Some of you may have heard that Billy Elliot has come to Broadway, but you may not know the storyline of the play. So, let’s take a look at the storyline in reference to the movie by the same name.
Written by Lee Hall and directed by Stephen Daldry in the year 2000, Billy Elliot is a film set in the fictional town of ‘Everington’ in County Durham, UK.
Billy (Jamie Bell) is a 11-year old aspiring dancer. His father (Gary Lewis) is a coal miner. Billy has an older brother (Jamie Draven) and (Julie Walters) is his dance instructor.
Inspired by A.J Cronin’s novel, The Stars Look Down, the film focuses on an English mining community in the middle of a strike. Moreover, the film is based on a miner’s son who breaks away from tradition in creating his own career.
In 2005, the story was adapted to the West End stage as Billy Elliot the Musical.
The story revolves around the show’s main character Billy (Jamie Bell) who is a young boy living in a state of poverty. His father (Gary Lewis) and older brother (Jamie Draven) are miners. Billy's father is an ardent fan of real life world boxing champion Ken Buchanan. He would love to see Billy became a world champion in the near future but Billy is more inclined to music, a passion he got from his late mother. Even though his father takes him to the boxing gym, Billy realizes that he doesn't really like the sport, and lacks talent for it. Part of the boxing gym is used by a ballet class because their usual studio in the sports center’s basement is being used as a soup kitchen for the striking miners. Billy gets convinced by a dance instructor (Julie Walters) to take ballet classes, and with her help, secretly starts taking the class. When Billy's brother gets arrested, he misses an important audition for the Royal Ballet School. His dance instructor goes to Billy’s house and tells his father that Billy missed a chance of a lifetime to be a part of Royal Ballet School. Billy's father and brother get very upset with Billy for choosing ballet over boxing. However, when his father sees Billy dancing, he changes his mind and realizes that ballet is Billy’s passion and could give him a better future. He takes him to an audition in London himself.
Billy is accepted and at age 11, he moves to London on his own to attend the school.
The movie concludes with a scene that takes place 14 years later, where his father and brother arrive at the ballet and see Billy dancing. The film ends as the older and more mature Billy (dancer/actor Adam Cooper) takes the stage to perform the lead in Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake.
Billy Elliot becomes a musical hit in London for three-plus years.
Why You Need to Experience Broadway Theater At Least Once
Theatre acting requires years of practicing your memory and improving your impromptu acting abilities. In my opinion being a theatrical actor is a bigger challenge than playing in movies. The biggest difference being that there are no retakes in theatre and every scene is acted out live in front of an audience. This kind of an acting requires immense practice and due diligence on the part of the actors in making sure that every scene is enacted perfectly.
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