As a young performer, the chance to take the stage in a major West End production is a dream come true. Just ask Noah Mannion, Spencer Collins, Rafferty Smale, and William Gurney. We caught up with the four boys set to star as Billy Elliot as they rehearsed for the musical’s upcoming West End return, to chat about their favourite moments so far.
Billy Elliot the Musical is on the cusp of a great return. A major new staging is set to tour the UK from November 2026, with a stop in the West End along the way. The cast features plenty of young performers, who no doubt, are thrilled with the chance to dance their hearts out.
Four such performers are the young dancers who have been chosen to play Billy Elliot, the ballet dancing kid at the very heart of the story. Noah Mannion, Spencer Collins, Rafferty Smale, and William Gurney are the lucky boys who will share the role for both the UK tour and the London production.
We stopped by rehearsals to for a quick preview of the production, and caught up with the quartet as they prepare for the role of a lifetime.
Book tickets for Billy Elliot the Musical in London
They’re living the story
Before the cast performed a selection of numbers from the show, tour director Simon Pollard shared that while the cast had been in rehearsals for about a month at that point, the four actors playing Billy had been hard at work for even longer. Rafferty Smale confirmed they’d been in rehearsal for four months at this point, while Spencer Collins got specific, clarifying that this was their ’16th week of rehearsal.’
They’ve become so familiar with the show that they know it scene by scene. We asked the boys if they could describe the plot in 30 seconds or less, and what followed became more of an in depth look at Billy’s journey over the course of the musical.
The story really gets started after boxing class one day, when, as Noah Mannion puts it, ‘he has to stay to give the ballet teacher keys, and that’s when he first does ballet.’ Spencer picked up from there sharing that Mrs. Wilkinson and the girls in the ballet class ‘all make fun of him because he’s never taken ballet before,’ but when he goes home, ‘Grandma does a song, basically inspiring Billy to start dance.’
They continued through the story up until Miss Wilkinson tries to convince Billy to audition for the Royal Ballet School, after which Spencer pointed out they weren’t doing the plot anymore, they were just going through the scenes. When we pointed out that it made us feel like they really live the whole story, Raffery quipped ‘Oh, we do!’
For these boys, the story of Billy Elliot runs parallel to their own lives as they prepare to take the stage themselves. It’s a story they’re living in real time.
“I want to be a ballet dancer.”
A particularly fun moment came when the boys were asked if they had a favourite line or lyric from the show. Noah immediately asked if it could be someone else’s line, before quoting when Debbie says ‘You look like a right dickhead to me.’ Spencer also chose a line from Debbie, when Billy ends an argument by ‘saying that his mom’s dead, and then she goes, “Oh, see you then.”‘
The boys then agreed that Debbie is one of their favourite characters, and gave a shout out to fellow cast members Paige, Lola, and Scarlett who play her in the production.
William revealed that his ‘favorite line is in first toilets when we go, “Not not.’ Now that’s a really weird line to have your favorite.’ Rafferty confirmed that William does, in fact, say ‘Not not.’ all the time.
For his part, Rafferty’s choice of line felt particularly poignant. He shared that he loves the line ‘I don’t want a childhood, I want to be a ballet dancer.’
Three words for someone new
Billy Elliot premiered in 2005 at the Victoria Palace Theatre and went on to become one of the most successful British musicals of its era. It’s played across the world, but with the musical setting out venues across the country, we were curious how the young actors would describe it to someone who wasn’t familiar with it. We asked what words they would use to describe the show to someone who has never seen Billy Elliot before and they didn’t disappoint.
They immediately put their heads together to choose four words that shared how they felt about the show. William led the charge by offering that the show was ’emotional,’ though Spencer quipped that that had been his word. He wasn’t long in coming up with a new one, stating that it was ‘really cheesy,’ but he was going with ‘electric.’
Rafferty offered ‘solidarity’ as an option too, which Noah and William immediately agreed, along with Spencer, who then added, ‘yeah, like togetherness!’
Noah decided to go with “heartbreaking,” and the group agreed that it fit the moments where the show turns sad.
Looking for tickets for the UK tour of Billy Elliot? Find them here.
The biggest takeaway we had in our five minutes with these four young actors? They’re having the time of their lives and getting to share this moment with each other is something they’re unlikely to ever forget.
Billy Elliot opens at Sunderland Empire in November 2026, with stops in Manchester and Edinburgh before it arrives at the Adelphi Theatre in London for a limited runs from 12 February to 31 July 2027.
Plan your visit
- Venue: Adelphi Theatre
- Performance dates: from 12 February 2027 until 31 July 2027
- Age requirement: 8+
Watch the full interview here:
Adelphi Theatre, London
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