A presentation of Billy Elliot The Musical (BETM) will be the musical highlight at the Royal Danish Theatre season in Copenhagen, Denmark. BETM will be presented on the main stage of the Opera House, from November 19, 2024 to January 12, 2025.
Back in 2015, Copenhagen was host to just the second ever non-replica production of BETM. Nine years later it returns to Denmark’s capital but this time at a different theatre.
The Royal Danish Theatre has been located at Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen since 1748, originally designated as the king’s theatre but with public access.
The first edifice on the site was designed by court architect Nicolai Eigtved, who also masterminded Amalienborg Palace. In 1774, the old theatre seating 800 theatregoers was reconstructed by architect C.F. Harsdorff to accommodate a larger audience.
Originally, the ensemble consisted of eight actors, four actresses, two male dancers and one female dancer. Gradually over the following decades, the Royal Danish Theatre established itself as the kind of multi-theatre we know today, home to drama, opera, ballet and concerts – all under the same roof and management.
An important prerequisite for the theatre’s artistic development are its schools. The oldest is the ballet school, established at the theatre in 1771. Two years later, a vocal academy was established as a forerunner for the opera academy. A number of initiatives were considered regarding a drama school, which was established much later.
After the abolition of absolute monarchy in 1849, the Royal Danish Theatre’s status as “the city’s theatre” fell into decline. No longer enjoying a monopoly within the performing arts, the Royal Danish Theatre was now required by its new owner, the state, to serve the entire nation. The dilapidated building at Kongens Nytorv also found it hard to compete with the splendour of the new popular stage that were rapidly emerging across town. The solution was to construct a brand new theatre building. It was designed in the Historicist style of the times by architects William Dahlerup and Ove Pedersen and situated alongside the old theatre, which was subsequently demolished.
The inauguration of what today is called the Old Stage took place on 15 October 1874. Here opera and ballet were given ample scope. But due to the scale of the building, the auditorium was less suited for spoken drama, which is why a new playhouse was required.
The Royal Danish Theatre has over the past decade undergone the most extensive transformation ever in its over 250-year history. The Opera House in Copenhagen was inaugurated in January 2005, donated by the AP Møller and Chastine Mc-Kinney Møller Foundation and designed by architect Henning Larsen. And the Royal Danish Playhouse was completed in 2008. Located by Nyhavn Canal across from the Opera House, the playhouse is designed by architects Boje Lundgaard and Lene Tranberg.
Today, the Royal Danish Theatre comprises the Old Stage, located by Kongens Nytorv, the Opera House and the Royal Danish Playhouse.
Billy Elliot the Musical
Over a year in advance of the opening of BETM in Copenhagen, auditions were held to find the young actors who would star as Billy. The successful children were invited to attend a Billy Elliot school, where they were given weekly classes in singing, dancing and acting for a whole year.
In October 2024, it was announced that three boys had been chosen to play Billy in Copenhagen. They are Jakob Ernir Jónatansson, Arthur Skov Kristensen and Silas Santin.
To learn more about the Copenhagen Billys, click on the Billy Profiles button (below) to be taken to their detailed profiles.
To see a complete listing of the rest of the Copenhagen cast, just click on the Cast Information button.
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