Interview

Meeting Billy Elliot

by Phil Willmott
15/09/2005

Even for very established celebs it can be nerve racking facing a press conference and photo call so I was very impressed with Leon Cooke and Joey Philips who are about to join the team of boys playing Billy Elliot and his friend at the Victoria Palace. They handled a barrage of photographers and a motley collection of theatre journalists with tremendous style on Tuesday Morning.

The event began at 11am when a dozen little ballet girls in tutus spilled out on to the stage of the Victoria Palace to flank the two lads as they leapt off a piano to recreate the famous Billy in mid air pose you see on the posters. All the youngsters coped very well with being manoeuvred into various photo ops by the photographers.

The show's director Stephen Dladry was on hand to keep things moving speedily and efficiently and it's very obvious that he takes a very personal interest in the kids well being.

Both sets of parents also faced the cameras and it was interesting to observe their awkwardness in contrast with the boys who seemed quite at home in the spotlight.

Inevitably they seemed a little shyer when taking questions but not for long and although two thirteen year old boys are hardly going to make any "stop the press" revelations we did get an interesting glimpse into how the show operates.

It requires a constant supply of child stars to play Billy and his friend Michael who are required to act, sing and dance in a number of styles and be credibly from the North of England. The producers have established a Billy Elliot School in Leeds where twelve boys give up their Saturdays to learn the various disciplines required.

The directors have auditioned around 400 boys on their visits to schools and those showing promise begin preparations up to eighteen months before they are up for selection to join the actual show. Each boy is given a six month contract to perform the show 2-3 times a week which can be extended if the local authorities are happy with the working conditions and two of the original Billy's are staying on to rotate the role with new boy,Leon. So including training it's not unusual for a child to be with the show for several years and the production team form strong bonds with the young actors. In fact Daldry is anxious that they also continue to give support when the Billys leave. It may be tough to swap the excitement of the west end for the reality of GCSE's in you home town.

I haven't seen the show but it's undoubtedly one of London's hot tickets having already played to a quarter of a million people since March. Not surprisingly a Broadway production is being discussed but the biggest stumbling block is where to find Billy's for America. Will they be home grown or imported? Anyway here's what the current crop have to say about themselves.

Leon Cooke is the new Billy:

"I have been dancing since the age of two at The Marilyn Jones Dance Centre, which is like a second home to me. My brothers, sisters and my Mum have all danced there. My Dad teaches for Miss Marilyn so I can join in as many classes as I like. I study ballet, tap, gymnastics, theatrecraft, song and dance and streetdance. I love ballet and my ambition is to be as good as Mikhail Baryshnikov and Angel Corella from The American Ballet Theatre. I am a Mid-Associate with The Royal Ballet at Birmingham. Last year I was nominated for the IDTA, Ken Dodd Tap Award. I live in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire with my Mum and Dad, five sisters (Tara, Zena, Cassandra, Anastasia, Valentina) and two brothers (Damian and Dmitri) and I attend St. John Fisher Catholic High School. In my spare time I enjoy playing football and playing golf at the local driving range with my friend James. When my sister Zena took me for the first audition in Manchester I had no idea that I would get through. It seems like a dream now that I have been chosen to play Billy at the Victoria Palace and I am really looking forward to it"

Joey Phillips plays his cross dressing best friend Michael:

"I am thirteen years old and live in Lytham St. Annes with my Mum, Dad and sister Emma. I attend Lytham St. Annes High Technology College and my hobbies are acting, dancing, singing and sport. Music has always been played in my house and when I was little I used to try to make up dances so at the age of four I started attending Rainbow Dance Studios. I learnt modern and tap dancing. When I was seven I started performing in pantomimes and at ten I played Kurt in the Sound of Music with Imagine Productions, this lead to further amateur lead roles in The Secret Garden, Oliver and Les Miserables. I am really excited about playing Michael in Billy Elliot The Musical, especially because it will be my first time on the West End Stage"

At the end of the press call everyone, parents and kids, were asked how they felt about the impending first night. "Scared" was the most common answer apart from young Leon who calmly told us he had "mixed emotions". An impressive answer from a fourteen year old.

I think he'll be skilfully handling the press for some years to come.