Billy Elliot – The Musical at the Opera House

The Hungarian State Opera announced it in Februray 2015 that the musical by Lee Hall and Grammy Award winner Sir Elton John would be included in the repertoire. The piece is based on the three times Oscar-nominated film Billy Elliot, which tells the story of a talented boy born into a poor family who are against his wish to become a ballet dancer.

It’s 1984. In England’s mining towns, life is in upheaval: it is the time of the strikes. Eleven-year-old Billy Elliot lives in one of these towns. His father and older brother have joined the picket line to fight for a better living. His mother is dead. Following in the family tradition, the boy attends boxing lessons, but this violent sport doesn’t suit him much. One day he happens upon the girls at their ballet class and is smitten by the dancing. Will a young boy’s artistic talent be able to bring the family and the community together? Will Billy succeed in making his dreams come true?

This musical adaptation which has delighted audiences around the world is the collaboration between Sir Elton John and the winning team behind the original 2000 feature film. The Hungarian State Opera presents it in a non-replica production directed by Tamás Szirtes, and with choreography by Ákos Tihanyi.

An all-star cast is featured in the new production of Billy Elliot – The Musical that will have its premiere at the Opera House. Later, more series at the Erkel Theatre will feature in the programme of the next season. The musical has been seen by more than 5 million people in London since its 2005 premiere, and 11 million people worldwide. For the Hungarian production popular Hungarian stage actors, Judit Ladinek, Nikolett Gallusz, Éva Auksz, András Stohl, Sándor Tóth, Kristóf Németh, Boglárka Simon, Renáta Krassy, Eszter Balla, Eszter Csákányi, Ilona Bencze and Ildikó Hűvösvölgyi have been cast in the adult roles of the production.