Review: Billy Elliot

The joy of dancing

Child actors have strong energy

In an English mining town, there are strikes against the actions of Margaret Thatcher’s government so that emotions run high. The musical Billy Elliot, set in the 1980s, is now surprisingly topical in terms of its themes.

The father has pushed the youngest son of the family to the boxing gym, but Billy drifts into a dance class. In the mining community, ballet is not much appreciated, but then Billy pushes his way towards the entrance exams to the Royal Ballet School.

Perhaps the reason for the great popularity of Billy Elliot’s story is precisely this. At all times, you need to believe in your own dreams, and you also need people who support and encourage you in it. The musical’s strong energy comes from the excellent child actors.

The role of Billy Elliot is played by three boys. In the performance I saw, Amos Brotherus danced, acted and sang straight into the hearts of the audience. As a dance teacher, Jonna Järnefelt is suitably fierce and strict, but she is also the important adult who believes in the boy’s abilities even when others are crushing the child’s dreams to pieces.

The musical sometimes swears profusely, so it’s not a children’s play. The recommended age limit is ten years. I wasn’t bothered by the swearing, but my twenties theatre companion thought that the language could have been cleaned up. The music is composed by Elton John.