Billy Elliot: The Musical

As you can see, I was on a bit of a mad rush to see musicals which I had otherwise never gotten around to viewing.  Today's theatre experience was at the Victoria Palace and Billy Elliot was on show.  As with many of the other musicals I've seen, (and I'm not sure what is keeping me so busy) but I'd managed to avoid both reading the synopsis and watching the movie even though it's aired on TV several times.

Personally, the main appeal about musicals for me is the period setting (Phantom, Les Mis), ridiculously awesome music (Jersey Boys) or the fantasy elements (Wicked, Beauty and the Beast).  Musicals in a contemporary setting... mmm well for me... they're a bit ho-hum (Blood Brothers).  The only exception to that would be Avenue Q but you could argue that falls under fantasy with it's use of puppets.

Anyway, despite being a contemporary musical with a somewhat weird storyline (who on earth thought that this movie should be converted to stage?), there was something drawing me to the show.  Rave reviews helped, but that didn't necessarily mean much to me.  Having Elton John as a composer was definitely a plus - you can definitely hear the EJ influence - and maybe the idea of a boy doing ballet tickled my funny bone too.

I got myself some kick-ass seats in the stalls (seat H10 to be precise) and I was sure happy with my view.  The story was a little slow to start off with but that was forgotten once Billy's ballet improved.

The characters speak with a Geordie accent and because I've had more frequent exposure to the accent since living in the UK, I didn't really have an issue understanding them.  You can listen to Cheryl Cole here to get an example of how it sounds.  It's kinda cute!

However, I was sitting in row full of Americans who really had difficulty getting through the quirks of the northern English tones.  I could empathise though.  The first time I watched South Park, Trainspotting and Ali G, I could not understand a word they were saying.  While in the early days of my London job, if I ever had to speak to someone Scottish, I sometimes had to ask them to spell out words for me!

Anyway, with the odds kinda stacked against it (contemporary setting, no ornate period costumes or overly impressive stage sets and honestly - don't hurl abuse at me - I don't really like listening to kids singing), I was totally won over by Billy Elliot.  Maybe it's because I think the accent is cute?  Having Billy's friend Michael, the cross-dressing little boy was funny too!  It is just such an unusual, little-battler story told with such charm, that it is hard not to be warmed to the cockles.

My personal highlights were 'Solidarity' which featured the miners and little ballerinas (I can't find a decent clip to share), the Swan Lake dance scene with the adult male dancer and 'Electricity'.  The last of which is the term Billy uses to describe how he feels when he dances.  And err Elton John released it as a single too!

This kid no longer plays Billy (the big ol' puberty got in the way) but check out this performance.

This kid (well he's a legit adult now) is amazing!  His sad, expressive eyebrows are cute too.  *tears wells up in eyes*

'My' Billy (who knows which one it was, there are 4 kids on rotation depending on the night) was of course excellent.  A super skinny kid but all muscle.  He nearly faltered on his backflip and it did make me wonder, surely some of the Billies must've injured themselves live on stage before!

Despite being a musical which would normally not tick my boxes, I definitely recommend Billy Elliot and if anyone needs a theatre buddy, I'll happily volunteer.  Now, I should go and watch the original film!