Casting Announced For The UK And Ireland Tour and Limited West End Season Of The Original Award-Winning Production of Billy Elliot The Musical
Universal Theatrical Group and Working Title Films are delighted to announce casting for the UK and Ireland tour and limited West End season of the original award-winning production of BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL. Annette McLaughlin will play ‘Mrs Wilkinson’, Deka Walmsley ‘Dad’, and Jack Bandeira ‘Tony’. ‘Grandma’ to be confirmed.
Annette McLaughlin is no stranger to the role of Mrs Wilkinson having played the part in the last UK and Ireland tour of Billy Elliot. Her many West End theatre credits include Marya Dmitriyevna in Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, Warwick in Player Kings, Mrs Wormwood in Matilda The Musical, Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Olivia in Twelfth Night, Velma Kelly in Chicago and Erma in Anything Goes. Deka Walmsley returns to the role of Dad having played the part to great acclaim in both the West End production and on screen in Billy Elliot the Musical Live. His other theatre credits include Porter in Macbeth and George Brown in The Pitmen Painters. Further on screen credits include Tony Hutchinson in The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe and Gary Mincham in Vera, both for ITV. Jack Bandeira’s numerous screen credits include Amazon’s Blade Runner 2099, BBC3’s Smoggie Queens, Disney+’s Andor, Netflix’s Black Mirror, Lockwood & Co, The Witcher, and BBC’s Happy Valley.
The company also includes Tanesha Aba, Marc Akinfolarin, Natasha J Barnes, Robbie Boyle, Lydia Bradd, Jack Bromage, Jennifer Caldwell, Alex Christian, Adam Crossley, Natalie Durkin, Nathan Elwick, Ian Gareth-Jones, Shirley Jameson, Jenny Legg, Jay Luca Allan, Charlie R Miller, Lewis Mortier, Perry O’Dea, Matt Overfield, Mark Pearce, Aidan Stuart and Lucy Warway.
Alternating the role of Billy’s best friend ‘Michael’ will be Harper Etienne (10 years old from Derbyshire), Dalton Jones (9 years old from South Yorkshire), Theo Kamande (12 years old from London) and Oisin-Luca Pegg (13 years old from Birmingham). Joining them will be Lola Cant (10 years old from Durham), Paige Cook (10 years old from Durham) and Scarlett Gardener (9 years old from Sunderland) who all alternate the role of ‘Debbie’.
Playing the Ballet Girls will be Vivien Abreu, Ivy-Rae Battams, Chloe Boyle, Mikeila Buljan-Bakotic, Rose Butler, Ella Collins, Willow Crabtree, Amari Dumbuya, Ava Evans, Daisy-Mae Ford, Kyla Fowles, Lux Hardy, Marian Nguema Ndjondjo, Zizha Nguema Ndjondjo, Jessica Pipe, Eva Ramtohul, Mia Raggio and Anabelle Tran.
They join the previously announced Noah Mannion (13 years old from Stockport), Rafferty Smale (12 years old from Leigh-on-Sea), Spencer Collins (13 years old from California) and William Gurney (13 years old from Berkshire) who share the role of ‘Billy’ and Liam Mower who will play ‘Older Billy.’
BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL will open at Sunderland Empire on 4 November 2026 where it will run until 28 November 2026. It will then visit Palace Theatre Manchester (2 December 2026 – 9 January 2027) and Edinburgh Playhouse (19 January – 6 February 2027) ahead of its first return to the West End in over 10 years, playing a limited West End season at the Adelphi Theatre from 12 February – 31 July 2027. New venues announced today are Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff (10 – 28 August 2027), Bord Gais Energy Theatre, Dublin (14 September – 9 October 2027), the Alhambra Theatre, Bradford (19 October – 6 November 2027) and Bristol Hippodrome (1 – 26 February 2028).
Based on the highly successful multi BAFTA award-winning and Academy Award nominated film, the show is set in a northern mining town against the background of the 1984/’85 miners’ strike and follows Billy’s journey from the boxing ring to the ballet class where he discovers a passion for dance that inspires his family and whole community and changes his life forever.
Acclaimed by audiences and critics alike, BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL has been seen by just over 12 million people across five continents and is the recipient of over 85 awards internationally, including ten Tony Awards and five Olivier Awards. In 2006, Liam Mower, James Lomas and George Maguire, the first three boys to play the title role, became the youngest performers ever to have won the Olivier Award for Best Actor with the show also picking up the Best Musical prize. In total, over 125 boys have now played the iconic title role on stage worldwide.
BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL is brought to life by the multiple award-winning creative team behind the film including writer Lee Hall (book and lyrics), director Stephen Daldry and choreographer, Peter Darling, joined by Elton John who composed the show’s score. The production features scenic design by Ian MacNeil, costume design is by Nicky Gillibrand, lighting design by Rick Fisher, sound design by Paul Arditti and hair, wig and make up design by Campbell Young. Musical supervision and orchestrations are by Martin Koch. The tour director is Simon Pollard and the associate choreographer is Jeroen Luiten. Adult casting is by Natalie Gallacher CDG for Pippa Ailion and Natalie Gallacher Casting and children’s casting is by Nick Hockaday CDG for Jessica Ronane Casting.
BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL is presented by Universal Theatrical Group and Working Title Films and is based on the Universal Pictures/Studio Canal film. The show is produced by Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Jon Finn and Sally Greene. Executive producers are David Furnish, Angela Morrison and Rebecca Quigley for Working Title Films.
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