It’s not every day that you have a president in your audience, but it happened to the cast of Billy Elliot The Musical this weekend.
Dalia Grybauskaite, the President of Lithuania, dubbed the Baltic nation’s own Iron Lady, dropped in to see the musical tale of a northern boy with a talent for dancing on Saturday evening.
Lithuania’s first female head of state, who is enjoying everything London has to offer during the Olympic summer, popped backstage after the performance to offer Lithuanian cake, chocolates and sweets to the cast.
Billy Elliot The Musical, which has been playing at the Victoria Palace since 2005, is based on one of the most acclaimed British films of all time and features a score by iconic pop star Elton John. Its tale of miners in a political battle with Margaret Thatcher takes a dim view of Britain’s Iron Lady. Lithuania’s counterpart was received with much more cheer.
Harrison Dowzell, who played the title role in the presence of the special guest, said: “It was so exciting meeting the President of Lithuania on Saturday night, she came on stage after the curtain call with a cake she had brought with her all the way from Lithuania just for us, she was a really nice lady and really loved the show!”
Billy Elliot The Musical is just one of a host of hit productions playing in London during this summer like no other. You can see a list of shows playing in London here.