Photo Flash: Elton John and Billy Elliot Stars

Rock legend and Billy Elliot composer Elton John recently met up at London's Victoria Palace Theatre with 'Billy Elliot's' from the current London and future Australian productions of Billy Elliot.

As previously announced, Lochlan Denholm (from Melbourne), Rhys Kosakowski (Newcastle), Rarmian Newton (Melbourne) and Nick Twiney (Sydney) will share the title role in the Australian Billy Elliot, which will play its first public performance at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney on November 13.  Opening night is set for December 13.
 
Billy Elliot the Musical, which features book and lyrics by Lee Hall, music by Elton John and direction by Stephen Daldry, opened in London in May 2005, where it received glowing reviews, broke UK box office records, and still plays to capacity houses at the Victoria Palace Theatre. The creative team behind the Academy Award and BAFTA-nominated film Billy Elliot, including Hall, Daldry, and choreographer Peter Darling, all worked on adapting the film for the stage.  In London, the musical stars Colin Bates, Leon Cooke, Matthew Koon and Travis Yates.

Press notes state, "Set in the North East of England it is a funny, heart-warming and feel-good celebration of one boy's dreams set against the historic British miners' strike of 1984/85. The story follows the journey of a young boy raised in a small mining town who, after stumbling across a ballet class while on his way to a boxing lesson, realises that his future lays not in the boxing ring, but on stage as a dancer."

Visit www.billyelliot.com for more information.

Photo by David Scheinmann

Elton John with London and Sydney Billy Elliot's