A brilliant musical experience

2008, 4.17 London: Billy Elliot at the Royal Victoria Palace

In the morning, Mom and I slept in a bit, had breakfast at the hostel, and then headed in to Central London by Victoria Station. I closed my bank account, which took a bit, and then we had lunch at Garfunkel's--some fish and chips. From there, we went a few doors down to the Royal Victoria Palace to see the musical production Billy Elliot.


The story according the Wikipedia article on Billy Elliot:

Billy is a boy living in County Durham. His father, Jackie, and older brother, Tony are striking miners during the UK miners' strike (1984–1985).

Billy's father is an admirer of real life world boxing champion Ken Buchanan, and hopes that Billy would become a champion boxer. Billy, however, is more interested in music, a passion he inherited from his late mother.

Billy is taken to the boxing gym by his father, but he finds out that he doesn't really like the sport, and has no real talent for it. Part of the boxing gym is used by a ballet class because their usual studio in the basement of the sports center is being used as a soup kitchen for the striking miners. He is drawn in by the dance instructor, and with her help, secretly starts taking ballet class.

As a consequence of Billy's brother being arrested, he misses an important audition for the Royal Ballet School. His dance instructor goes to their house to tell his father about the missed opportunity. Billy's father and brother, fearing that Billy will be seen as a "poof", become outraged at the idea of him becoming a professional ballet dancer.

Once having seen Billy dance however, his father understands that ballet is Billy's passion and he takes him to an audition in London himself. Billy is accepted and moves to London on his own at age 11 to attend the school.

The movie concludes with a scene that takes place 14 years later, where his father and brother 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."

The acting, the story, the set, the costumes, the symbolism and imagery, the music and choreography were all wonderfully done. I had heard that it was really good show and was definitely not disappointed. It was everything art should be, really. Well-organized in a way, but not rigid. Music, color, dancing, different lighting all finely blended to create a connection with the audience and affect human emotions as realistically as possible without actually living through the story yourself. It was phenomenal.