. "Tony Graham's "Billy the Kid": The Play Design." June 13, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-play-billy-the-kid-the-review-of-the-design/.

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