Review: Billy Elliot

Faith in dreams carries far

Helsinki City Theatre’s major investment in the autumn, the musical Billy Elliot, is a performance that you can’t help but love.

First of all, it is familiar to many either as a film directed by Stephen Daldry in 2000 or five years later in London as a musical directed by him, written by Lee Hall and composed by Elton John, which has since garnered numerous awards. Secondly, its basic theme concerns everyone.

Everyone has the right to their dreams, and they are worth believing in and fighting for. Whether the dream is social or only for oneself. When the content is dressed up in the delicate story of a boy who has lost his mother, who, contrary to the perceptions of both his family and his entire striking mining community, wants to dance ballet instead of boxing, and his talent is not seen and supported by anyone other than his ballet teacher, touchability is guaranteed.

But above all, lovability comes from the performance itself. Starting with Mikko Koivusalo’s apt Finnish translation, the end result of which is almost three hours of full skill, interpretation and the joy of performing.

Handsome crowd scenes and great performances

When the main character of the performance is a 12-year-old boy, a lot depends on the child actor who plays him. At the premiere, Lassi Hirvonen was on fire from the triple crew. He fulfilled expectations in abundance. There was authenticity in her and her dancing skills were amazing, just the right amount of roughness. Another brilliant child actor was Kasperi Virta, who played Billy’s friend Michael in the premiere. What naturalness and absolutely insane stage charisma.

The third important role in terms of the theme of the performance and impressive musically and dance-wise is Billy’s ballet teacher. In this role, Jonna Järnefelt brilliantly put all her sides into play, both her dance background and her singing and acting skills. Her Mrs. Wilkinson was a woman who saw the realities of life, but who nevertheless retained the ability and desire to see other things and the courage to support an exceptional talent when she finds one.

Of the smaller roles, Leena Uotila’s heartfelt, slightly demented grandmother Billy’s and Risto Kaskilahti’s harsh father Billy, who has to make a big mental turnaround, are memorable.

But Billy Elliot is by no means a musical built solely on individual performances. A large part of its impact is the crowd scenes, especially those related to the miners’ strike struggle. Of these, the director and choreographer of the performance, Markku Nenonen, had created fine dance and singing parts that filled the stage of the Peacock Theatre from side to side, where the ensemble of the performance was able to fully demonstrate their excellent musical skills. Jani Uljas and Jari Ijäs’ clever brick set was changed to different places with minor changes, while William Iles’ lights emphasized and faded just as they were supposed to. Elina Kolehmainen’s costumes were realistic and in accordance with the era, the 1980s.

Despite its touching story in a difficult social situation, Billy Elliot is not a sob musical, although there may be a need for handkerchiefs. It also has a lot of humour, both direct and hidden. There is also emotional power in Elton John’s versatile music, which the orchestra led by Risto Kupiainen played with excellent energy and swing. I almost feel like saying that Billy Elliot is one of the must-see shows of the fall. And at least I hope that it will encourage all boys interested in dancing to believe in themselves and each of their viewers to believe in their own dreams.