Liam Mower will perform the title role in
Billy Elliot the Musical for the final time at the Victoria Palace on Saturday, September 30th, handing over his ballet shoes and boxing gloves to the next generation of young boys who are now sharing the stage in the award-winning musical.
Mower (now 14 years old), along with
George Maguire and James Lomas, created the role of 11 year-old Billy Elliot on stage in March 2005, and later this month, after a year and a half, Mower will play Billy for the final time before returning to his home town of Hull to begin studying for his GCSEs.
Elton John and Lee Hall's
Billy Elliot received its world premiere at the Victoria Palace Theatre in March 2005, directed by
Stephen Daldry. Since it opened the hit musical has been seen by almost 1 million people, playing to full houses at the Victoria Palace, where it has broken box office records.
As well as performing in front of the HM Queen at the Victoria Palace Theatre, Mower was invited to perform at Buckingham Palace for Prince Charles as part of his involvement with the Royal Ballet School. Earlier this year, Mower was invited by Anna Wintour to perform in New York at the prestigious AngloMania Ball at Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he performed in front of a star studded audience including Drew Barrymore, P. Diddy,
Richard Gere,
Jennifer Lopez and
Sarah Jessica Parker. In May 2006, Mower was reunited with James and George, with whom he shared the Laurence Olivier award for Best Actor in a Musical, for a special one-off performance to celebrate
Billy Elliot's 1st birthday.
Joining the current
Billy Elliot's - Colin Bates, Leon Cooke, Matthew Koon and Travis Yates - the current West End cast includes Sally Dexter (Mrs Wilkinson) Philip Whitchurch (Dad), Chris Lennon (Tony), Ann Emery (Grandma), Sara Poyzer (Billy's Mum), Paul Broughton (George), Alex Delamere (Mr Braithwaite), Isaac James (Older Billy).
Due to public demand,
Billy Elliot will open a new booking period on Sunday, November 12th with tickets on sale for performances until Saturday, October 20th.
Billy Elliot "is set in the North East and is a funny, heart-warming and feel-good celebration of one young boy's dreams. This new staging of is an adaptation of one of the most adored British films of the last decade which broke box office records across the world and was nominated for 3 Oscars and 13 BAFTA Awards," according to production notes.
Written by Lee Hall and directed by
Stephen Daldry,
Billy Elliot was developed for the stage by the same multi-award winning creative team. The show features music and lyrics by pop legend
Elton John (
Aida, The Lion King, Lestat), with choreography by Peter Darlingm, designs by
Ian MacNeil, sound by Paul Arditti and lighting by Rick Fisher.
Billy Elliot is produced by Working Title and Old Vic Productions plc.
Visit
www.billyelliotthemusical.com for more information.
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