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Format: Musical
Genre: Comedy Drama
Date: May 11 2017
Location: Liverpool Empire Theatre
Billy Elliot: The Musical has become one of the bigger hits on the theatre stage in recent years. It began in the West End in 2005 and has toured all over the world since then, but of course the story of Billy Elliot comes from the movie of the same name, which was released in 2000. Expectations were high as the production made its debut at Liverpool Empire Theatre, and I'm pleased to report that the show as a whole was a big success.
With the coal miners' strike just about to begin in County Durham, eleven-year-old Billy Elliot (Adam Abbou) is left to fend for himself in some respects, as he goes to boxing class while his violent, outspoken father (Martin Walsh) and brother Tony (Scott Garnham) are preparing to clash with the police. It quickly becomes obvious that Billy is not cut out for boxing, but he soon discovers after happening to witness a ballet dancing class, led by Mrs Wilkinson (Anna-Jane Casey), that he has both a passion and a flair for ballet. After initial reluctance, partly due to the feelings (held by many at the time, unfortunately) that a man or a boy wanting to dance and practice ballet must have been gay, Billy soon gives it a try, replacing boxing training with ballet classes. It is obvious that he has real talent, and Mrs Wilkinson notices how much potential Billy could have if he were to pursue ballet in an upper-class private school, especially given the economic turmoil at the time.
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