Public Servant Lifestyle

We look at the genesis of the West End stage version of Brit-flick fave Billy Elliot.

Billy Elliot: The Musical at the Victoria Palace Theatre

Working Title films & Old Vic productions London West End stage production of smash hit Brit-flick Billy Elliot - the musical goes from strength to strength. Recipient of the 2006 Olivier Award for 'Best Musical' the show's notices have been uniformly positive and the production continues to play to packed houses since it opened in 2005.


Billy Elliot: The Musical is, of course an adaptation of one of the best-loved British films of the last decade. The music is provided by no less a luminary than Sir Elton John. As well as Elton, the same team that created the multi-Oscar-nominated film of Billy Elliot - writer Lee Hall and director Stephen Daldry, the choreographer Peter Darling and the original producer Jon Finn have reconvened to create this exciting live venture.

In the film – and the play is set to follow the feature quite closely (albeit with songs to go with the dance) Billy Elliot is the tale of a boy from a humble Tyneside background who learns to live through dance. Billy’s mother is dead and his father and brother are caught up in the bitterly fought community-splitting miner’s strike of 1984. Billy’s father wants his son to learn to box, like him and his father before him. But instead Billy becomes fascinated by the grace and magic of ballet.

The story is about Billy’s gritty and determined struggle - at first in secret, but then with the wholehearted backing of his family - to dance his way to the brightest of futures by winning a place at the Royal Ballet School.

Billy Elliot: The Musical is being co produced by Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan – the co-Chairmen of Working Title Films - and theatre impresario Sally Greene, from Old Vic Productions, alongside Jon Finn. Eric Fellner said: “As Billy Elliot: The Musical is our first foray into theatre it was important to reunite the original creative force behind the film, but also to bring something new to the mix. It’s inspired by the film but takes its own creative journey. Elton, Lee and Stephen make a remarkable team.”

Stage Musical

Sally Greene explains “Everyone who comes into contact with this show falls in love with the story and with Elton’s songs - it’s an unbeatable package.” And Elton told us “I’m extremely proud and excited to be working on Billy Elliot the stage musical”. He goes on to explain his empathy with the story when he first saw the film in Cannes in 2000 - “I was profoundly moved when I first saw the film. Billy’s story of growing up in a working class household and having artistic ambitions has so many parallels with my own life. I cried my eyes out when Billy achieved his dreams with the full support of his family and friends.”

This may be their first foray onto the stage but Working Title Films have a long history of producing world class entertainments, having so far produced over 70 films, including the hugely successful romantic comedies Four Weddings And A Funeral, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones's Diary and Love Actually. The production company was also involved in such cinematic fare as the Academy-Award winning prison drama Dead Man Walking, probably the Coen Brothers’ finest feature Fargo and Elizabeth, as well as the international critical and commercial successes Bean, The Hudsucker Proxy, and O' Brother Where Art Thou?

Finding Billy

The production’s director, Stephen Daldry has been leading the quest to identify the multi-talented young performers the show’s cast demands. Over 3000 boys have already been seen, and the musical’s appetite for new talent will remain high throughout its run, with cast changes a legal requirement for the juvenile actors every six months. This, in turn, has led the team to open the ‘Billy Elliot School’ within Leeds Civic Theatre, the only multi-discipline school of its kind in the North, where those successful at audition will train.

As Stephen Daldry explains: “Billy Elliot the Musical is the most complex and challenging production I have ever undertaken. Art is following life on a number of levels. “Finding a boy from the north with exceptional talent has been our primary focus. The vast majority of the children we have seen are not from stage schools, but have managed, like Billy, to overcome extraordinary difficulties in achieving their dreams. Our responsibility is to give them the opportunity to flourish. I am desperately keen for the production to open in the North East, where the story is set, before moving to the Victoria Palace in London. If we succeed, then next March we’ll be presenting the unique experience of watching a new star literally developing before your eyes.”

“Elton's knockout songs and Lee Hall's brilliant words and lyrics reflect their own very close relationship to this story. So, with a good deal of nervousness mixed in with the excitement, I hope today you get a taste of what’s kept us energised for the last couple of years.”

Between now and next spring this major production will come to readiness according to a tight and precise schedule. From costumes to special effects, and from ballet coaching to the intricacies of set building, a team totalling over 230 professionals will see to it that Billy Elliot – The Musical arrives on stage at the Victoria Palace in the very peak of physical, artistic and musical health.

An amazing performance night after night will be demanded of the young stars-to-be who will be performing the lead roles of Billy and Michael. We hope the boys who perform the parts will begin a journey every bit as enchanted as Billy Elliot’s own story.

Let’s remind ourselves what the critics have been saying about this massive hit:

"Brit Musical of the decade has arrived" - Sheridan Morley (Daily Express).

"Billy triumphs. The best British musical since Oliver!" - Peter Willis (Daily Mirror).

"The greatest British musical I’ve ever seen" - Charles Spencer (Daily Telegraph).

"Billy's a whizz! He'll lift your spirits, make you cry and send you home high with hope" - Quentin Letts (Daily Mail).

"Utterly captivating" - Quentin Letts (Daily Mail).

"**** Exhilarating" - Michael Billington (The Guardian).

"Funny, touching and shamelessly enjoyable" - Paul Taylor (The Independent).

"A Unique experience in London’s theatreland" - Nick Curtis (Evening Standard).

"So exhilarating the audience didn’t want it to end. A dazzling 40-carat gem of a show" - Baz Bamigboye (Daily Mail).

Billy Elliot: The Musical is at the Victoria Palace, Covent Garden (8 Victoria Street, Victoria, SW1). Performances will be Monday – Saturday 7.30pm Thursday and Saturday matinee 2.30pm (Box Office Tel: 0870 895 5577). Ticket prices will range from £17.50-£50.

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