After some shopping on Oxford Street for a Christmas present for Jen, and a thoroughly unimpressive lunch at the cafe in John Lewis, we headed over to the Victoria Palace Theatre for the matinee performance of Billy Elliot: The Musical.
This is a show that Jen and I have overlooked in the past because there was always something else that we wanted to see more. Mistake - this musical should be at or near the top of any theatre-goer's list; it's incredible. Being a show about dancing, the choreography is amazing, but what makes it amazing is that it's all done by a 10-year-old boy. It obviously wouldn't be nearly so impressive if it were a performance of some ballet troupe or other.
The language was unbelievably blue, although we knew to expect that. As it's set in the North East of England, and being a North-Easterner myself, it made me strangely proud of my roots - something I don't say all that often.
This show has everything. I laughed, I cried (a lot), I was blown away by the choreography. I just wish I hadn't waited so long to see it.
* The title is a line from the show - after Mrs Wilkinson suggests that Billy audition for the Royal Ballet School and tells him she will give him free, private coaching. Brilliant.
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