News
Billy Youth Theatre
West End Gala
posted 13 May 2010
We are thrilled to be one of 14 groups to have been selected to perform at the Billy Youth Theatre West End Gala which will take place at the Victoria Palace Theatre on Sunday 18 July 2010.
An amazing 115 schools and youth organisations from across the country took on the challenge of staging their very own version of Billy Elliot. As part of programme, selected groups from around the country were invited to perform excerpts from their productions at showcases held at major regional theatres between April and June 2010 (in our case, at the Brighton Dome on 19 June).
The Billy Youth Theatre initiative will culminate with some groups being offered the opportunity to follow in the steps of Billy and perform at the Billy Youth Theatre West End Gala at the Victoria Palace Theatre, Billy's London home.
On the Saturday we will be participating in workshops with the Victoria Palace resident directors. There will be a full day of rehearsals on the Sunday and then we are opening the show in the evening with 'Stars Look Down' featuring our full company. We are also performing 'Shine', which features Billy, Mrs Wilkinson, Mr Braithwaite and the Ballet Girls, and finishing off with the Soup Kitchen acting scene. And we will be accompanied by the professional West End Billy Elliot Orchestra!
Billy Elliot writer Lee Hall, who originally conceived the idea behind Billy Youth Theatre, said: "I am thrilled that so many young people around the country have had the opportunity to bring the story of Billy Elliot to life in their local communities. We have seen some amazing performances from groups throughout the UK and are delighted that some of them are also being given the opportunity to perform at great regional theatres around the country and in the West End. Congratulations to them all."
See the Billy Youth Theatre announcement on the BYT website or download the BYT/CYTC press release [Word doc, 57KB].