A few hours ago I popped in to see the final Australian performance of Billy Elliot at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Melbourne and what a special treat it was!
The show began with a few speeches on stage from the overseas producer and directors, including Stephen Daldry, who flew in from New York, London and Tokyo just for the final Melbourne performance.
Then it was on with the show and as you’d expect at a closing performance, there were lots of cast member families, screaming brothers and sisters, and standing ovation after standing ovation.
There’s no need to tell readers what a fabulous show Billy Elliot is, as many of you have seen it once or twice already, I’m sure. But a special surprise for people at the final Australian performance today was an extended once-off 15-minute dance extravaganza of an encore from all of the young boys who played the roles of Billy and Michael.
Excuse me for mixing sport and culture, but the applause and screams from the audience were so deafening at this performance, you’d swear it was an AFL Grand Final … indoors!
Billy Elliot had a wonderful ride in Australia. After a highly successful Sydney run, the show then played to just under 100% capacity for it’s 26-week Melbourne leg and Billy Elliot’s producer and directors asked on stage to thunderous applause “Can we please come back?”, so who knows what the future may hold for Billy Elliot in Australia?
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