| Status: | Active, open to new members |
| Leader: | |
| When: | Various times and dates: The group meeting dates vary according to scheduled performance dates. |
For more information please email Jayne Piper
We try to support local events, which includes using The Bonnington Theatre where we see current movies plus national streamed shows, ballets & opera.
April 2025 saw Ravenshead u3a’s Cinema and Theatre Group pay an evening visit to the Bonington Theatre in Arnold to see ‘Billy Elliot the Musical Live! Despite the title, this is in fact a recording of the 20th anniversary performance of the 2014 West End stage show which is of course based on the 2000 film.
It features the music of Elton John and some very energetic tap and ballet dancing. Unlike the film where the dancing and the miners’ strike appear as two separate threads, in this version they are cleverly intermingled.
Billy’s father is still violently opposed to his son’s desire to dance, insisting that he attend the boxing classes instead. When he discovers by accident from a fellow miner that Billy has not been boxing, the inevitable argument ensues.
Billy is supported by ‘conversations’ he has with his dead mother. They perform an emotional and moving duet based on a letter she has written to be opened when he turned 18. Needless to say, he didn’t wait that long! When his ballet teacher sees the letter, she encourages Billy to use it as an inspiration for his audition piece for the Royal Ballet School by following his mother’s encouragement to simply be himself.
Of course, despite a catastrophic audition, Billy succeeds in his ambition to join the school.
The family conflict is resolved when his father and elder brother, both initially militant striking miners, realise that his future lay on the stage and not underground.
Report by Sue Butler