Billy Elliot The Musical

About the show

Billy Elliot: The Musical is a coming-of-age stage musical based on the 2000 film of the same name. The music is by Elton John, and the book and lyrics are by Lee Hall who wrote the film’s screenplay. The plot revolves around Billy, a motherless British boy who begins taking ballet lessons. The story of his personal struggle and fulfillment are balanced against a counter-story of family and community underst and discord caused by the 1984–85 UK miners’ strike in County Durham, in North East England.

With a talented cast of adult and child performers – featuring two local Canberra lads and two Newcastle boys in the lead role of Billy Elliot, and his best mate Michael – audiences will be swept off their feet by the impressive dance numbers, and heart-warming story. 

Billy Elliot is a musical that is easy to love, it has so much heart. The script is brimming with the concepts of love and loss, community and isolation, passion and violence. Billy is an eleven-year-old boy who lives with his family in a small town in County Durham. His father and brother are both miners, and they expect Billy to follow in their footsteps. But Billy is different. He doesn’t want to work in the mines. He wants to dance.

The plotline, music and choreography are in harmony in this heartwarming story. It is a celebration of individuality, creativity, and the power of art to transform lives. The musical premiered in London’s West End in 2005 and ran through to April 2016 – receiving 9 nominations for Laurence Olivier Awards, winning four, including Best New Musical. Its success led to productions in Australia, Broadway, and numerous other countries. In New York, it won ten Tony Awards and ten Drama Desk Awards, including, in each case, Best Musical. It has also won numerous awards in Australia including a record-tying seven Helpmann Awards.

Ultimately Billy’s passion for dance is inspiring and empowering. This iconic musical of the 80s carries a powerful message of acceptance.

​Production team

Director: Jarrad West
Musical Directors: Katrina Tang & Caleb Campbell
Choreographer: Michelle Heine
Set Designer: Dr Cate Clelland
Costume Designer: Tanya Taylor
Technical Director and Production Stage Manager: Cameron Walter
Assistant Director and Dialect Coach: Jill Young

Cast

We have two casts for this amazing show – named after two mining towns in northern England – Maltby and Easington. The leads, and junior ensemble will alternate performance dates. The adult actors will perform all dates.

Performance dates

In the news

Two awards at the 2024 Canberra Critics Circle Awards

We were delighted to receive a 2024 Canberra Critics Circle award in the category of Musical Theatre for our “exuberant production of this demanding musical” – Billy Elliot, The Musical, and to Amy Kowalczuk for her “incisive, sensitive and powerful performance as Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire.”.

Continue reading

Review, 'Billy Elliot' - That Guy Who Watches Canberra Theatre

Mitchell Clement has the skill and ability to pull this off with aplomb, dancing impeccably but also giving us a Billy who is anxious, hopeful, connected and strong. ..This is a strong production of a heartfelt, powerful musical and well worth the catching.

Continue reading

Review, 'Billy Elliot' - Frank McKone

It’s the real-life warmth of feeling that flows off the stage that makes this production so enjoyable to see… The audience in The Q were as energetic and enthusiastic as the onstage dancers, singers and actors.
Overall, a highly successful production of a rather different kind of musical.

Continue reading

Review, 'Billy Elliot' - John P Harvey

The musical numbers, some of them very complicated interweavings almost operatic in their complexity, were consistently arranged and performed beautifully, and Fergus Paterson did some outstanding solo singing.

Continue reading

Review, 'Billy Elliot' - Len Power

The director, Jarrad West, has brought together a show that is grand entertainment. It’s colourful, has extraordinary dancing, fine singing and polished performers in this often raw and strong musical.

Continue reading

Review, 'Billy Elliot' - Bill Stephens

This production… contains a surfeit of excellent performances. Fergus Paterson, as Billy, He delighted in the effervescent duet ‘Expressing Yourself’ partnered by his friend Michael, this role performed with considerable panache by Charlie Murphy. Paterson astonished in the spectacular ‘Swan Lake Dream Ballet’ which he shared with accomplished ballet dancer, Jordan Dwight and broke hearts with his rendition of  ‘The Letter’ with mum, Jo Zaharias.

Continue reading

Review, 'Billy Elliot' - Peter Wilkins

Take a producer with an instinct for success, a director with vision, musical directors with passion, and a choreographer with imagination and flair, and you have a hit on your hands. Add to this the talented cast, musicians and creatives and Free-Rain Theatre’s Billy Elliot The Musical  playing at the Q Theatre in Queanbeyan becomes a smash hit.

Continue reading

Through dancing, oppressed Billy bounces back

20 March 2024 Canberra CityNews’ Helen Musa interviews Jackie Elliot (Billy’s Dad) – Joe Dinn, Tony Elliot (Billy’s brother) – Lachlan Elderton, Choreographer – Michelle Heine, and Billy – Mitchell Clement.

Continue reading

Moulds are broken and passions awoken in Billy Elliot The Musical

Canberra Weekly interviewed Director Jarrad West and our two Billies – Fergus Paterson and Mitchell Clement for this lovely piece.

Continue reading

Details

When: 9 April – 5 May 2024
Where: The Q

Cast

Easington Cast

Billy Elliot – Fergus Paterson
Michael Caffrey – Charlie Murphy
Debbie Wilkinson – Zahra Zulkapli
Florence Tuli
Addyson Dew
Millie Fitzgerald
Laura Keen
Rosie Welling
Amber Russell
Heidi McMullen
Taylor Bollard
Caitlin Hunt

Maltby Cast

Billy Elliot – Mitchell Clement
Michael Caffrey – Blake Wilkins
Debbie Wilkinson – Madison Willmott
Eleanor Ladewig
Ella Field
Sophie Kelly
Kaity Hinch-Parr
Mia Veljanovski
Laney Himpson
Giselle Georges
Ellie Grace De Landre
Bella Henness-Dyer

Adult Cast 

Appearing in all performances…

Jackie Elliot – Joe Dinn
Tony Elliot – Lachlan Elderton
Mrs Wilkinson – Janie Lawson
Mr Braithwaite – James Tolhurst-Close
Mum – Jo Zaharias
Grandma – Alice Ferguson

Featured Ensemble

Dave Collins
David Gambrill
Tim Maher
Thomas Walker
Jordan Dwight
Sian Harrington-Brown

Ensemble

Jackson Dale
Bianca Lawson
James Morgan
Annaliese Soper
Liam Prichard
Cassie Ramsay
Ash Syme
Cameron Sargeant
Sam Welling

Orchestra

Keys 1/Conductor – Caleb Campbell
Keys 2 – Vivian Zhu / Katrina Tang
Reed 1 – Lara Turner
Reed 2 – Caleb Ball
Trumpet – Sam Hutchinson / Elsa Guile
French Horn – Carly Brown / Dianne Tan
Guitar – Dylan Slater / Michael Rushby
Bass – Hayley Manning
Drums – Brandon Reed

Creatives & Production Team

Director – Jarrad West
Musical Director – Katrina Tang
Musical Director – Caleb Campbell
Choreographer – Michelle Heine
Set Designer – Dr Cate Clelland
Costume Designer – Tanya Taylor
Tech Director and Production Stage Manager – Cameron Walter
Assistant Director & Dialect Coach – Jill Young