Melbourne

This is the 60th anniversary year of CLOC Musical Theatre (formerly Cheltenham Light Opera Company) and president Ric Birkett is beaming proud of Billy Elliot The Musical.

I always thought this show was based on a true story, but to my surprise it is fictional. However there would be many boys in dance classes around and many successful male dancers worldwide that could totally relate to this script in more ways than one. Being accepted as a male dancer certainly has its challenges and though it has improved immensely in recent years in genres such as hip hop, tap, jazz and commercial, there are still not a lot of boys taking up ballet like the character of Billy.

There would only be a handful of boys who could even play this role in Melbourne and two of them are on stage here in their first show with the CLOC production team, being Lukas Elliott (his real last name) from Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School and Sebastian Sero having trained with the The Australian Ballet School. I saw Lukas (and yes, he’s thrilled to be playing his namesake even though it is spelled differently) and he was a standout for his acting ability too. This show is all about Billy the whole way through, it’s demanding but a dream role for a young boy who loves to dance!

Set in the 1980s at the time when the closure of the North England coalmines saw the conservative government of Margaret Thatcher take a particularly vengeful and confrontational path, the language in the show takes “it’s OK to swear in art” to a whole new level! Being honest, it was a bit of ‘shock therapy’ as I settled into the atmosphere, but as the show goes on you realise the script writing does portray exactly how such a community would speak in this situation, so don’t worry, you get used to it and will likely laugh at a lot of quipped lines.

Billy’s father is played by returning loyal CLOC member, Chris Hughes. Seventeen years after his last show with CLOC, he’s a natural in acting the tough guy typical miner who does not want to see his son become a dancer, at least not at first. He does come around eventually after a dressing down from Billy’s secret ballet teacher played by well-known Melanie Ott in her 10th show with the company, but not before his other son, Billy’s older brother who is exceptionally characterized by Joshua Sumner, gives every reason under the sun not to allow Billy his chosen path.

This show introduces a ton of new talent in the ballet girls, all in their first show with CLOC and they are everything from funny to cute. The high pitched screaming as they run onto stage was probably not unlike what their parents heard at home when they got a spot on the cast. It’s a coveted place to get into one of CLOC’s shows and of course there are no other shows where this many young accomplished dancers get to twirl around, be silly and act like they’ve actually never danced a concert in their life, which in reality is far from truth. In particular, it was the chance of a lifetime for Emily Bon-Fuller and Isla Everett to play “Debbie”, the impertinent daughter of Billy’s dance teacher. I saw grade 6 student Emily who can definitely act with sass!

Billy’s close friend is played by youngsters Angus Hutchinson and Harrison Lloyd both also in their first CLOC show. I saw Angus and he was an absolute delight to watch, he must have had a lot of fun in this role and he surely has the most fun dance number with giant dresses and Billy by his side. Again, these boys can dance!

A shout out to “Grandma” played by Barbara Hughes, who has worked for almost 50 years in non-professional theatre but was cast in the ensemble as the Grandma cover in the last professional Australian touring production of Billy Elliot, cut short by COVID, so in this show she finally got her chance. Her character calls it like she sees it, something many a Nana can get away with. Age gives you that right.

Billy’s mother (deceased) makes appearances in his mind by Elise Stevens and you can’t help but envisage any child’s lost parent watching on from Heaven to see their child go for their dreams.

The amazing Ensemble truly makes the show. There is so much energy on stage. It is loud! It is mining! It is teamwork! In the audience you feel like you are part of the action, and heads up to the choreography skills that managed to have so many people on stage not bumping into each other (unless it was on purpose with fists ready).

Billy Elliot will appeal to anyone really. It’s got enough manly guts in it to take your hubby (even though he doesn’t like musicals) and enough softness to reflect upon standing up for your work colleagues, helping the cause about what you believe is right for your community and above all, supporting your children’s goals.

I wonder if there was a “real” Billy Elliot in that mining town, who perhaps just didn’t get the chance to shine like this show does. I hope it inspires other boys who like to dance to try ballet. I hope it is a reminder that boys dance too. The world needs more dancing.

Congratulations to the Direction trio of Lynette White, Chris White, David Clausen-Wisken, and the entire CLOC team, this show is superbly executed, so fight your way to a seat for one of the last shows coming up!

Tickets 10-25th May via www.cloc.org.au

This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.

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