I did a similar post back in August of Olivia Brereton. And I got thinking, the one person who is more important to the show (in my opinion) than Olivia was is ballet girl and cover Meg extraordinaire Layla Harrison, so why not do one of her! I think this will be a lot more difficult as there are just so many things to say about Layla. Whether ballet girl-ing or Megging, she's simply the best. But I'll try to narrow it down to a top 10, as I did with Olivia. It's a combination of general things, specific scenes, and really specific detail (for both Meg and her ballet girl part). No particular order, though the most important is the last one.
Enjoy!
1. Her beautiful singing voice
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| Layla with MegBear |
This is one of the first things I noticed about Layla's Meg. April 2013, I was sitting in Row L of the Stalls, totally engrossed in Anna O'Byrne's performance as Christine, and suddenly… "Wow… that Meg can sing!" Layla honestly has the best singing voice of all of the Megs I've seen (that number currently sits at 10). And it's not just that she hits the notes solidly (though she does); it's the clarity and the purity of her voice that makes it so perfect. It's exactly what Meg should sound like; not forced, not overtrained/operaticy - just real and natural and beautiful.
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| Layla with Harriet Jones |
2. Meg's relationship with the Christines
Something that I love in Layla's performance is her Meg's caring and compassion towards the Christine. The friendship is so real, and there are little moments when her Meg is showing concern towards Christine that you can just feel it, whether Christine is responsive to it or not (Harriet's the best with that; her and Layla make the cutest duo. The handholding in the dressing room scene is just :D).
3. Meg's Character
Ok, so this is really general. But I think what's hard about Meg is giving her a discernible character. Most Megs just sort of sing and dance their way through the show without giving the character herself much though, so that she's more of a ballet girl with some singing parts. But Layla doesn't do that. Her Meg is a bossy little ballerina, and it's brilliant. She has attitude and spunk at the beginning, and there's this spark in her that makes you see immediately why Meg is the star of the dancers. She grows and matures a bit through the show, but that spark is always there. It makes you appreciate the depth of Meg as a person rather than a prop (I always used to call Meg the Phantom's resident announcer - Layla-Meg is so much more than that). There's so much depth to Layla's portrayal of Meg. How she does so much with so little stage time is beyond me. That's the mark of a truly talented actress.
4. Her Dancing
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| Layla in Il Muto (Tumblr) |
Another very general thing, but it's important. Layla's an outstanding dancers. And it's not just technique (though it's pretty perfect from what I can tell - insofar as I know ballet and RG, it's fabulous). She dances with every inch of her body; every movement is extended to the last possible second and there's no moment where she's just standing there. The whole dance section in Hannibal is stunning. Just watch the arm and head movements…. I've run out of descriptive language at this point. She absolutely floats out of pirouettes. Her dancing is so elegant and almost ethereal at times. It's absolutely stunning to watch. I'd die to see Layla dance Juliet or Odette/Odile. She's just such a breathtaking dancer.
5. She's always doing something
Not the best title for it… but let me explain. Whether you're watching her as Meg or a BG, Layla's always doing something. She's chatting so someone, responding to the situation on stage - whether she's front and centre or in a corner behind a group of people, there's never a moment where she lets her character go. I've had shows where I've not been fond of the cast, so I just watch Layla the whole show, which is entirely possible (and very enjoyable) because there's always something to watch! She's so attentive and always very present on stage. Basically she has the world's greatest stage presence, made better by the fact she uses this to her advantage. Your eyes are drawn to her because of her stage presence, then kept on her because she keeps it interesting.
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| Layla as Meg |
6. Meg/Reyer interaction during Think of Me
Back to specifics! This is one of my all time favourite moments of Layla's Meg. It's such a small thing, but it's so cute. When Reyer's holding the score as Christine's about to sing, Layla-Meg is cheekily peeking at the score when he's not looking, and when Reyer turns back, she either gives him the most charming smile or quickly looks away. Then she gets the most proud look on her face when Christine really starts singing, and it just melts your heart. That whole little section is perfect. It's Meg. And Meg is awesome.
7. Reaching out to hold Christine's hand during Don Juan rehearsal
A small, poignant moment that only Layla does (well, one other Meg does it, but it comes off more as patronising than caring). It's that little bit of comfort Christine needs, and reminds the audience that C's best friend is still there for her. It's quiet and easy to miss, but I love it.
8. Piangi's Death (as Meg)
That scream. It's ear shattering. I'd never really thought about how Piangi's death must have affected Meg until I saw Layla in this scene. She would've just been with him seconds before; she's not just finding a body, she's finding someone she knows and probably had some sort of relationship with. That's the annoying part about Layla's Meg - she gets you thinking too much and then you get all sad and weepy over a fictional character. Darned brilliant acting and character development.
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| Layla and MegBear |
9. Notes/Prima Donna (as Meg)
I've never been able to sit through this scene with Layla in it without collapsing with giggles. Her Meg is just so there. She's reacting to whats going on around her (in the most humorous and utterly Meg-ish way possible), and it's incredibly entertaining to watch. You couldn't take your eyes off her even if you wanted to.
10. The passion and emotion she puts into every single performance
Does this really need any explanation? When you're watching Layla on stage, whether it's as Meg or in her Ballet Girl spot, you can tell she's putting everything into that performance. I think that's what makes her such a joy to watch; you know she's giving everything to the part she's playing. Her passion for performing oozes into every move she makes. It's really incredible, and it's a lot of what makes her such a joy to watch on stage.
This really doesn't do Layla justice. I struggle to write about Layla because there's just so much to write about, and a lot of it is detail and character work so subtle that it's hard to put into words. But I hope I've given a bit of a general picture of why Layla is so amazing.
Bonus
Layla is also someone who is known for being incredibly kind to fans. She's basically the Ellen Degeneres of Theatre. If you've met Layla, you know what I'm talking about. She always makes time to talk to everyone who wants to talk to her at stage door, and makes every person feel like they matter (not that they're just some random fangirl). Layla is the epitome of the kind of person whom we should all be looking up to (and I think many of us already do); she is hardworking, kind, thoughtful, and just a generally awesome person!
Some of my reviews of Layla as Meg can be found below
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