BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL to Visit Birmingham on First Ever UK Tour

The winner of 10 Tony and 5 Olivier Awards, Billy Elliot the Musical will be at Birmingham Hippodrome for the first time ever from Tue 7 Mar - Sat 29 Apr 2017. Seen by almost 11 million people worldwide, Billy Elliot the Musical is set in a northern mining town against the background of the 1984/85 miners' strike and follows Billy's journey from boxing to ballet class where he discovers a passion for dance that inspires his family and whole community and changes his life forever.

Sharing the role of Billy are Adam Abbou, Matthew Lyons, Haydn May and local boy Lewis Smallman from West Bromwich.

Lewis Smallman trained at Arabesque Dance Academy and Renaissance Arts. He has appeared in the English Youth Ballet's "Swan Lake" and as 'Kurt' in "The Sound of Music" at Sutton Town Hall. He is also a keen gymnast with Sandwell Flyers Gymnastic Academy. Adam Abbou trained at Nazene Danielle's Dance Dynamix and has competed in various regional and national dance championships. He has previously appeared as 'Jerome' in "South Pacific" and 'Nibs' in "Peter Pan", both at the Liverpool Empire. Matthew Lyons trained at the West Yorkshire School of Performing Arts and has previously appeared in Matthew Bourne's production of "Lord of the Flies" at the Bradford Alhambra. Haydn May trained at the Dorothy Coleborn School of Dancing and is a member of Tap Attack in Swindon and the Bristol Hawks Gymnastics Club. He has appeared as 'Chip' in "Beauty and the Beast, 'Munchkin' in "The Wizard of Oz" and 'Michael in "Peter Pan", all at the Theatre Royal, Bath.

Adam, Matthew, Haydn and Lewis will be joined by Henry Farmer (10 years old from Lancashire), Elliot Stiff (9 years old from Sunderland) and Samuel Torpey (9 years old from Manchester) who all alternate the role of Billy's best friend Michael. Joining them will be Lilly Cadwallender (10 years old from Hartlepool), Evie Martin (10 years old from Middlesbrough) and Italia Ross (10 years old from Hartlepool) who all alternate the role of Debbie.

They join Annette McLaughlin as Mrs Wilkinson, Martin Walsh as 'Dad', Scott Garnham as 'Tony' and Andrea Miller as 'Grandma'. Completing the cast are Henry Farmer, Elliot Stiff and Samuel Torpey who alternate the role of Michael, and Lilly Cadwallender, Evie Martin, and Italia Ross who alternate the role of Debbie.

Annette McLaughlin's many West End musical theatre credits include 'Mrs Wormwood' in "Matilda", 'Velma Kelly' in "Chicago" and 'Erma' in "Anything Goes". Her numerous Royal Shakespeare credits include roles in "The Jew of Malta", "Measure for Measure" and "Volpone". Her Almeida theatre credits include "Lysisitrata" and "The Odyssey". Her other theatre credits include 'Tracey Lord' in "High Society" at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre and "Singin' in the Rain" at the National Theatre. Martin Walsh is currently filming "Rovers" for Sky 1. His other TV credits include "Game of Thrones", "Downton Abbey" and "Coronation Street". He has also appeared on "The Trials of Jimmy Rose" and "Shameless". Scott Garnham's many West End credits include "LES MISERABLES" and the original casts of "I Can't Sing" and "Made In Dagenham". His other theatre credits include "Titanic" at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto, "Grand Hotel" at Southwark Playhouse and the UK tour of "Never Forget". Andrea Miller has appeared in numerous musicals including "Sweeney Todd", "Into the Woods", "Blood Brothers" and "Annie". She most recently appeared in "Sister Act".

The company also includes Phillip Aiden, Jonathan Alden, Leo Atkin, Tom Bainbridge, Deborah Bundy, Jack Butterworth, Luke Cinque-White, Donna Combe, Wayne Fitzsimmons, Nikki Gerrard, Abbie Louise Harris, Paul Hutton, Leon Kay, Charlie Martin, Kris Manuel, Barnaby Meredith, Daniel Page, Georgina Parkinson, Amy Rhiannon-Worth, Rachel Spurrell, Sebastian Sykes, Rafe Watts and Luke Zammit.

Billy Elliot the Musical is brought to life by the multiple award-winning creative team behind the hit film including writer Lee Hall (book and lyrics), director Stephen Daldry, choreographer Peter Darling, and musical superstar Elton John who composed the show's score.

Billy Elliot the Musical is at Birmingham Hippodrome from Tuesday 7 March - Saturday 29 April 2017. Performance times: Mon-Sat eves 7.30pm, Sat Mats 2.30pm, Thurs Mats 2pm. Tickets are priced from £25. Purchase online at www.birminghamhippodrome.com or telephone 0844 338 5000. A 5% transaction charge applies (excl. cash sales in person) postage from £1. Phone calls from 4.5p per minute. Prices and discounting subject to change.

There will be an audio described performance of Billy Elliot the Musical on Sat 22 Apr at 2.30pm, a captioned performance on Thurs 20 Apr at 7.30pm and a signed performance on Tues 18 Apr at 7.30pm.

Photo credit: Alastair Muir

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