Opera by Billy Elliot writer Lee Hall cancelled over gay reference

ByGramilano 4 July 2011 Reading Time: 1 minute

An opera involving primary school pupils has been cancelled after the writer refused to remove references to a gay character’s sexuality.

The opera, Beached, written by Billy Elliot creator Lee Hall, was due to open later this month in Yorkshire. Bay Primary School in Bridlington has pulled 300 pupils from the project. Mr Hall accused Opera North, which is behind the production, of “censorship”, but the company said it “can appreciate the viewpoint of the school”.

Beached is a libretto which tells the story of a single father trying and failing to have a quiet day at the beach, and aims to teach a message of tolerance and inclusiveness.- BBC News

Gramilano

Graham Spicer, aka 'Gramilano', is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Italian ballerina Carla Fracci.

Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.

He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.