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By Megan Russell
Image: billyelliotthemusical.com

For a person who undeniably detests all things musical apart from the odd Disney classic, I strangely found myself swayed after watching the film version of Billy Elliot: a politically educational story that catches viewers’ attention through the power of real British history, intertwined with an unexpected love of dance, and, of course, a brilliant soundtrack. Whilst Billy Elliot wasn’t originally a musical, it definitely had the potential to become one, and what a great one it became, as audiences found when the show recently came to Manchester’s Palace Theatre.

Set during the miners strike of 1984-1985, Billy Elliot shows the hardship and poverty that hit families of North East England during the leadership period of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The story of young boy’s dream to become a ballet dancer has now won over 80 awards internationally, including 10 Tony Awards and five Olivier Awards.

You first begin to appreciate the raw talent on the stage from the very beginning of the show, as a young dancer stomps past you with what you can only imagine is his dad’s mining helmet wobbling on his head. The musical immediately starts with that obvious line of proud working class families and this remains the constant backbone throughout the show, something that helps connect each character.

For a moment at the start, you’re desperately trying to work out which young boy is the lead character Billy and, early on, we already find ourselves wanting to create ties with the characters and begin concocting our own opinions of them. When our attention is eventually brought to the character Billy, from then on, there’s no way you’ll ever forget him. A remarkably talented dancer, actor, singer and everything in-between, he makes it difficult for the audience to take their eyes off him and it’s oddly satisfying watching him grow as a young boy and complete such technically demanding moves.

There are four boys sharing the lead role of Billy Elliot. On the night I attended I was lucky enough to witness the fantastic Adam Abbou, who, at only 13-years-old, has mastered some amazingly technical dances and picked up that complex Geordie accent rather well, especially considering he’s from Liverpool.

Its strangely humorous and endearing hearing the whole cast attempt such a difficult Geordie accent and, whilst some were better than others, the ability to manipulate such an accent is a very clever way to create witty scenes without having to produce unnecessary distractions. However, considering I’ve lived with Geordies throughout my life at university, my expectations may be a little high.

When it came to the highly anticipated musical numbers I found myself a little disappointed. I fell in love with the film of Billy Elliot because of the classic soundtrack, with songs like ‘A Town Called Malice’ by The Jam and ‘We Love To Boogie’ by T Rex. Unfortunately, the musical didn’t quite compare. However, I understand that the songs needed for the musical are part of the story telling, they are brilliantly in-depth and cleverly performed. The music, directed by Sir Elton John and written by Lee Hall, makes for such a sensational performance that perfectly tells the story. Yet, unlike with the film, I didn’t find myself singing the songs for weeks after.