The National
Indoor Arena, Birmingham. Crowds of gothic-esque fans, some in elaborate fancy
dress, some exhibiting subtle touches of admiration for the films of Tim Burton
that are being celebrated by the BBC Concert Orchestra and Danny Elfman
himself. A live orchestra complete with choir, young soprano boy and a Theremin
(an electronic musical instrument controlled by the player’s hands without any
physical contact) assemble on stage. An extravaganza begins.
Music from all
15 of the films these two geniuses have collaborated on over the years was
played by the orchestra, having been adapted into Medley’s by their original
composer. A big screen accompanied the music, showing clips and montages from
the films and a selection of incredibly powerful pieces of Burton’s concept
artwork, although rather cleverly it did go blank for part of each film’s
section to allow the focus to switch to the musicians and the energy on stage.
The highlight
has got to be Danny Elfman’s live performance of Jack Skellington’s songs from The Nightmare Before Christmas, and an encore of the fabulous Oogie Boogie’s
song where he threw himself completely into the character. He danced, sang and
acted all with great gusto, and I had to remind myself that he was also the
composer – a highly talented man all round.
Yes, so he
missed his cue for What’s This?, but
that just made the whole show feel more personal and reminded us that he is
human after all. The song was re-started efficiently and he gave an incredible performance,
singing in time with the film clip of the song. Bonus points must also go to
the conductor, John Mauceri, who in the encore juggled a microphone to sing the
part of Sandy Claws, danced, and put on a Santa hat, all while keeping the
orchestra in time with one hand. Memorable moments.
The Nightmare Before Christmas aside, we
were reminded how many excellent soundtracks have been produced that perfectly
complement the films they represent. Hearing the Batman/Batman Returns music whilst looking at Burton’s evocative
Batman sketches was out of this world. His visions of The Joker are possibly the
creepiest and most captivating I’ve seen.
The musical
highlight for me was Edward Scissorhands,
a film that I become too emotionally involved with at the best of times, but
seeing and hearing the music performed just a few metres in front of me with
Edward ice sculpting on the screen gave me chills and brought the tears to my
eyes more so than ever before.
I came away from
the show knowing I had witnessed something very special, something that I
wished I could watch again and something I know I will remember forever. Every
time I see one of the films that were represented I know I will be transported
straight back to last night, straight back to the show and remember all the
excellent details and unique touches that made it one of the year’s highlights.
Elloise Hopkins.
