Writing Style 2 - Draft 2

As you walk into London’s Victoria Palace Theatre your imagination begins to run wild. I compare this sort of feeling to reading a book and then going to see the screenplay - will the director have done the authors words justice? Will the set look as you imagined it? or will the thrill of an imagination be forgotten?

The theatre is full of people discussing the event which is about to take place, as we hear the final call bell the sense of urgency fills the air as the last remaining punters take their seats and we all relax into a world which we have no control over. As the orchestra strikes up the chills run down my spine and we begin our journey with Billy Elliot. The fact that the musical is home grown makes me feel even more inclined to enjoy the show, the talent that oozes from the young boys that play Billy is astounding and also adds to the magic of the piece as each section of the show begins you wish it never to end however your intrigued to know what comes next.

The set is a simple one using movement more to make the show work which allows the audience to use their imagination - in some ways I wish I had never seen the film previously because this is all I can picture at this point, however pushing that feeling to one side I place myself in a rough area of the North East and allow the feelings to enter my body taking allowing me to take a piece of Billy throughout the show. His house just a staircase with a bed at the top of it and a table at the bottom highlighting the lack of anything material being present in Billy’s life - this also an element that sets the adrenaline running through your body, you want his story to end with the simple words “…And they lived happily ever after“.

As each number begins you feel that it can never beat the last, the chorography and composition of each song are spectacular allowing the music to take the story of Billy Elliot into a completely different league to what the film did, although I agree that watching a film is nothing compared to the feeling of watching it at the theatre, 'Billy Elliot - The Screenplay' is one of few films that leaves you pondering for hours even days you I to be Billy, I want to dance my way into an audition and dance out with a yes. The beauty of the story is that each character fills an area of an average persons life making the story easy to relate to everyone has a Mr. Elliot who thinks that dancing is for poofs or think people and everyone has a Mrs. Wilkinson the one who wishing for you the best in life and tells you to fight for everything you want, especially those in the performing arts world.

‘Electricity’ has to be the musicals most famous song. You can feel Billy fit to burst with passion, the song itself is very mellow and slow it allows me as the audience to explore all areas of Billy’s emotions his movements are slight and his voice is soft part of me wants him to burst into a big number yet the simplicity of the words, set and choreography make this song all the more enjoyable to experience, we have watched Billy fight his feelings up until this point, try and play down his love for dance in front of his father - this is the first time we see him really tell his father how he feels and I speak for everyone in saying that we all have our fingers crossed that his father will give in to his cry for help. At this point it all gets to much for Billy and the audience you can fell people itching to jump out of their chairs and scream at Mr. Elliot ’take him to London’, ’Let the boy live his dream’ or something of the sort however the tension is keeping each person glued to their seats in the hope he will do it with little encouragement, the young boys who have been cast to play Billy have been cast for a reason its like they were born into the role they portray his story so well.

The magic of 'Billy Elliot - The Musical' is felt through out the theatre and if it portrays one message to us as an audience it’s that we make the life that we live, we must follow our dreams and aim high - if a 12 year old boy whose family live on the breadline can believe in himself then so can everybody else.