{"id":13463,"date":"2020-02-23T22:42:40","date_gmt":"2020-02-23T12:42:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/?p=13463"},"modified":"2020-02-24T06:51:04","modified_gmt":"2020-02-23T20:51:04","slug":"billy-elliot-the-musical-regent-theatre-theatre-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/billy-elliot-the-musical-regent-theatre-theatre-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Billy Elliot The Musical (Regent Theatre) &#8211; theatre review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Billy Elliot The Musical remains as moving and evocative as when I first saw it in Melbourne more than a decade ago \u2026 and what a magnificent show it is.\u00a0For me this is up there with the best musicals brought to the stage. It is based on the successful 2000 film, which starred Jamie Bell as Billy.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13460\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13460\" style=\"width: 560px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13460 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Billy-Elliot-01.jpg?resize=560%2C373\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"373\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Billy-Elliot-01.jpg?w=560&amp;ssl=1 560w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Billy-Elliot-01.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Billy-Elliot-01.jpg?resize=272%2C182&amp;ssl=1 272w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13460\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photos by James D. Morgan\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Chock full of drama and pathos, with a series of comic interludes, the musical has been brilliantly written and directed, and features a series of stirring numbers penned by the incomparable Elton John.\u00a0And talk about happenstance \u2026 it seems only fitting that John himself was playing his farewell concert to this city only a hop, skip and a jump away, as the opening night theatrical audience was applauding his endeavours.<\/p>\n<p>The performances are superb, elevated by choreography of the highest order, while the staging transports us to the time of Margaret Thatcher\u2019s Britain and the dour struggle by the miners, with a few delightful surprises.\u00a0I couldn\u2019t think of a better place to celebrate 12-year-old Billy\u2019s rite of passage than in the town\u2019s finest theatre, the Regent.<\/p>\n<p>For those who are not aware of the storyline, it concerns the youngster \u2013 whose beloved mother died \u2013 and who is being raised by his father and gran.\u00a0Dad is a mine worker who \u2013 along with his fellow underground employees \u2013 refuses to accept the Conservative government\u2019s desire to reduce the power of trade unions.<\/p>\n<p>The year is 1984 and major industrial action \u2013 which became the longest national strike in British history \u2013 has been taken in an attempt to prevent colliery closures.\u00a0Before it is over, many of the workers will be living hand to mouth as their meagre resources dwindle.<\/p>\n<p>Against this backdrop and the fiery disdain of Billy\u2019s older and militant brother, the kid has no interest in participating in Saturday morning boxing lessons, instead stumbling his way into a ballet class being given subsequently at the same venue.\u00a0He was just meant to be handing over the keys to the no-nonsense instructor, but is quickly swept up in what he sees and when he finally gets to show what he\u2019s got, his natural talent is obvious.<\/p>\n<p>Encouraged by his teacher, there\u2019ll be hell to pay as his father, brother and the hard-nosed community find out what he has been up to.\u00a0As they see it, ballet is no suitable pursuit for the son of working-class stock.<\/p>\n<p>The two strands of the narrative \u2013 the strike and its impact on the community, and Billy Elliot\u2019s personal struggle for acceptance \u2013 are superbly wound together and they are what make the show all the more memorable.\u00a0It is easy to see why since opening in London in 2005, Billy Elliot The Musical has become a global success story, claiming more than 85 awards.<\/p>\n<p>In 2009 it won 10 Tony Awards, including best musical.\u00a0Stephen Daldry received the gong for best director and Lee Hall \u2013 who also wrote the lyrics to John\u2019s music \u2013 received the nod for best book of a musical. Peter Darling was recognised for his choreography and Ian MacNeil for his set design.\u00a0Billy Elliot The Musical has also collected five Olivier Awards and eight Helpmann Awards, among others.<\/p>\n<p>Among the stirring numbers, none is better than the company\u2019s rendition of Solidarity, with the miners on one side of the stage, the police on the other and a ballet lesson in progress in between.\u00a0At the start of the second act, a cheeky thumbs down to the British PM in Merry Christmas Maggie Thatcher features hand puppets and a towering blow up figure of the Iron Lady.\u00a0The fine balance between light and shade is one of the most commendable elements of the musical.<\/p>\n<p>Four gifted alternates fill the pivotal role of Billy. On opening night it was the youngest of them, 11-year-old Melburnians River Mardesic, who had the fancy moves \u2013 including tap \u2013 down pat.\u00a0Matching him in his impact and ability is Billy\u2019s cross-dressing best mate Michael, as realised by Oscar Mulcahy (again, there are four alternates for that role).\u00a0The show\u2019s many highlights include a scene where the pair \u2013 in women\u2019s clothing \u2013 dance together in front of metallic tinsel curtain foil and are joined by giant dresses and a pair of ginormous trousers.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-13461 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Billy-Elliot-02.jpg?resize=560%2C366\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"366\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Billy-Elliot-02.jpg?w=560&amp;ssl=1 560w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Billy-Elliot-02.jpg?resize=300%2C196&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Justin Smith brings gravitas to his role as Billy\u2019s father, Vivien Davies is a hoot as grandma and Drew Livingston is genuinely scary as Billy\u2019s older sibling Tony.\u00a0Lisa Sontag is a revelation as ballet teacher Mrs Wilkinson, while Robert Grubb makes the most of his persona as Billy\u2019s gruff and frustrated boxing instructor, who works alongside Billy\u2019s dad in the mines. Dean Vince is quite the chameleon as Mrs Wilkinson&#8217;s pianist, Mr Braithwaite, who comes into his own as the piece progresses. Special praise, too, for the performance of Ella Tebbutt as Mrs Wilkinson\u2019s brattish daughter Debbie (one of three alternates in that role).<\/p>\n<p>Billy Elliot The Musical stands head and shoulders above most others of its genre.\u00a0It is something mighty, mighty special that deserves to be seen again and again.\u00a0It is that good because it stirs the soul and touches the heart.\u00a0Please do not miss this, the very finest of productions, which is playing at the Regent Theatre until 19th April, 2020.\u00a0Just be aware that given the subject matter and the passions ignited there is some strong language in the show.<\/p>\n<h4>Alex First<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Billy Elliot The Musical remains as moving and evocative as when I first saw it in Melbourne more than a decade ago \u2026 and what a magnificent show it is.\u00a0For me this is up there with the best musicals brought to the stage. It is based on the successful 2000 film, which starred Jamie Bell&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13462,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[801],"tags":[4038,2972,4040,4041,4039],"class_list":["post-13463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-theatre","tag-billy-elliot-the-musical","tag-elton-john","tag-lee-hall","tag-peter-darling","tag-stephen-daldry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Billy Elliot The Musical (Regent Theatre) - theatre review -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/billy-elliot-the-musical-regent-theatre-theatre-review\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Billy Elliot The Musical (Regent Theatre) - theatre review -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Billy Elliot The Musical remains as moving and evocative as when I first saw it in Melbourne more than a decade ago \u2026 and what a magnificent show it is.\u00a0For me this is up there with the best musicals brought to the stage. 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