A Made at Curve production directed by Nikolai Foster
Rehearsals are underway for the upcoming Made at Curve
production of Billy Elliot the Musical.
The first new UK production is directed by Nikolai Foster
(A Chorus Line, Sunset Boulevard – At Home, West Side Story) and will
run at the Leicester theatre from Wednesday 13 July to Saturday 20 August.
Press night will take place on Wednesday 20 July.
The titular role of Billy Elliot, the miner’s son with a passion
for ballet, will be performed by Leo Hollingsworth from Nottinghamshire,
Alfie Napolitano from Northamptonshire, Samuel Newby from
Hertfordshire and Jaden Shentall-Lee, whose family live in
Leicestershire.
Billy’s dance teacher Mrs. Wilkinson will be played by West End
and Broadway legend Sally Ann Triplett, whose iconic roles include Reno
Sweeney in Anything Goes (National Theatre and Theatre Royal Drury Lane)
and Young Phyllis in Follies (Shaftesbury Theatre), as well as Martha in
the recent Made at Curve UK tour of White Christmas.
Michael, Billy’s best friend, will be performed by Bobby
Donald, Lucas Haywood, Ethan Shimwell and Leicester’s Prem
Masani, who will make his stage debut in the production.
All hailing from the East Midlands, Pearl Ball, Caitlin
Cole, Lola Johnstone and Ellie Copping – who returns to
Curve’s stage having previously appeared as Susan Waverly in the 2018 Made at
Curve production of White Christmas - will share the role of Debbie,
Mrs. Wilkinson’s daughter.
Joe Caffrey, who previously performed in the
West End production of Billy Elliot the Musical, will join the cast as
Billy’s Dad Jackie, while Broadway and West End sensation Rachel Izen
will play Billy’s Grandma Edna. Luke Baker (Everybody’s Talking About
Jamie, the Made at Curve UK tour of Grease) will play Billy’s older
brother Tony and Jessica Daley (recently seen in Made at Curve
productions of White Christmas and The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber)
will play Billy’s Mum.
The adult company will be completed by Craig Armstrong as
George, Minal Patel as Big Davey, Cameron Johnson as Mr.
Braithwaite, Micky Cochrane as Scab, Robin Paley Yorke as Lesley,
Christopher Wright as Mr. Wilkinson, Michael Lin as Pit
Supervisor, Jonathan Dryden Taylor as Posh Dad, William Atkinson as
Older Billy and ensemble, and Steph
Asamoah, Tori McDougall, Anna Rossa and Louie Wood as
members of the ensemble.
The young company of ballet dancers and boxers, most of which
are Midlands-based or have local family connections, will feature Willow Adamson,
Maddie Seren Ashley, Oliver Back, Aneeka Kaur Bains, Ella-Rose
Blackburn Price, Harvey Clarridge, Lily Corkill, Miley
Dalton, Matisse Didier, Isabelle Francis, Ethan Galeotti,
Rahul Gandabhai, Isla Granville, Uzziah Gray, Orlaith
Rae Hunt, Ava Rose Johnson, Ava Mia Komisarczuk, Kyrelle
Lammy, Lienna-Jean Langdon, Tahlia Maddox, Lorcan Murphy,
Nesisa Mhindu, Sophia Pirie, Hayden Polanco, Gopal
Thacker and Mirabelle Varakantam.
The Made at Curve production of Billy Elliot the Musical will
by choreographed by Lucy Hind, with Musical Supervisor and Musical
Director George Dyer. The set will be designed by Michael Taylor
with costumes designed by Edd Lindley. Also joining the creative team
are Lighting Designer and Curve Associate Ben Cracknell, Sound Designer Adam
Fisher, Props Supervisor Lizzie Frankl, Wigs, Hair and Make-Up
Supervisor Helen Keane for Campbell Young Associates, RYTDS
Resident Assistant Director Lilac Yosiphon, Birkbeck Trainee Director Thyrza
Abrahams, Associate Choreographer James Berkery, Assistant
Choreographer Joanna Goodwin, Dialect Coach Elspeth Morrison,
Fight Director Kev McCurdy and Head Chaperone Helen ‘H’ Mclaren-Frost.
Children’s casting is managed by Jo Hawes, with adult
casting led by Curve Associate Kay Magson CDG.
Based on Stephen
Daldry’s BAFTA-winning 2000 film starring Jamie Bell and Julie Walters, Billy Elliot the Musical features
music from Elton John and
book and lyrics by Lee
Hall. The musical first premiered at London’s Victoria Palace
Theatre in 2005 and went on to win a host of international awards, including
four Olivier Awards and ten Tony Awards.
It’s the mid 80s. Thatcher is at her most powerful. Men mine and
boys box. Until, in a small town in County Durham, a young boy falls in love
with ballet.
Set amidst the increasingly bitter 1984/85 miners’ strike, Billy
Elliot the Musical is a tale of determination, acceptance and daring to be
different. In a close-knit community where family and tradition means
everything, can Billy forge a new destiny and follow his passion?
Based on Stephen Daldry’s acclaimed 2000 film, with music by
Elton John and book and lyrics by Lee Hall, this electrifying musical
features incredible songs such as Solidarity, The Letter, He Could Be a Star
and the show-stopping Electricity.
Tickets for Billy Elliot the Musical at
Curve be purchased on Curve’s website www.curveonline.co.uk,
over the phone by calling 0116 242 3595 or in-person at Curve’s Box Office.
Billy Elliot the Musical is presented by
arrangement with Music Theatre International: www.mtishows.co.uk
