Billy Elliot the Musical

A titantic West End and global smash in the ’00s and ’10s, the stage musical version of Billy Elliot is conceivably a bigger hit than the well-liked 2000 Britflick that it’s based upon. Tracing the adventures of young Billy – a working class lad from Durham coming to grips with his love of ballet at the hight of the miners’ strike – the musical adaptation retains the film’s director (Stephen Daldry) and writer (Lee Hall) but adds flamboyant theatricality, added rage at Thatcher, and songs by Elton John. It left West End a decade ago after a blockbuster run at the Victoria Palace Theatre, but now it returns for 2027, with a long-ish West End stint the centrepiece of a national tour.