Billy Elliot the musical review

 

 

I was not sure if I would like the musical. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Billy Elliot The Musical successfully tells the story, of the young coalminer’s son who discovers he was born to dance  without thinking about the serious social commentary the story has to offer. The story is wonderfully explained, starting with an old movie news report which opens the show. The audience is invited into Billy’s world and to engage with the struggles and hardships of the small coal town during the British miners’ strike of the mid-1980s. Billy, who was played by a kid  on this particular night actors share was terrific! This highly talented kid showed amazing skill to sing, dance, act and charm the audience for a large part of the show. The supporting cast were really good. Billy’s scatty old grandma was of definitely one of my  favourite. Especially her show-stopping song about her late husband, Bill’s Grandpa - who she doesn’t seem to miss very much! - and her youthful nights on the dance floor. I think the best scenes were the ones with the little ballet dancers in their tutus and Billy trying desperately to fit in; this pretty much captures the essence of the whole story. Plus they were very entertaining with their inept dancing and their rather enthusiastic piano player. There is also a wonderful dream-sequence scene where Billy dances with the older version of himself. The set design was rather quirky and very effective; the cast made excellent use of simple props such as chairs and police shields. There were plenty of good often comical lyrics and the music was enjoyable although I can’t say that I came out of the theatre humming any catchy tunes. This show is much more about the dancing, which I definitely would like to have seen more of. There was not much that I didn’t like about the show it was perhaps a bit drawn out at times. But overall an excellent show, with humour and jokes aimed at younger and older audiences. Audience Billy Elliot contains some strong language and violence. It is understandable that the writers have sprinkled the dialogue and lyrics with four letter words for the sake of authenticity, as this is what you would hear if you were living in a community like Billy’s. The producers of the show recommend that children under the age of 12 not be permitted to attend; however, children above the age of 7 will be admitted. Children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult Theatre Advice Victoria Palace Theater holds much of its original character, even more so since having the front of house, auditorium and the dressing rooms refurbished. .

Personal opinion

The musical was very good because I notice there was a lot of work on it the staging was great. the songs definitely are appropriate for the theme of the musical . Billy´s grandmother was one of my favourite characters along with the pianist of the ballet class . the only bad thing that I can say about the musical is that I don’t believe  that the boy sing´s because he runs jumps and he  doesn’t even breath faster.