Friday 15th July 2016, back in Cardiff at the Millenium Centre for two more performances of the brilliant Billy Elliot (The musical). Can’t believe there’s only two more shows to go at the Centre (after today), looking forward so much to watching them all.

For the matinee We have Billy (Lewis Smallman), Michael (Elliot Stiff), Debbie  (Lilly Cadwallender),and the role of the Small boy (Isobelle Chalmers).

For the evening show Billy is played by Haydn May, Michael by Samuel Torpey, Debbie by Italia Ross and Small boy is played by Isobelle Chalmers.

The cast ensemble is the focus today, haven’t mentioned them too much, but all of the shows I’ve seen they have been amazing. From the first scenes as the miners assemble on stage awaiting news of the strike, with ‘The stars look down’ going through to ‘Grandma’s song’ and’Solidarity’ these guys are just brilliant, filing this huge stage with three unforgettable scenes. Also have to mention the giant dresses in the song ‘Expressing yourself’ to come on stage in these huge costumes and actually do a tap  routine is genuinely amazing, and a credit to the actors playing these roles.

On closer inspection (the fact I’ve seen it so many times) ‘Angry dance’ really brings out the work the ensemble do, building the scene for Billy to dance around. A great routine is turned into an even better one, which makes watching it a very special end to the act.

Act two begins with ‘Merry Christmas Maggie Thatcher’, a fantastic send up at their xmas party, involving the whole cast. A definite crowd pleaser and just brilliant to watch. We next see them at the climax to the show, this is where we see the best of any ensemble, with an absolutely fantastic acapela version of ‘Once we were Kings’, put together with the sounds of the lift shaft heading down the pit, this brings the whole show to a fitting end, with the odd tear or two thrown in for good measure.

To sum up the ensemble are the unsung heroes of any show, and deserve all the praise they can get, simply due to the fact that every single one of them is superb. They work as a well oiled team, play understudy roles and definitely should not be forgotten.