Daldry Brings Billy Elliot to Stage???

Billy Elliot, Stephen Daldry's award-winning film debut, is preparing to take to the stage. While many screen to stage adaptations lose something in translation, the original creative team behind this movie certainly has the right expertise to pull it off. In addition to Daldry, formerly the artistic director of London's Royal Court, Billy's screenwriter Lee Hall is a highly accomplished theatre veteran. Hall's stage credits include his own plays, Cooking with Elvis and Spoonface Steinberg, as well as adaptations of Goldoni's A Servant to Two Master, and Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children and Mr Puntila and His Man Matti, all of which have enjoyed successful West End runs in recent years. It's uncertain whether Daldry and Hall will be directly involved with the Billy Elliot stage project but, given their backgrounds, it seems likely. What is certain is that the film's star Jamie Bell, who played the dance-mad child prodigy of the title, won't feature as he's now too old for the part. The stage Billy will be produced by Old Vic Productions - which has just appointed Matthew Warchus as its first artistic director - though the show is not scheduled to appear at the West End venue. Other planned Old Vic projects include the previously mentioned Madness stage musical, directed by Warchus.

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