Billy Elliot The Musical — Page 7

Ryan Longbottom (11), is a comic genius. He was picked to play Michael after strenous auditions, and after being well trained. After some changing around with the cast, he was paired up with Liam Mower (Billy). He is famous for being the only one who will outshine the dance prodigy, Liam, on stage. He has a tendency to eat the spotlight, then beg for more. Usually it is not a good thing to talk about someone stealing a scene from the main performer, but Ryan, as the sexually ambiguous Michael, is a scene stealer extraordinarie - he does it well. Talking about the end of the "Express Yourself" drag number, one reviewer wrote: "[Ryan Longbottom is] clutching the proscenium arch like a cross between Judy Garland and Danny la Rue."



Ryan lives in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, with his mum and dad and two sisters, Fiona and Naomi. In a way, Ryan's life is just like any other 11 year old. When in London, he shares a room with two other boys at the Billy Elliot House, wakes up in the morning at 8, has breakfast and goes to school at 9 - a school maintained by tutors at the house.

When Ryan saw his older sister Fiona dancing in Leeds, he thought that he wanted to do that too, so the very next week, at the tender age of 5, Ryan enrolled at the Mullen Theatre Studios on Elland Road in Leeds, and he later auditioned for and was accepted to the Scala School of Performing Arts, Horsforth, Leeds. He still goes to a regular school at home when he is not performing. He goes home for maybe one or two days a week and then four or five days every third week.

Even though he has done pantomime for many years, in such productions as Beauty and the Beast in Wakefield, he has a voice and a projection that will carry all the way to the back of the auditorium when he uses it. He also did a good performance in Rodger's and Hammerstein's The King & I at the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford.

One of his favourite scenes in Billy Elliot is the the Barbie scene, which always makes him want to crack up. If he talks to you, though, chances are he'll make you crack up. When he grows up he wants to become a director or an actor. He loves doing the show down in London, even though he is far away from his family. If he so wishes, he has a great future within the entertainment industry awaiting him.




Curious fact: Another Longbottom to come out of the Scala School of Performing Arts, is Neville Longbottom, or Matthew Lewis, of Harry Potter fame.

Updated On: 8/18/05 at 08:35 PM

I know you are a bit interested in the education the boys acquired at the Billy Elliot School. As you are probably aware, more boys than the production needed were trained. I'll let you meet some of them. They all worked just as hard as the boys who finally got the parts for the premiere season.

One of them was Jonathon Cordin, from Nottingham, a potential Billy. Jonathon is a very good dancer, but even though he was only 13 when he enrolled, the production team did not think he could be taken for an 11 year old boy. This although everyone was stunned by his dancing technique. Jonathon continues to excel as a promising athlete in competitions for the Mansfield Harriers around the country.

Kieron Boston, from Sunderland, who was 12 when he attended the school, was a potential Michael. Since he was somewhat familiar with disappointments, he carried the consolation that there will always be a next time, another opportunity. Having a background with Newcastle Dance Centre & Performing Arts Academy, and having performed in some theatre productions in South Shields, he went on to shoot 'Byker Groove' for BBC.

Though none of them got the parts, they could leave the Billy Elliot School, obviously disappointed, but knowing that they just had an experience for life. You should know that many of the boys who were accepted to this fine school had been bullied for dancing, fought the fights that comes with being possibly an only boy in a dancing class of girls. For what is more, each and everyone of them has a story, maybe of unsupportive families who just could not bring themselves to understand why their boy wanted to dance. Finally they had a chance to dance with other talented boys and also have a great deal of fun while doing it.

Updated On: 7/31/05 at 06:21 PM

I'd heard before that Elton's favorite lines from the musical are:

"It's like when you've been crying, and you're empty and you're full"

I think it's in one of the interviews on the bonus DVD of the "Billy Elliot" 2 DVD Special Edition.

My own personal favorite lines are from "The Letter"

"In everything you do, always be yourself Billy and you always will be true"

I can't hear these lines without my eyes welling a little.

What are everyone elses favorite lines ?

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Brad Kavanagh, 12, is a skateboarding dude with dark curly hair and spectacles. Courageous, robust, and rather uninhibited, what he puts his mind to, he will achieve. He plays Michael together with George Maguire as Billy. Brad carves his character into a hilarious highlight of the show. He manages to make Michael a funny, yet affectionate character. He is a true professional and has that quality so many other actors lack - timing.

Brad is from Hensingham, Whitehaven, in the Cumbrian Lake District. He has a background with the Razzamataz Theatre School in Workington and studied at St Benedict's Catholic School when he, aged 11, was encouraged by Denise Hutton of Razzamataz to audition for Billy Elliot in Newcastle in november, 2003. Over 200 boys auditioned for the part of Michael in Newcastle alone when Brad came along and showed them all the way. Brad auditioned for both Michael and Billy - without having had a single dance lesson ever! His personality caught the attention of the casting team already at the first audition, and they soon learned that he would do well to concentrate on the part of Michael, but he had to learn to tap, and a teacher from Razzamataz gave him an intense 2 hours a week crash course just before he entered the Billy Elliot School to help him win the part.

If you have seen Brad perform at any festival or other occasion, which he started attending to sing at the age of 8, you know he sticks in your head.

As a member of Whitehaven's Theatre of Youth, he played Joseph in a production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. The theatre company gave him a £250 scholarship to help him cover expenses in connection with becoming Michael. He also played Bert in Arthur Miller's All My Sons in 2002.

In 2003, he won News & Star's Reach for the Stars competition for children under 11. He is also an award winning verse speaker.

His mum, Lisa, is still astounded at just how he managed to get the part.

Originally and actor and singer, taught by Mr. John Baxter Shaw and Pauline Roberts of Razzamataz Theatre School, he was refined his tap skills at the Billy Elliot School under the supervision of Julie Lovewell, who several years earlier had found some talent in young Liam Mower, who is now playing Billy, and also had encouraged him to audition for the musical. Brad soon ruled the dance floor.

His proud grandparents came to see him when he premiered on West End together with George Maguire.

Updated On: 8/2/05 at 08:34 PM

I hate to say it but i'm pretty sure that picture above shows Liam Mower and Ryan Longbottom. Not Brad Kavanagh. I don't think Brad and Liam have actually performed together. Sorry! Just thought you might like to know.

Jessica Ronane had a difficult job when she started the auditioning process for Billy Elliot the Musical. She had a database created with all accredited dance schools in the north and north east of England, and called each of them asking them if they had boys aged 11-14 attending their school. If they had more than two, she personally visited the school and invited the boys to attend the audition. That's how it started. She found her boys everywhere. Most of them came from working-class families. The boys danced everywhere, any place where less privileged kids "would pay a pound on Saturday to just let rip and forget about the crap". To them, dancing was a means to an end - to get out of a hopeless situation.

Below are some pictures from an audition in London on February 8, 2004.

Updated On: 8/2/05 at 08:27 PM

I am a big fan of Billy Elliot and I've been to the show twice.( Apparently not enough)
I saw Liam the first time and James the second time. Even though they're both great, I would love to see Liam more times before tha cast changes.

I sent George a letter do you fink i will get a reply i really hope i do because i love him so so much????

I quite like most of the songs on the Peachtree Road album, I find the problem with it is that, with the exception of the Billy songs, a lot of the songs are very similar and the album doesn't "change gear" at all.

Electricity as a single got a little shafted. Although it got an early play on Top of the Pops, even that was cut short before the final chorus and it really didn't get much play time. Put that against James Blunt who was on every Sky music channel every hour and it's going to struggle.

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Whoa. Type normally, eh?

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sorry

If you ever go Blackpool, UK, you should arrange to stay at the Aysgarth House hotel on York Street in central Blackpool - with your whole family. It has been run by Richie and Lynn Lloyd for the last twenty years. They've brought up three children in these surroundings - Richard Leonard, 22, Shelby Louise, 8, and Ashley Luke, 14.

Ashley Luke Lloyd was born on the 6th of July, 1991. He has always been a great lover of animals, and when he was younger he wanted to become a dolphin trainer. He loves singing, acting, swimming, cricket, bike riding, and choreography.

Having all the children at home is a rare occasion for the Lloyd family, with Richard training with the Parachute Regiment at Catterick and Ashley being a true stage veteran who is very busy down in London.

Out of all the children involved with Billy Elliot, Ashley is probably the one with the longest resume. You might have seen him or heard him in a number of different ways.

Let us start out with some commercials and advertising he has done. He did an advert for the National Lottery as well as a Kinder Surprise commercial with Steps that was broadcasted in October 2000. He also did some advertising for Pontins (December 2000) and Merseyside Partnership (2001) among others.

Then we'll go on to his film and television credits. He made Hollyoaks for MTV Mersey Television, which is currently broadcasted on Channel 4 in England, as well as a voice-over in Millions (2004), by Danny Boyle with Alun Armstrong, James Nesbitt and Alex Etel.

Let's move on to his theatre credits. In 2000, he did Abbadabbadoo which ran in September and October at the Blackpool Opera House. In 2001, he began touring with Bill Kenwright's production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Whistle Down the Wind playing 'Poor Baby', first shared then fulltime, and he got raving reviews for his part. This he would keep doing until 2004, when he auditioned for the part of Michael. Ashley enjoyed his time with Whistle Down the Wind very much.

In spring 2003, at the age of 11, he did Brokenville by Philip Ridley, at the Theatre by the Lake in Keswick, directed by Liz Dale.

He's done other things as well. In 2001 he did the T&T Young Popstars Competition where he came in third.

Just how did Ashley end up in all of this? Every Saturday, young Ashley used to attend Scream Theatre School where he is a member of Scream Management Casting Agency. He goes to Bispham High School & Arts College in Blackpool, but when he is performing in London, he is tutored at the Billy Elliot House.

Ashley, who knew how to sing and act, could not tap when the Billy Elliot auditions came up, but his dance teacher, Ian Meeson, kindly taught him how to do it in a very short time.

One reviewer called him an "exciting revelation" with his touching portrayal of Michael; he is "funny and affecting", and together with James Lomas he dances up a storm.
Scream Management

Updated On: 8/6/05 at 08:49 PM

For those of you who are looking for all four parts of The Real Billy Elliot Diaries, they are available here, using Quicktime:

Part 1
http://www.workingtitlefilms.com/videoClips/diary1qt.mov

Part 2
http://www.workingtitlefilms.com/videoClips/diary2qt.mov

Part 3
http://www.workingtitlefilms.com/videoClips/diary3qt.mov

Part 4
http://www.workingtitlefilms.com/videoClips/diary4qt.mov

The cut and narration is a bit different from the ITV broadcast.

(Also, what do you think about George Maguire on all the posters that were all over London this summer?)

Updated On: 8/7/05 at 07:11 PM