Latest news with #BillyElliot
Channel 4
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Channel 4
How Billy Elliot writer is bringing theatre to the community
He's used to his plays opening on Broadway or the West End, but Lee Hall's latest production is playing in a church in a former mining village in County Durham, just up the road from where his award-winning film Billy Elliot was set. Hall's new adaptation of Bertolt Brecht's anti-war classic 'Mother Courage and Her Children', is the first production by one of Britain's most unlikely theatre companies.
Daily Mirror
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Michael Sheen and the Daily Mirror give working class authors 'A Writing Chance'
Writers from Michael Sheen's 'A Writing Chance' project mentored by Mirror journalists see their work in print As an ordinary kid growing up in South Wales, I dreamed of being an actor. That might have seemed unusual, but back then I had Richard Burton and Anthony Hopkins to look up to – people who'd grown up like me and gone on to be successful. There were more books, films, play and TV shows created by working class people too, from 'A Taste of Honey' to 'Boys from the Black Stuff'. All that gave me confidence to have a go myself. But in the last few decades, things changed. It's become much tougher for people from ordinary backgrounds to get their stories heard. Today, half of published authors have middle-class backgrounds – but just 10 per cent are working-class. We know that kids from all walks of life enjoy reading at school, and working-class people are some of the best story tellers out there, so somewhere, somehow, something's going wrong. That's why I worked with the Daily Mirror to launch 'A Writing Chance', a project to find and support new working-class writers from across the UK. We've already found fantastic storytellers – one, Tom Newlands, wrote one of the big hits of 2024, 'Only Here, Only Now'. Here you can read some of the work produced by our latest writers, who have been mentored by brilliant Mirror journalists. It's renewed my belief that as Billy Elliot director Stephen Daldry said, "the really successful work" happening at the moment "tends to be working-class writers telling working-class stories." In the future we're going to be publishing more stories like this in The Bee, a new magazine which will be a home for working class writers. I hope you'll read it – and, if you have a tale to tell, maybe write for us as well? Justice and fairness demand that people from the less well-off sections of society have the chance to tell their stories, and to get them heard. But it's also about common sense. When we surveyed working-class people who like to read, 63 per cent said that representation was important, and that they'd like to see more people like themselves on the pages. There's an untapped market out there. Perhaps, most important of all, the most urgent, revelatory and entertaining stories – the ones we most want to hear – so often come from those who are excluded, or who struggle to be heard. I've always believed that telling stories is an important way to make change in the world – and levelling the playing field for writers has to be a change for the better. I believe that as we encourage working people to write, they will inspire others to be creative, just as working-class actors and writers inspired me. Sue Townsend was working-class, disabled, and unapologetically loyal to my community in Leicester. She tackled serious issues with wit and heart – and she gave hope to people like me. She showed me our lives — council estates, illness, hardship — were worth writing about. We often hear what's "wrong" with council estates. But what about what's right? Activism, humour, and community resilience were led by women like Sue and my nana Winnie, who didn't want credit. They just wanted change. Sue wasn't just a writer — she was a movement. Her voice gave working-class people visibility without patronising or exaggerating. She found the extraordinary in ordinary life and shared it with honesty. Sue moved to Eyres Monsell, a Leicester council estate, in the late 60s. By the early 70s, Sue was a struggling single mum of three young children. When her son asked, "Why can't we go to the zoo like other kids?" the seed of Adrian Mole was planted. During the 70s, Sue met my nana, Winnie Aldwinckle. Winnie lived on the next estate, known as The Saff, where Sue worked – and was a powerhouse, co-founding the Parents' Association in 1973. Her grassroots activism mirrored Sue's — both women used media to create change. Winnie regularly contributed to the Leicester Mercury, often collaborating with journalist Adam Wakelin. She even had her column, Winnie's World — a podcast before podcasts. She talked, Wakelin wrote. All voluntary, all for the community. When the Goldhill Adventure Playground faced closure, Sue and Winnie camped out to protest — and they won. Upon Winnie's passing in 2013, Sue co-wrote her obituary with Wakelin for the Leicester Mercury — Sue's last known publication before her own death in 2014. She wrote, "If anything went wrong on the estate, we called on Winnie. You had a good chance of winning if she was on your side." Sue won, too — not by selling out or moving away, but by staying loyal to Leicester and writing truthfully about the people who lived there. By Sunita Thind 'You smell of curry', 'Sunita, you got a tache, gorilla', 'Oi, Coconut f*ck off home,' were some of the taunts I grew up with. For people like me who have an invisible disability and are from a minority background, this is just a way of life. But raising a problem in Asian society makes you the problem. 'Chup kar' – keep quiet, keep it to yourself – our elders would say in Punjabi. In my community, we were not educated on such dirty matters as sex, periods, and other taboo subjects because we were a conservative community. And nor was I taught at school to be proud of my multiple cultures and heritage, or about the hidden histories of the British Empire, Partition, or India's contribution to fighting two world wars. But after facing infertility, surgical menopause, hair loss, loss of my ovaries and fertility my family were there to lift me up, including my husband and silver-tipped Samoyed dog, Ghost. At my beautiful Sikh wedding with my handsome white husband, I finally felt proud of the cultures and customs I used to reject but are part of my DNA. The men in my family came over from Malaysian and Singapore. My Grandad eventually had a corner shop, my dad worked very hard, long hours at the Brickyard. I loved singing the Christian hymns at school, but when the doors closed it was my family, community and Gurdwara that gave me a spiritual sense of myself as well delicious Indian food. We supported each other with the food we made, spices fragrant as our souls, bonding over special festivals like Diwali, Vasaki (Sikh Harvest festival), and Guru Nanak's birthday, Rakhi. If you are Caucasian, you are an expat, if you are a person of colour, you are an immigrant, migrant, refugee. We are still on the outside of the looking glass with our hands and faces pressed against it, desiring belonging. By Zainab Amer I write because of my community, not in spite of it. I'm working-class, with English and Egyptian roots. My childhood summers were spent in Egypt, surrounded by family, food, and laughs. It was also the first time I saw real poverty. It shook me and still does. I knew even then: these stories mattered. Being a working-class writer isn't easy. The biggest challenge is access - or the lack of it: to resources, networks, and a seat at the table. I have scrubbed bathrooms, stacked shelves, and balanced armfuls of plates while my feet throbbed. Politicians insist hard graft pays off. But here's the truth: we can barely make rent. Instead, we're rewarded with housing worries, not writing submissions. Still, what I gain from my community outweighs the setbacks. I've listened to a carer who devoted 10 years to her father with dementia. I've bantered alongside retail comrades - a vital ingredient in surviving a nine-hour shift. These aren't just stories of 'struggle.' They are full of compassion, grit, and humour. As a writer, I try to carry these through every story. Every article. Every pitch. And as for my Egyptian side? In a time when negative depictions of Arabs are ubiquitous, it feels more urgent than ever to write about what I know: which is warmth, charm, and endless storytelling.
Glasgow Times
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Hollywood actor films in Glasgow with Baby Reindeer star
The actor, known for his roles in Billy Elliot, Fifth, Tintin and Fantastic Four, was pictured on the set of Half Man, a new drama by Richard Gadd. The Scottish man, who was named TV's most influential person last week, is the creator, writer and executive producer of the series, an original six-episode drama. He will also star in the show, alongside the BAFTA award-winning actor. READ NEXT: Robbie Williams slashes ticket prices for only Scottish date (Image: James Chapelard) (Image: James Chapelard) (Image: James Chapelard) (Image: James Chapelard) (Image: James Chapelard) (Image: James Chapelard) (Image: James Chapelard) Both actors were in Glasgow briefly, filming outside typical red brick tenement flats, where Bell is seen furiously crossing a road and entering a building. Half Man follows estranged 'brothers' Niall and Ruben. When Ruben shows up unexpectedly at Niall's wedding, it leads to an explosion of violence that catapults us back through their lives. Spanning almost 40 years from the 1980s to the present day, this ambitious series will cover the highs and lows of the brothers' relationship, from them meeting as teenagers to their falling out as adults.
Glasgow Times
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Glasgow roads will be closed to allow TV series filming
Half Man, which is an 'original six-episode drama' from the multi-award-winning Richard Gadd, is being shot in and around the city. Due to the filming, Glasgow City Council has revealed multiple roads across the city will be shut. Several roads will also be hit with waiting, loading, and unloading bans. READ MORE: Two Doors Down star 'confirms' shows shock comeback Here are all the roads which will be restricted: Prohibition of waiting, loading, and unloading from 3pm on May 10 until 8pm on May 12: Vinicombe Street, between property number four and Cranworth Street Prohibition of waiting, loading, and unloading from 3pm on May 10 until 8pm on May 12: Cranworth Street between Vinicombe Street and Creswell Street Creswell Street between Burgh Lane and Cranworth Lane (north side of the road only). Prohibition of vehicle movements by stop and go (two mins max wait) from 9am on May 12 until 8pm on May 12: Cranworth Street between Cresswell Street and Vinicombe Street Vinicombe Street between Kersland Street and Byres Road Prohibition of waiting, loading and unloading from 3pm on May 26 until 8pm on May 30: Govan Road between Harmony Row and Burleigh Street (south side only) Harmony Row between Govan Road and Burleigh Street (east side only) Burleigh Street for its full length Prohibition of vehicle movements from 8am on May 27 until 8pm on May 30: Burleigh Street for its full length Prohibition of vehicle movements by the traffic management stop-and-go from 8am on May 27 until 8pm on May 30: Govan Road between Harmony Row and Burleigh Street Prohibition of pedestrian movements from 8am on May 27 until 8pm on May 30: Burleigh Street for its full length (north side only) Govan Road between Harmony Row and Burleigh Street (southside only) READ MORE: Huge actor to star in new series being filmed in Glasgow In February, we reported how the BBC and HBO announced further casting for Half Man. The brand-new show is currently being filmed in and around Glasgow. In the programme, Gadd will star alongside BAFTA-award-winning actor Jamie Bell as the pair will play estranged brothers Ruben and Niall respectively. The BBC and HBO have announced further casting for Half Man (Image: PA) Bell, 38, is known for featuring in several films and TV shows, including Billy Elliot, Fantastic Four, Skin, Jumper, and All of Us Strangers. The show will cover the highs and lows of the brothers' relationship, from their meeting as teenagers to their falling out as adults, with all the good, bad, terrible, funny, angry, and challenging moments along the way. It will also capture the 'wild energy' of a changing city and a changing world, and try to get to the bottom of the difficult question of: What does it mean to be a man? The cast for the show includes Neve McIntosh, Marianne McIvor, Charlie De Melo, Bilal Hasna, Julie Cullen, Amy Manson, Philippine Velge, Stuart McQuarrie, Piers Ewart, Scot Greenan, Charlotte Blackwood and Callum Manchip. It was also previously confirmed that Mitchell Robertson and Stuart Campbell will play Naill Robertson and Ruben Campbell in their younger years in the show. The exciting new show will air in 2026 on BBC iPlayer, BBC One, and BBC Scotland in the UK, and on HBO in the US.
BBC News
15-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
'Sheffield's Billy Elliot' fundraising for his dancing dream
A 13-year-old boy who has been described as "Sheffield's Billy Elliot" is fundraising so that he can train to realise his dancer Barnaby Hawker, from Fulwood, started ballet when he was nine and now dances with the Academy of Northern Ballet in Leo and Sarah Hawker have set up a Gofundme so he can attend development courses this summer - and said that without support, he would have to be "selective" about the sessions he could go said: "Dancing makes me feel really proud of myself - I just feel really good in those movements." He first became interested in dancing when he would watch his younger sister, who was three, taking part in online classes during the started following along himself and asked his parents to sign him up for his own classes at their local dance school."I just liked how you had the freedom of movement and creativity, but you also had to keep it within the style and the technique, or method," he he went to a free boys' masterclass at the Academy of Northern Ballet, and the school contacted his parents to encourage him to audition for was accepted, and joined them last he said there was still a negative stereotype of male ballet dancers and he had faced bullying by other children."It's made me a better dancer and person overall - it's just about overcoming that adversity."You always have to acknowledge it, because you see those people every day at school or wherever else they are, but then you can also just think about doing the ballet."Everything else you just forget, because you love it." Mrs Hawker said she was "really proud" of her son."He's followed his dream. I'm happy that it makes him so happy, and I'm proud how he has coped when he has had mean comments - it hasn't put him off."She said they went to one of his shows last summer and her husband cried."A lot about ballet is you drop them off outside, you pick them up outside, we never really see him do it that much."When we did see him, we were blown away, really."Barnaby said he wanted to attend the summer programmes because they would expose him to different teachers' perspectives, but also introduce him to other young dancers, especially other has secured a part-scholarship for one of the courses and auditioned for other scholarships, but his mother said costs such as travelling and finding accommodation still posed an ambition is to be the principal dancer in a professional ballet company."I love ballet and I'd want to show other people why I love it, and be on stage and dance every day of every week," he said. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds or catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
