I'm a 63year old Mom & Grandmother who wanted a blog of everyday things for everyday people. Please feel free to comment...the sensible opinions of others are always welcome...I also have 2 more blogs, One more serious, and my blog for cat lovers (4cats for cats)





March 05, 2010

Billie Elliot In the West End




I went to Lodon Yesterday to the Victoria Palace Theatre to see Billy Elliot...it was wonderful, both very funny and very sad at the same time...I remembered the bleak days of the Miners strike in the 80's so well..Mrs Thatcher was successful in destroying entire villages and Towns, and ruining the lives of so many hardworking mining families.. but it was to be her downfall. The show was very forthright and honest and pulled no punches, i do believe there were many ex-miners in the audience... The story centered around the son of a Miner 'Billy'..who instead of attending Boxing club..spent his entrance money on attending ballet lessons..reluctantly at first, however his talent was very soon recognised by his ballet teacher and he eventually was able to attend The Royal Ballet School in London.,..the Dancing was wonderful.. set against the backdrop of some very sad scenes with the Miners and Police, it made for a very real but also political stage production...not like any Show i have ever seen before...but very, very good. One man commented as we were all coming out of the Theatre...'How on earth can you top that ? quite honestly, you cant. The show is at present on Broadway...and a tour starts later in the year, but i wonder if it will have the same impact there ??..the Strong Geordie accent will be very difficult for some Americans to understand (unless they tone it down a little)..even i had to listen carefully to parts of it, and i have a Geordie friend, who lived in Durham until a few years ago.. also i'm not sure if they will understand SOME of the humour & language, coming from the miners. The show portrayed a very British working class time in history, although as has been ponted out to me...everyone can understand the situation of a young boy, who had lost his Mother, and who so wanted to break away from his situation and the problems he faced,.. Longing to dance, yet living in an era when money was scarce, especially for mining families, and Ballet was far from the normal occupation expected of a young boy in a mining community. I do hope it is enjoyed over in the U.S...even if the impact is not quite the same, as if you have lived through it...I personally thought the Music from the film..was better than the stage version (by Elton John)..but the stage show was a real success as a play, and i personally enjoyed it even more than the film, ( i have watched that innumerable times).. I was in tears of laughter (literally)..but also was openly shedding a tear at other times...i think a show has to be good to do that...if you have seen it let me know what you think ??

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous1:38 am

    Hi Joy,

    I enjoyed reading your reaction to Billy Elliot the Musical. As a long time fan of the show, having seen it both in London and New York, I am always happy when others discover just how good it is.

    You mentioned that the show would be going to Broadway in March. Actually, that will be the opening of the show in Chicago. The Broadway production, which won 10 Tony awards (equivalent of the Oliviers), celebrated its first anniversary back in November.

    In addition to Chicago, the show will be going on tour throughout the US starting this coming November, and there are also productions scheduled to open in Toronto and Seoul, S. Korea. In fact, the four Korean Billys have just been introduced to the public this week. It seems that Billy touches a chord with people everywhere, regardless of whether they are really familiar with the details of the miners' strike or not. Everybody can relate to that little boy who misses his mother and is struggling against a culture that doesn't allow for his talents and his desire to express himself.

    If you are interested in learning more about the show and knowing more about why we fans of the show love it so much, check us out at www.billyelliottheforum.me.uk. We love welcoming new fans. :)

    ERinVA

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  2. Thank you for the information,..i did notice last night when i was reading the programme that the show is at present playing at Broadway..and the tour begins in March at Chicago..must change it on my blog. This is the 1st time i had seen it on stage and i thought it was wonderful...i really didn't mean to infer that folk wouldn't understand the sadness of a child losing his Mother etc..of course that goes without saying..but i personally thought that the Political aspect was explored to a greater degree on the stage than it was in the film..and i applaud that...I will most certainly be seeing it again. I rarely feel prompted to comment on my blog about shows, but i found Bille an exception. Having lived through, and been directly affected by the Miners strike i was so impressed with the political aspect, but my friend who was with me enjoyed the dancing and relationship aspect more..i think it is what the individual ses that is important, and Billie had the best of both..Thank you for offering to share with me the views of other Fans...i will be logging on to that very soon.

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  3. I haven't heard of Billy Elliot, I will have to do some reasearch, Im curious now. :)

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