A thousand thanks to Craig Mitchell
Monday, December 15, 2008
Sue-Anne and I just got back from seeing 'Billy Elliott - The Musical' here at Her Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne.
A few weeks ago Craig Mitchell, from the College of Magic in South Africa (and Billy Elliott's number one fan), surprised us with tickets to see the show. He's been raving about it to us for years and now we both understand exactly why.
The show was phenomenal!
Anyone who's seen the movie knows what a great, uplifting story it is, well the musical stays true to the whole feel of the movie in a way I've never seen achieved by a stage adaptation before. This is not surprising either, as when it opened in 2005 on the West End it cost £5.5 million to make: around £3 million more than the film!
The acting was spot-on, not the overplayed theatrics we're used to from musicals. The sets were technically astonishing without upstaging the performances. The cast were fantastic - from their characterisation to their costuming everything and everyone was gritty and believable (especially the language!) The staging was some of the most creative work I've ever seen and the choreography reminded me in places of Bob Fosse in his prime.
There's no point telling you the story of the show - if you've seen the movie you know it already and if you haven't, enjoy the ride! All I can say is go and see it.
Craig will be thrilled to know that he has created two new ambassador's for the show! (Somehow, I think he knew that would happen).
Click here now to book your tickets. The show is only in town for 6 months so don't be surprised if it sells out very quickly - word does travel fast!