Who can believe ten years have passed since since Billy Elliot fouettéd his way onto the stage of the Victoria Palace Theatre? Back in 2005, three incredible young actors created the stage role of Billy and wey aye man, they’ve grown up. In writing this post, I seem to have unearthed a wiki-leak…the curious case of the two George Maguires. But more of that later…
The original intention was to open the show in Newcastle’s Tyne Theatre, but financial pressures on both the venue and from the show’s ballooning budget made that impossible: The production cost a staggering £5.5million – more than the entire budget of the original film. The show premiered in London’s Victoria Palace Theatre on 11 May 2005, following previews from 31 March 2005 and the show’s title role was shared by three unknown teenagers – Liam Mower, James Lomas and George Maguire. Under incredible pressure and with the intense heat of the show’s media glare upon them, it would have been all too easy for show’s young stars to burn bright, burn up and then burn out. Yet an expert team and a specialist training program at the Billy Elliot School meant that the greatest care was taken with their young protégés.
As Billy Elliot turns 10, it’s a joy to see the original Billys all grown up and taking such diverse paths – from dancer to musician to marathon runner. And there’s even a mystery – two George Maguires and both with an Olivier! But let’s deal with one Billy at a time…
James Jacob Lomas
1 March 1990 (Pisces)
From: Sheffield
It is over nine years since James’s final performance on 7 January 2006 when he was still just 15. James started dancing with the Sharon Berry School of Theatre Dance in Sheffield aged 12, after his Drama teacher suggested he pursue dancing in order to be able to perform on a West End stage – a story not unlike that of Billy himself.
Lomas earned a place at the London dance and drama school “Millennium” where he studied from September 2006 onwards.
After leaving drama school James appeared in Dirty Dancing as Swing/Understudy Jordan and Toured with Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dream coat as understudy Joseph.
Lomas continued to add to his musical theatre CV, playing Espresso in Starlight Express (Bochum, Germany) but in recent years has really focused on music: James is now a working musician – currently a drummer/vocalist in the Band Gypsy Queens based in France.
https://www.facebook.com/TheGypsyQueens
Fans of James Lomas might like to know that they can follow Sheffield’s first Billy Elliot on Twitter https://twitter.com/jameslomas20 . It might be more appropriate to describe James as Hunky Elliot judging by this twitter post.
Liam Mower
Born: 30 May 1992 (Gemini)
From: Kingston upon Hull
Significantly younger than either James Lomas or George Maguire, Liam Mower was still only 12 years old on the opening night of Billy Elliot – and, just to make those of us who were already grown up in 2005 feel really old, is still only 22.
Liam joined the Royal Ballet School as a boarding pupil whilst auditioning for Billy Elliot – just one step on his path in professional dance. After leaving the show, Liam went on to study at Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance in Twickenham.
Mower continued in Billy Elliot until 30 September 2006 making him not only the youngest of the three original Billys, but also the last to perform. It may be just as well – in 2012, Liam spoke about his time on Billy Elliot in TV’s “The Story of Musicals”. Part of the documentary featured an interview with lyricist Lee Hall in which he revealed that during the show’s first run through, Mower vomited at the side of the stage after performing Angry Dance. Mower hinted that maybe he didn’t make it that far and “was just in mid-pirouette…just threw up everywhere…literally projectile vomited.”
In November 2011, it was announced that Mower would be returning to the stage in Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker and from January 2014, he starred in Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake as the Prince. On 28 September 2014, Liam returned with James and George for ‘Billy Elliot the Musical Live!’, a one-off live screening to many countries, where, poetically, (hats off to the casting team) he played the role of Older Billy in the duet.
Mower has since starred in Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures production of ‘Edward Scissorhands‘ at Sadler’s Wells in London, sharing the lead role with Dominic North.
So, that’s two thirds of the original team…but what of the third?
George Maguire
December 11, 1990 (er…Sagittarius if you’re interested)
From: Stanford-le-Hope, Essex
George Maguire performed the role of Billy for opening night, 12 May 2005, and was the first of the three original Billys to leave the show, on 17 December the same year.
Don’t rely on wikipedia, which will tell you he’s now playing Dave Davis in Sunny Afternoon. He isn’t…well, at least not the same George Maguire! The confusion arises because although Equity rules don’t allow two actors to use the same name, Spotlight will allow a child actor to be registered with the same name as an adult, and therein chaos ensues…if you’re interested, there’s a fuller explanation here:
https://www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/2014/equity-spotlights-name-rules-create-crisis-identity/
Our George Maguire has most recently been running the London Marathon in aid of St Luke’s Hospice in Essex.
One thing that both George Maguires DO have in common is that both have an Olivier Award on the shelf! Billy Elliot the Musical won four Laurence Olivier Awards: Best New Musical, Best Actor (awarded jointly to James Lomas, George Maguire and Liam Mower), Best Sound design and Best Choreographer. It also won the Evening Standard Award as well as the Critics Circle Award and the Theatregoers Choice Award, all for Best Musical. In 2013, the show also won an additional Olivier Award, the BBC Radio 2 Audience Award.
And what of the future? Well, a talented crop of young actors, dancers, musicicans and future marathon runners are now electrifying those lucky enough to have begged, bought or stolen a ticket to what the Daily Telegraph’s Critic Charles Spencer called “the greatest British musical I have ever seen”. With fate, hard work and just a little luck who knows where Brodie Donougher, Thomas Hazelby, Ollie Jochim and Bradley Perret will be in ten years’ time? If they are anything like the first three Billys, we think their future looks “canny”.
![Billy now and forever [photograph: Craig Sugden]](https://i0.wp.com/blog.fromtheboxoffice.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/billy-elliot-mash-up.jpg?ssl=1)
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