accessmenj wrote: THEMES AND SUBPLOTS MISSED AT FIRST VIEWING
Achieving a Dream
Miner's Future Destroyed by own Government
Rejection by others of Grandma, Billy, Michael
Grief Expressed as Denial, Anger, Depression, Acceptance
Hunger, both Physical and Emotional
Parent's Wishes vs. Child's,- Debby's mom and Billy 's dad
Life Imitates Art, Actor's Roles and Children's Life Stories
Greek Tragedy, Doomed Fate
Altruism, Helping Someone Else Achieve their Dream
Denial of Reality
Self Perception and Fantasy vs. Reality
Hopelessness brings Violence and Hate
Violence and Conflict's Effect on Children
Conservative Society vs. Socialism
Personal Failure and Living Vicariously
Dealing with Anger
Compromise of Goals and Future
Art is an Expression for All, Especially the Downtrodden
Life's Gritty Reality
People's Enemy is the Government
Acceptance, Everyone is Special
Traditional Father's Role Needs to Change
It Takes a Village...to raise a child
Jealousy becomes Support
Billy and his Dad's relationship before the argument about dance lessons
It gets better- Billy's vision of a brighter future
Dramatic Irony (not a theme, but often missed)
Ordinary is Extraordinary(function of the chairs)
Talented People make others successful(Mrs.W. is talented herself)
Every little fishy must swim for himself(Billy takes charge of his life)
Optimism of Youth vs. Pessimism of Adults
Willingness to change opinions and value judgments
Act now and take a chance
Take a different road from the common
Theme of Courage
We are each other's caregivers and saviours
The relationship between mother and child
Budding sexuality of pre-teens
Everyone is intolerant of something
Various classes of society
Billy's poor home life follows everywhere except when he is dancing
Presence of Greek Mythology in BETM
Emancipation of Individual (successful) contrasts with Social Emancipation (failure)
With all the Regional Theatre, International Productions, and the British Isles Tour, I thought it might be time to republish this for the consideration of those who enjoy the genius of Lee Hall and the multi-layers of Billy Elliot the Musical. Some people might use this list as an excuse to attend the show again just to see what they missed at the first viewing. Some may even add new insights after their viewing.