Billy Elliot Spoiler-Free Review
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Billy Elliot was a musical I knew by title only. It’s about a boy that has a love for ballet. Therefore, I went along to NLTC’s production with no idea what I was to experience, and a 3-hour experience it was… tap numbers everywhere; OTT dance numbers featuring clothes; perfect consistent accents throughout; and a very distracting (in a good way) six-year-old… audiences will have to come back a second time to see everything they missed after watching Finn the whole time.
Billy Elliot is a coming-of-age musical revolving around Billy Elliot, a motherless British boy who begins taking ballet lessons. The story of his personal struggle and fulfilment is balanced against a counter-story of family and community strife caused by the 1984–1985 miners' strike.
Billy St. John, MD, undertook the task in teaching music to dancers and succeeded with great success and much of the solo work was sublime, including Deep into The Ground and Electricity in Act 2. There was difficulty in hearing the clarity in a few of the Full Company songs - this may have been because of where I was sitting, or the volume of the orchestra to offset the volume on stage, but it didn’t take away from the show to the point it wasn’t noticeable until reflecting on the experience. The exception her is Solidarity, which is living rent-free in my head.
The choreography for Solidarity between the dancers, the police and the miners were flawless. To further parade Sarah Williams’ talent and hard work as Choreographer, the dancing continued to grow in technique and ability from Solidarity’s great number, to Expressing Yourself (no spoilers – but it’s a whole package), to the Act 1 finale, which worked perfectly with the lights, music, and the tap; but to then further accentuate the tapping with the police batons, it was an amazing way to finish Act 1. As a lover of tap, I was over the moon to experience the academic level of the tap dancers, both individually and collectively as a single sound.
Michelle Davy stepped up mid-rehearsals and donned the directorial hat, executing the vision triumphantly. Having such a supportive family onstage certainly would have helped in the decision making… and why pay for a babysitter when you can have your 6-year-old son in the show and steal all the attention!
With barely a moment to breathe, Aidan Salmon as Billy Elliot, is phenomenal! I’m not surprised in the slightest when reading that he started ballet at just 3-years-old. As titular character, the show rests on his shoulders, which is a lot for a young man, but he executes everything beautifully. The relationship between him and his friend Michael was fun to watch, as was the relationship between him and his older self. There is a bright future for Salmon in the musical theatre world.
Noah Magourilos, as Michael was wonderful. The character’s naivety around the other children, and in his sister’s closet was refreshing, making the audience feel equally connected to his character, further adding to the climax in the Act 2 finale. His featured number, Expressing Yourself was the great opportunity he needed to showcase his talent as a dancer and he killed it.
Billy’s family unit: Andrew Mair as Jackie Elliot, Liam Phillips as Tony Elliot, Wendy Rayner as Grandma, and Kate Hodges as Mum was believable in the messed-up world the story was backdropped upon. It wasn’t the picket-fence, perfect family – but instead it was relatable to audiences, and that is in large, credited to the abilities of the actors within these roles. Billy’s dad, Jackie, was particularly impressive, fighting the inner demons between his loyalty to the strike, and doing what is right for his son.
Sarah Hamilton is a powerhouse triple-threat and is making a name for herself in Adelaide. Her role as Mrs Wilkinson did not disappoint, having experienced Hamilton’s talents previously. The effort put into this character was done with love and care for the work, and equal love and care for the other characters she shared the stage.
Having Sarah as a role model to look up at, Milla Ilic, as daughter Debbie Wilkinson had no issues in learning how to express and present herself on stage. As a youthful member, Ilic’s performance stood out. As a bonus, she had some fun material to work with, including her shrill scream every time she wasn’t getting her way, or wanting her mum’s attention.
Further from Ilic’s performance, the other 9 ballet students were in tune with their individual characteristics and understanding the themes presented with the story. As children of a community ballet school, they were performing as ‘children’, so it was brilliant to see their full capacity as dancers, (with many coming from dance backgrounds) in the Act 2 finale.
One of the elements of Billy Elliot is the contrast between the dancers and the miners, and as such, the miners played a pivotal role in this production. Acknowledging the choreography for the miners would have been developed to match their capacity, huge kudos to get this many men that could sing and dance/move to the quality that NLTC is known for providing.
Quick mention to Bailey Edwards as Mr Braithwaite and Older Billy. Edwards’ talent as a dancer was a delight to watch. Being able to showcase his talent in We Were Born to Boogie, and then as Older Billy was brilliant. His comedic timing as Braithewaite was on point, even sneaking in a local reference wasn’t lost on the audience.
The set was simple: flats creating additional entrance points, various chairs, used for many a song and dance and upstage, a piano sat for the ballet school lessons. Additionally, there was a small kitchen/bedroom unit that accompanied your dining table set for the Elliot household.
There are many highlights from NLTC’s production, and each individually is worthy of the ticket price and the journey to the Shedley Theatre. Just bring some cash to part with during interval for the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
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