Billy Elliot (London)

The original 2005 West End world premiere of Elton John and Lee Hall’s masterpiece 'Billy Elliot' completely transfigured the international theater world, opening to universal critical adulation at London’s historic Victoria Palace Theatre and running for an astonishing eleven years. Set during the politically cold, socio-economic collapse of the UK miners' strike under Margaret Thatcher, the plot charts an impoverished youth’s determination to dance modern ballet against a wall of institutional hostility. Directed by Stephen Daldry, this historic UK launch laid the foundation for a global phenomenon that would eventually conquer Broadway.