Billy Elliot the Forum

I'm always impressed when I'm anywhere away from the theatre, and a former Billy and his family ask for a table at a restaurant or anything similar. It's always just with complete humility and no desire to announce to the world who they are/who their son is. I'm sure it just becomes second nature (albeit strange) to see your son have a thousand to two thousand people on their feet cheering for him one minute, and then half an hour later blend into the crowds of London or New York City like everyone else, but their humility never ceases to impress me nonetheless!

Sean

I can recall nipping into a local Panera Bread in Palm Beach after a show in 2013, and in walked Sam Poon, Jake Kitchen, about a half dozen Ballet Girls, and a Small Boy, by themselves - no adults......they just were a bunch of ordinary kids, grabbing a sandwich, having a blast - just as they should be.

I have a feeling Panera Bread nationwide did very well from the Tour!

angelenroute wrote:I'm sure it just becomes second nature (albeit strange) to see your son have a thousand to two thousand people on their feet cheering for him one minute, and then half an hour later blend into the crowds of London or New York City like everyone else, but their humility never ceases to impress me nonetheless!

I thought this when I saw 'Susan Parks' on the tube train, as I was on my way home after a show. Just a few moments before she had been doing a brilliant character performance on the VPT stage...and then there she was playing with her phone, looking so down to earth with her Dad en route home! No one else in the tube carriage would have known that she'd spent the last 3 hours entertaining a theatre crowd!

Todd wrote:While most aspiring actors would celebrate being cast as an ensemble member or in a small part of a professional stage production, I've always wondered what a former Billy must think when this happens to them, after they've been the lead in a West End or Broadway show. I can imagine that it must be quite humbling, and one can see how trying to make sense of it while still a teenager or young adult must be quite difficult at times.

I also thought about this when I saw that Elliott Hanna was doing panto at Christmas time (from his instagram account https://www.instagram.com/p/_INGmTPD-y/ ... thanna2034) I wondered what it was like for him going from the lead role in the West End (and on a dvd) to being part of the ensemble in a local pantomime. From his account and comments, he looked like he was enjoying the panto very much, and I'm sure/I hope that the humility and modesty these children learn under the BETM management will stand them in good stead for all future performance moments they have (no matter how big or how small). Still, it must be strange for Elliott!