Billy Elliot review, Victoria Palace Theatre

Musicals come and go, but a handful just run and run. Willy Russell's Blood Brothers recently closed after twenty one fabulous years at The Phoenix Theatre. Some of us saw it when it first aired in 1983 with Barbara Dixon, and went back to see it more than once when it was revived. The Phantom of the Opera is in its 25th year, and I have already added it to the list of triumphs worth revisiting. Compared to them, Billy Elliot, currently in its eighth year, is a baby.

The musical was put together from the film written by Lee Hall and directed by Stephen Daldry. Both were Oscar nominated for the moving story of Billy, a Durham miner's son who takes up the pansy pastime of ballet dancing. It made a star of Jamie Bell, and demystified the notion of men in tutus. Billy's dad is a striking miner from the local colliery. Outside the door, he and his eldest son are battling with police and facing a life in a ghost town. Inside, Billy has put aside his boxing gloves to learn - and excel at - ballet, under the sharp eyes and tongue of Mrs Wilkinson. How will his dancing challenge the pitmen's notion of what it means to be a man and, indeed, what their own futures might hold?

High Flying Bird

For the stage version, Lee Hall provides pithy lyrics for Elton John's music (The Lion King, there's another one that deservedly keeps going) and together they create glorious swells of emotion. You're either laughing or crying. But it's the extraordinary dancing of the Billys - there are five of equal talents, and tonight the prize when to the supremely graceful American teen, Tade Biesinger - that moves the soul. Melvin Burgess' script is raw and raucous and there's language which may cause some parents to panic, but it's used effectively. There are fabulous scenes in which the picket line clashes outside, and the gentile pirouettes indoors, intertwine and happen around each other. What's particularly uplifting though, is the energy and joy of humans on the cusp of adulthood, showing off what they do best.

In conclusion: Little wonder this musical won the Audience Award at this year's Olivier Awards Ceremony.  The cast is versatile and lively. Special mentions are Anna-Jane Casey as Mrs Wilkinson and Deka Walmsley as Mr Elliot. Both need stronger voices, but are forgiven as it's a cracker of a night out great choreography, and some corking lines.


References
Billy Elliot, Tickets

Victoria Palace Theatre, Victori Street, London SW1E 5EA