BILLY ELLIOT: THE MUSICAL

| 2020 | ADVANCED SCENIC DESIGN II | MFA COURSEWORK|

Billy Elliot is an 11-year-old boy, struggling against the environment he’s grown up in. While feeling the overwhelming pressure from his father, brother and townsmen to practice boxing in anticipation for becoming a miner, Billy accidentally stumbles upon a passion for ballet. The musical follows Billy as he contemplates his potential future all while his family and the rest of the small mining town in North East England strike against the NCB (National Coal Board) to keep power in the hands of the union. The clash of toxic masculinity against the ideology of finding your own path and committing to something of a different “norm” is a big influence in the design of the scenery. The coarse, cold and harsh materials against a wide canvas of sky and an implied ocean of dreams represent Billy’s longing for something more than where he is. While the town focuses on the strike and violence happening around them, Billy looks out his window at the vast world and sets his alarm for whatever his future has in store.

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