‘Billy Eliot’ – Directed and Choreographed by Rachel Bertone; Musical Direction by Kathleen Castellanos; Scenic and Costume Design by The Mad Men of Oopsy Daisy; Sound Design by Andrew Cameron; Lighting Design by Michael Wingate Seavey; Properties Design by Kate Dugan. Presented by Seacoast Repertory Theatre at 125 Bow St, Portsmouth, NH through March 9

By Linda Chin

Set in a small town in northern England circa 1984, Billy Elliot is the story of a working class boy who wants to be a ballet dancer. His mum’s dead, his family is still grieving, and the community is being torn apart by a miners’ strike, the most bitter industrial dispute in British history. The story explores themes that include labor rights, homophobia, gender stereotypes and class struggles. I was fortunate to see the show in London’s West End, and since it crossed the Atlantic a decade ago, I’ve seen so many performances (over 100?) – on Broadway, the first national tour in Chicago, Broadway in Boston, revivals at professional regional and community theaters in New England (including Wheelock, Palace, North Shore, Ogunquit, Marblehead, Company) – that I’ve lost count.

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