Photo Flash: London's Newest BILLY ELLIOT Takes the Stage

13 year old Adam Vesperman from Seattle, USA, made his West End stage debut as Billy Elliot at the Victoria Palace Theatre, becoming the twenty-seventh boy to play the title role in the hit west end show Billy Elliot The Musical.

Based on the Oscar nominated film, Billy Elliot the Musical is an inspirational story of one boy’s dream to realise his ambitions against the odds.  Set in the North East of England against the background of the historic 1984/85 miners’ strike, Billy pursues his passion for dance in secret to avoid disapproval of his struggling family.  

The internationally award-winning show, which opened at the Victoria Palace Theatre in 2005, has been seen by over 7 million people worldwide, including 3.3 million in the West End. Now in its seventh year in the West End, Billy Elliot the Musical, has performed in Sydney, Melbourne, Chicago and Seoul, South Korea, and is currently performing at the Imperial Theatre on Broadway, on tour across North America and at the Canon Theatre, Toronto.  

Billy Elliot the Musical features music by Elton John, book and lyrics by Lee Hall, is directed by Stephen Daldry with choreography by Peter Darling. The production features scenic design by Ian MacNeil, the associate director is Julian Webber, costume design is by Nicky Gillibrand, lighting design by Rick Fisher and sound design by Paul Arditti. Musical supervision and orchestrations are by Martin Koch.

Adam Vesperman is thirteen years old from Seattle, Washington, in the United States.  Adam lives with his Mum, Dad, his sister Delaney and two dogs, Joey and Pepsi.  He started dancing when he was 7, training in jazz and hip-hop and is now trained in a variety of dance styles, including contemporary and ballet.  On joining the Billy Elliot Company Adam said:   “After a few auditions around America, I was the happiest boy on earth when I found out that I would be coming to London and to train to be Billy Elliot.  It’s so hard being 5,000 miles away from my family and friends for so long, but it’s worth it. Being Billy has changed my life so much - the training, experience, and best of all the wonderful people I get to work with. I miss my family a lot, but being in the show keeps us so busy that I don’t really think about it too much.  I am the sixth American Billy to star in the London production and I hope that I can maintain the high quality shown by my predecessors.”  

For more information, visit www.billyelliotthemusical.com, and see BILLY ELLIOT's latest production shots below!

Photo Credit: Alastair Muir