THE stage version of Billy Elliot has shocked some members of its preview audiences by performing a song looking forward to the death of Baroness Thatcher.

The song, written by Sir Elton John and the lyricist Lee Hall, is intended to reflect the depth of feeling against the former prime minister during the 1984 miners’ strike.

Dressed in rubber masks of Thatcher, the miners sing “Merry Christmas, Maggie Thatcher, we celebrate today ’cos it’s one day closer to your death”. The refrain is repeated four times.

Billy Elliot: The Musical — based on the 2000 film about a boy ballet dancer in a pit village — was previewed last week in advance of its first night on Thursday.

Afterwards some of the audience said they were offended by the viciousness of the attack on Thatcher, who is 80 in October and is said to have become increasingly frail since the death of her husband, Sir Denis, in 2003.

Lord Bell, the public relations adviser, felt the lyrics were “discourteous”. A former Tory minister who served under Thatcher went further, describing the lyrics as “very offensive”.

But John, who wrote the music, believes the words reflected the depth of hostility towards Thatcher.

“People may find it offensive and I know she is a very frail woman now. I’ve met her on several occasions and found her very charming,” he said. “But those miners were so frustrated that they would have killed her. You are writing history and you have to tell it as it was.”

Stephen Daldry, the director of both the film and the musical, said the stage version sets out to be more political than the movie.

Bell, who advised both Thatcher and the National Coal Board at the time of the strike, was disappointed with the way the dispute was portrayed. “So much of the stuff about the miners is just plain wrong. It is historically inaccurate on things like the portrayal of just the police being violent.”

He said it was possible Thatcher may go to see the production. “Lady Thatcher is not that thin-skinned. She was the Iron Lady after all. If she were to go to see it, she’d enjoy the dancing as I did, but hopefully would let the lyrics pass by.”

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