Billy Youth Theatre Announces Partners For Regional Showcases

To celebrate five years in the West End, the producers of Billy Elliot the Musical launched Billy Youth Theatre, a new initiative providing schools and youth groups around the country with the opportunity to perform their own productions of the internationally award-winning show.

Today, 26 February 2010, Billy Youth Theatre announces the seven theatres that will partner with Billy Youth Theatre to host regional showcases throughout May and June 2010. A number of participating groups will be invited to perform excerpts from their productions at the showcases. A smaller selection of groups will be offered the opportunity to follow in the steps of Billy and perform at the Billy Youth Theatre West End Gala at the Victoria Palace Theatre, Billy's London home, in July 2010.

The partner theatres and performances dates are The Lowry (Quay Theatre), Salford, 9 May; Gala Theatre, Durham, 16 May; Wycombe Swan Theatre, High Wycombe, 22 May; Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, 8 June; Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Birmingham, 12 June Brighton Dome (Concert Hall), Brighton, 19 June; Curve, Leicester, 19 June. Tickets for each event are bookable direct with each Partner Theatre.

Billy Elliot writer Lee Hall together with Martin Koch, Musical Supervision and Orchestrations, adapted their original script and orchestrations to produce a shortened version of the show exclusively for groups staging local productions as part of Billy Youth Theatre. 115 groups and over 5,000 young people from Stirling to Southampton are now part of the Billy Youth Theatre which was open to schools and established youth groups in England, Scotland and Wales, and to performers aged 10-19.

In December last year, to support and encourage their local productions, the directors of the Billy Youth Theatre participating groups took part in a specially created all day workshop led by the award-winning team that brings Billy Elliot to life each day on the London stage. Participating on the day, alongside writer Lee Hall, were Resident Choreographers Lee Proud and Damian Jackson, Musical Director Chris Hatt and Resident Director Nick Evans as well as some former and current cast members.

Over 4.5 million people world-wide including HM The Queen have now seen Billy Elliot The Musical which celebrates its fifth birthday at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London on 31 March this year.

www.billyelliotthemusical.com

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