Review: Billy Elliot
I guess it’s the case that Billy Elliot at the Helsinki City Theatre struck me harder than any musical I’ve seen before. I laughed, cried profusely, gained strength, started to think. I enjoy singing and dancing. You can’t ask for more?
My 10-year-old son Otso, who was in the audience with me, shared my experience: he was also amused, enjoyed, moved. After the performance, Otso said that Billy Elliot was good because it had good actors, clear speeches, great sets and a good story. Concise and competent analysis!
Billy Elliot’s story is familiar to many from the 2000 film. The events take place in 1980s England, a city that lives off the mining industry. The background is real-life politics: in 1984, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher decided to shrink the power of the trade unions and close down unprofitable mines. A year-long strike began. On stage, we see how the strike begins and follow the fierce struggle against Thatcher. “Solidarity, solidarity, solidarity always,” the strikers shout, bursting with a desire to win. At the Christmas party, grimacing Maggie masks are put on.
We also see the harsh end of the strike and Thatcher’s victory. Triumph, team spirit and pride are replaced by paralyzed disappointment.
This week’s news about the government’s coercive measures and the growing strike mood suddenly make the musical feel very topical. This morning I was listening to the radio, and there was already speculation about whether Juha Sipilä could soon be compared to Thatcher.
Adults’ battle songs, dancing riot police and strike guards bring spectacular rhythm and fierce fire to the stage. However, the most important thing is what happens to the children.
Billy is the motherless son of a miner. Traditionally masculine values are strong in the community. Boys box, learn to punch hard, and while girls can chip in their ballet slippers. As a result of a coincidence, Billy gets lost in a dance class and realizes that this is what he wants to do. The collision between the workers’ home and the ballet hall is violent. The miner’s son doesn’t mess around in little slippers!
Adults lose their struggles. But Billy wins. He gets to dance. And most importantly, Billy’s father and the entire gang of miners understand that they must support a special boy and his dreams. This spoke to me a lot: do I know and understand to support my own sons? Do I have the patience to listen, to see their dreams? Do they dare to dream boldly themselves? It doesn’t take much talent to guess that I cried the most profusely in the scene where Billy reads aloud his dead mother’s letter of encouragement, and later his own response to his mother. Always stay yourself, emphasizes mom.
The most wonderful thing about the performance, directed and choreographed by Markku Nenonen, are the children, and especially Lassi Hirvonen, who played the title role this time. What charisma a young boy! Hirvonen is natural, sensitive, powerful, and somehow completely open when moving on stage. Kasperi Virta, who plays Billy’s friend, Michael, who wears skirts and is merry, is also totally charming in his role.
I went to see the musical in a group of children, mothers, and grandparents. Everyone liked what they saw very much. Some of the gang had also seen the musical in London, some even numerous times. So there was plenty of expertise! Personally, I haven’t seen a performance that is still running at the Victoria Palace Theatre, but I’ve heard that the Helsinki City Theatre’s version doesn’t pale in comparison to the Londoners. – In Finland, Billy was better, and the daughter of a dance teacher, maybe even a dance teacher. Michael was much better in Finland, my friend’s 11-year-old son Nuutti compared the two interpretations he saw. In Nuutti’s opinion, however, the whole thing was stronger and more understandable in London, just because the story takes place in England. Nuutti’s little sister Venla was particularly impressed – in addition to Billy – by the scene in which the boys put on women’s clothes. I agree. Hirvonen and Virta are hilarious comedians!
Our entourage was not bothered by Billy Elliot’s swearing, which caused a stir. To be honest, most of the suddenly shaking crap and devils just made me laugh. The children also thought that the swearing fit the world of the performance.
Finally, I asked the children what they thought the makers of the musical wanted to say to us viewers. In Otso’s opinion, the message goes like this: you have to trust yourself. You can’t care what others think. You have to be just the way you are. If you don’t like the guys, you still don’t have to try to be different.
I have nothing to add to that.