Billy Elliott is a boy with a dream. This is a normal sort of opening line for describing the plot of a musical. But in the case of Master Elliot, his dream is so unusual that it's the impetus for his a whole show of his own: Billy wants to be a dancer, yet he's growing up in a depressed, northern coal mining town during the miners strike. And his widower Dad wants him to be a boxer.
Most young boys in musicals with dreams are helped along the way by their families and friends, but this story doesn't work like that right away. Which is actually what makes it such a good plot for a musical. And why almost everyone who sees it walks out of it feeling good about the world. Despite the fact that this musical is at times bloody, violent and sexist. But this is the miners strike of the 80's, and the juxtaposition of that backdrop with the quiet grace of ballet works so well.
The production does a lot to highlight those differences – the miners scenes are gritty and dark and Billy's dance school is colourful and fun. These details might seem obvious but remember that this is a musical that people bring their families too, and this is something that today's modern-kids-used-to-visual-stimulation, as they're sometimes called, really seem to get.
The story was a
film first, and the film's writer also wrote the script and lyrics for the musical, with Elton John helping out with the music. It opened at the Victoria Palace Theatre in March 2005, and it's still running strongly there. Though obviously many Billies have come and gone – they have at least three at any one time – that being one of the main problems of putting on a West End production staring anyone under 16.
Currently
booking until the 17th of December 2011.
