As they prepare to celebrate the fifth birthday of hit London show Billy Elliot The Musical, the four boys who play the title character got a taste of what it is like to run the country when they were invited to Downing Street by Gordon Brown.
Dean-Charles Chapman, Tom Holland, Ollie Gardner and Fox Jackson-Keen took time out from rehearsals to visit the Prime Minister in the Cabinet Room. The quartet of young West End stars, who are more used to dancing than debating, were also introduced to Alistair Darling, Peter Mandelson and Margaret Hodge, the Minister for Culture and Tourism.
It is all a far cry from the story of a young boy from a mining town who dreams of being a dancer. In Lee Hall’s stage show, the Prime Minister of the time, Margaret Thatcher, takes a volley of tuneful of abuse from the Christmas crowd at the local club. The Billys were far more polite when meeting the politicians in person.
Based on the hit British film, Billy Elliot The Musical began its run at London’s Victoria Palace theatre on 31 March 2005, going on to win the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical the following year. At the prestigious theatrical award ceremony the original trio of Billys – James Lomas, George Maguire and Liam Mower – became the youngest performers to win the award for Best Actor in a Musical, an accolade they won collectively.
MA