After three incredible years and 1,344 performances at the Imperial Theatre, the curtain came down for the last time on the Broadway production of Billy Elliot the Musical on Sunday 8 January.

In a magical final performance, all four young actors who played the role of Billy in the final Broadway cast shared the part, alternating in some scenes and performing together in others. With flawless transitions between their scenes, and a delightfully cheeky sense of humour when they came together, this was the perfect way to mark the achievements of a production which has been characterised from the very beginning by the phenomenal talents of its ensemble cast. The shared bonds between the final Broadway cast were nowhere clearer than in Sunday night’s ‘Solidarity’ in which all four boys performed the dance, before playing Rock-Paper-Scissors to decide who would take the telling-off from Dad in the scene that follows! Tade Biesinger, Julian Elia, Joseph Harrington and Peter Mazurowski were also joined on stage for the curtain call by the three original Broadway Billys, as well as a selection of the other boys who have played the part in New York over the last three years.

Acting as a wonderful reunion for members of the Billy family past and present, the audience was packed full of former cast and crew members, including grown-up ballet girls, Mrs Wilkinsons and Dads. London’s own Haydn Gwynne, the West End’s original Mrs Wilkinson, was among those leading the standing ovations after each number. Stephen Daldry and Lee Hall, writer and director of both the show and the original film, announced the performance and paid tribute to everyone involved throughout the show’s life. In a heartfelt speech, Lee Hall declared that “this has stopped being my story. It has become the story of every single person who has made the show possible. It has been an immense privilege to be involved and I could not be more proud.”

Have a look for yourself at this incredible evening, with a video and photographs of the star-studded celebration, or check out the Billy Elliot Facebook page for testimonials from the lucky fans who were there!