Billy Elliot

If you’re reading this then the chances are that you’ve seen the wonderful Stephen Daldry film Billy Elliot that launched the career of Jamie Bell and stole the hearts and imaginations of a nation. If so, then why haven’t you been to see the musical already? Never fear, there’s still time to take in this new take on the Elliot story and a new take on the genre of musical theatre.

Amazingly, whilst the original film only cost $5 million to make, the stage version reportedly cost £5.5 million pounds. The plot of the play has stayed faithful to the original plot of the film; a young boy from County Durham dreaming of a way out of a life of pit-strikes and poverty through his controversial love of ballet. It cleverly links in Billy’s love for dance with the wider Crisis in Masculinity which the decline in traditional industries was inflicting upon the working classes at this time; never more so is this narrative strand more obvious than in Billy’s childhood friend, here given a much larger role than the film allowed, with his own show-stopping song which sums up the whole ethos of the play: expressing yourself. “If you want to be a dancer, dance” sings Michael, “if you want to be a miner, mine”.

Many of the songs in the show live up to the huge task of filling a West End stage and thrilling a massive audience every night. The most recognisable will most likely be “Electricity”, released by Elton John as a single when the musical first emerged onto the scene, Sir Elton also providing the musical with its music; quite an integral part I’m sure you’ll agree. Elton John’s usual blend of simplicity with complex emotion works well for this musical, and several of the songs, such as ‘Solidarity’, ‘He Could Be a Star’ and the thrilling ‘Finale’ never fail to move the audience.

One of the most striking aspects of this musical is it’s bravery to bring a show to the West End of London which is staged nearly entirely in the County Durham or ‘Geordie’ accent. It is wonderful to see that producers were brave enough to keep the original dialect and not attempt to neutralise it for southern audiences. The music celebrates the Working Classes and, aptly, the musical has been drawing new audiences into the theatre who might not normally attend. Buy tickets for Billy Elliot and other top London shows at theatreguide.co.uk