Billy Elliot Tickets - Victoria Palace Theatre

Act I  (Song Titles In Bold)

 The Scene is set in County Durham in the north east of England during the 1984-1985 coal miners strike. ("The Stars Look Down"), motherless 11 year-old Billy inadvertently manages to find his way out of his boxing practice and to be the only boy in a ballet class run by Mrs. Wilkinson and becomes attracted to the grace of the dance ("Shine"). While Billy's brother, father and neighbours are all on strike and clash with riot police, Billy continues to take dance lessons, keeping it a secret from his family. The secret is at first easily kept, as the only person at home is his grandmother, who reveals her abusive relationship with her dead husband and that she too used to love to dance, which made everything all right ("Grandma's Song"). Billy then forms a friendship with Mrs. Wilkinson's daughter Debbie.

Billy's boxing coach informs his dad that the boy hasn't been to practice in months, and Mr. Elliot erupts in anger, realising Billy has spent the money he gave him for boxing on something else ("Solidarity"), a number which intersperses the violent, riotous, harsh reality with the girls peacefully practicing their ballet routines in a fictional but tranquil world. When Mr. Elliot finally discovers where his son has been, he storms into the ballet class and forbids Billy from attending lessons. Mrs. Wilkinson, who is supportive of Billy, recognising his talent, privately suggests he come to the studio to take free solo lessons, and he improves to a level way beyond that of the rest of the class. Eventually, she encourages Billy to audition for the Royal Ballet School in London. Meanwhile, Billy's best friend Michael is beginning slowly to understand his homosexuality and persuades Billy to have fun with him by dressing up in women's clothing and disdaining the restrictive inhibitions imposed on them by their working class community ("Expressing Yourself").

Billy continues taking the private ballet lessons, forming a bond with Mrs. Wilkinson and developing an impressive routine for his audition ("Dear Billy (Mum's Letter)/Born to Boogie"). Meanwhile, Billy's father and brother Tony are engaged in their daily battles with the riot police that often turn nasty and bloody. They struggle to support the family with very little in strike and union pay, a difficult task that goes on for the best part of a year.

When the day of the Royal Ballet School audition finally arrives, Mrs. Wilkinson comes to pick up Billy. However, his family and some members of the community have all gathered at the Elliot home, and she is forced to reveal that she has been teaching Billy ballet in preparation for this very day. This news upsets Billy's father and Tony, who starts to push the boy around, and call him names to embarrasses him in front of everyone. This setback sends Billy into a rage, and for nearly a year he stays away from everything related to ballet ("Angry Dance").

Act II

It's Christmas time in the community centre, the children put on a show disparaging Prime Minister Maggie Thatcher,  who is seen as the antagonist by the coal miners ("Merry Christmas, Maggie Thatcher"). Mr Elliot, Billy's father gets drunk and sings an old folk song that elicits memories of his deceased wife and the usually stoic man leaves the show in tears ("Deep Into the Ground"). Left alone with Billy in the Community Centre, Michael reveals he has feelings for him, but Billy explains that although he likes ballet and to dance, he is not gay. Nonetheless, he lets Michael give him a kiss on the cheek. Michael leaves, and Billy feels like dancing for the first time since the day of the aborted audition ("Swan Lake").

From the door, his father watches Billy's dance routine and, after being overcome with emotion, he goes to Mrs. Wilkinson's house to discuss Billy's prospects as a dancer. She confirms her opinion that Billy has talent, but is not sure whether or not he would get into the Royal Ballet School in London. The pair discuss the cost of tuition, an amount well beyond Mr. Elliot's means. He leaves questioning his working-class pride and the future mining has for his boys.

Mr. Elliot makes a decision that the only way to help Billy is to return to work. When Tony sees his father cross through the picket line, he becomes infuriated and the two argue over what is more important: unity of the miners or helping Billy achieve his dream ("He Could Be A Star"). The argument eventually comes to blows Billy is accidently hit. One by one, the miners side with Billy's quest and offer the boy their strike pay, but Billy still can't afford the bus fare down to London. A strike-breaker offers him hundreds of pounds from his wage, but this enrages Tony who attempts to shun his efforts, but nonetheless Billy accepts.

Now drained of hope, Tony dismally ponders whether there's actually a point to anything anymore, and runs off.  Billy and his father arrive at the Royal Ballet School for the big audition. While Mr. Elliot waits outside, an upper-crust Londoner highlights the contrast between the Elliot family and the other applicants. Mr. Elliot meets a dancer with a thick Northern accent. The dancer confesses that his father does not support his ballet career. He sharply advises Mr. Elliot to "get behind" his boy. Billy finishes the audition nervousely and with a sinking feeling that he did not do well. As he packs his gear, he lets that emotion overwhelm him, and he punches another auditioner in the face. The audition committee reminds Billy of the strict standards of the school. As they have received an enthusiastic letter from Mrs. Wilkinson explaining Billy's background and situation,they ask him to describe what he feels when he dances. Billy responds with a heartfelt declaration of his passion ("Electricity").

Back in County Durham, life resumes as normal for the Elliots.   Billy receives a letter from the school and, overwhelmed and fearful, knowing that it heralds the end of the whole life he has ever known, he informs his family that he wasn't accepted. Tony retrieves the letter from the waste bin and discovers that Billy was indeed accepted. At the same time, the miners have decided to go back to work resigned to the fact they are a part of a dying industry and a withering community, but take comfort that Billy at least will rise from the ashes to greatness. Billy says goodbye to the miners ("Once We Were Kings"), Mrs. Wilkinson (thanking her for everything she did to help him) and Debbie, who will both miss him ("Dear Mum (Billy's Reply)"). Michael arrives to say goodbye, and Billy gives him a friendly kiss on the cheek ("Finale"), leaving the past behind him and his bright future ahead of him.

Theatre tickets to Billy Elliot at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London can be purchased securely through this website.

Victoria Palace Theatre in London is a west end theatre in Victoria street opposite Victoria station in the City of Westminster. The theatre has been owned by Sir Stephen Waley-Cohen since 1991

The Victoria Palace began life as a small concert room above the stables of the Royal Standard Hotel, a small hotel and tavern built in 1832 at what was then 522 Stockbridge Terrace, on the site of the present theatre - not, as sometimes stated, on land where Victoria Station now stands. The proprietor, John Moy, enlarged the building, and by 1850 it became known as Moy's Music Hall.. Alfred Brown took it over in 1863, refurbished it, and renamed it the Royal Standard Music Hall after the hotel.

The hotel was demolished in 1886, by which time the main line terminus, Victoria Station and the Grosvenor Hotel, had transformed the area into a major transport hub. The railways were at this time starting to build grand hotel structures at their termini, and Victoria was one of the first. Added to this was the integration of the electric underground tube system and the building of Victoria Street. The owner of the music hall, Thomas Dickey, had it rebuilt along more ambitious lines in 1886 by Richard Wake, and retained the name Royal Standard Music Hall.

The Royal Standard, was demolished in 1910, and in its place at a cost of £12,000, the current theatre, The Victoria Palace was built. It was designed by prolific theatre architect Frank Matcham, and opened November 6th, 1911. The original design of the theatre featured a sliding roof that helped cool the auditorium during intervals in the summer months.

Under the impressario Alfred Butt, the Victoria Palace Theatre continued the musical theatre tradition by presenting mainly variety shows, and under later managements, repertory and revues. Perhaps because of its music hall linkage, the plays were not always taken too seriously. In 1934, the theatre presented a patriotic play called Young England written by the Rev. Walter Reynolds, then 83. It received such amusingly bad reviews that it became a cult hit and played to full houses for 278 performances before eventually transferring to two other west end theatres.

The long-running Black And White Minstrel Show played throughout the 1960s until 1972. In 1982, a production of The Little Foxes saw Elizabeth Taylor make her London stage debut. Another unusually long-running show at the theatre was Buddy- The Buddy Holly Story, that played for 13 years in London, beginning in 1989 but transferring to the Strand Theatre in 1995. . After this, the theatre presented mostly revivals of well-known musicals.

In 2005,Billy Elliot The Musical opened, garnering rave reviews and Olivier awards and is still the featured show at the Victoria Palace.

Theatre tickets to all performances at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London are available to book securely through this website.