Billy Boulton
Billy joined LOpSoc for Fiddler on the Roof 2016 where he played the role of Mordcha the inkeeper. He then went on to play Don Alhambra in Gondoliers 2016 in the annex theatre, as well as in Harrogate 2016, where he received a nomination for Best Character Actor. He then went on to co-direct Mikado 2017 with George Smith in the Nuffield, which was subsequently taken to Harrogate that summer. The Mikado picked up numerous awards at the International GIlbert and Sullivan festival 2017, including Best Show and Best Direction for Billy and George. He also re-continued his slew of 'comic relief' roles with the role of Chitterlow in Half a Sixpence 2017, before playing the lovably loyal Old Adam in Ruddygore 2018. His next role was as the Colonel, re-styled as the rugby captain, despite having the physique of a monkey drum, in Patience 2018, which he reprised in Harrogate later that year. Billy then faced a completely new challenge, playing Lady Blanche in the production of Princess Ida 2019, which was his final role as an undergraduate.
Billy has also served in committee, firstly as Archivist for 2017/18, a role which he changed the name of to Loremaster via a narrow society vote, fulfilling a manifesto promise originally made by the previous archivist Ben Walker, but was not carried out. On the back of his success, he was also elected as Chair of the society for the year 2018/19. Billy's final role as a student was as Musical Director for Double Feature 2019 in which he conducted the band.
Billy was awarded life membership at Harrogate 2019, primarily for the work he did in helping put the show and the tour together after half of the principal cast and prod team decided not to attend.
Billy continued to contribute to the society for a couple of years, including as producer in the cancelled production of Cinderella 2020. In the COVID-19 pandemic, when the society operated online, Billy also served briefly as Publicity Officer and as Musical Director for Double Feature 2021
Fancy Skills[edit]
History of Roles[edit]
| Performance | Role |
|---|---|
| Fiddler on the Roof 2016 | Mordcha |
| Gondoliers 2016 | Don Alhambra |
| Gondoliers 2016 (Harrogate) | Don Alhambra |
| Mikado 2017 | Director |
| Half a Sixpence 2017 | Chitterlow |
| Mikado 2017 (Harrogate) | Director/Chorus |
| Ruddygore 2018 | Old Adam |
| Patience 2018 | Colonel Calverley |
| Patience 2018 (Harrogate) | Colonel Calverley |
| Princess Ida 2019 | Lady Blanche |
| Double Feature 2019 | Musical Director |
| Double Feature 2019 (Harrogate) | Musical Director |
| H.M.S. Pinafore 2020 | Chorus |
| Cinderella 2020 | Producer |
| Double Feature 2021 | Musical Director |