Les Misérables - Still An Emotional Tour De Force

It is rare to see something as musically and theatrically complete as Les Misérables, great in every sense of the word and deserving of any critic’s ten out of ten.

This latest production of the Schonberg / Boublil classic – still going strong 35 years on from when it first aired to scepticism at London’s Barbican in 1985 – is truly a tour de force with more than just the players contributing to its resounding success, and last night’s much deserved – and instant – standing ovation at curtain down.

All too often I tire of the whooping and hollow plaudits from a public which seemingly lauds mediocrity as great, when it isn’t, fuelled by a false belief that the pinnacle of entertainment is a performing dog on Britain’s Got Talent.

However, when something like Les Misérables comes along and again and again pulls at your emotional heartstrings way beyond anything you have experienced for years, you know you are in the presence of something great.

This latest production – I use the word ‘new’ cautiously since it debuted at Cardiff’s Wales Millennium Centre in 2009 - is not only well paced – it has the very ‘progress’ that Grease the Musical did not – but it uses digital scenery brilliantly and sparingly, without compromising the memory of earlier productions that were instrumental in building following for this now iconic show.

Taking inspiration from Victor Hugo’s paintings – by far the lesser known side of France’s great novelist – Matt Kinley’s set and image design worked hand in hand with Paule Constable’s superb lighting plot, to create a canvas for directors Laurence Connor and James Powell’s brilliant cast; a completely symbiotic relationship with neither capable of shining as brightly without the other.

Killian Donnelly as Jean Valjean was wonderful and laid to rest the ghost of Colm Wilkinson who originally set the standard in 1985, in the same way that Ron Moody dared a theatrical world to deliver anyone who might come close to his Fagin in Oliver! Donnelly delivered seamlessly hitting the high notes in Bring Him Home with the ease of a professional who has spent weeks rehearsing!

Nic Greenshields filled the stage as Javert, the officer of the law who relentless pursues Valjean over the decades and, as he jumps to his death – in the most wonderfully choreographed staging – everything inside feels desperately sorry for this ‘horrible’ man, once you realise that he was prisoner to a life that was as constricting as those of the very people he pursued mercilessly.

Katie Hall as Fantine brought a maturity to the part that betrays her years whilst Lee Ormsby as Thenardier stepped up to the plate, delivering a delicious duo of delectability with his theatrical wife – Sophie-Louise Dann as Madame Thenardier – the disgusting double act always keen to make a turn at someone else’s expense.

Les Misérables is a powerful musical and, because it is rooted in a historical time warp, dependent for its storyline on the amazing events of France’s history, it never dates. The costumes are the same, the period is eternal and the music sublime.

If there was one minor criticism it is this: where was that three step march that came to symbolise the surge of the Paris mob? It was iconic, amazing and so many groups have borrowed it because of its powerful simplicity. So why replace it with a simple walk forward that diluted the power of the masses? Nuff said!

You’ve got a month to have your heart ripped from its resting place! Go.

Les Misérables
Alhambra Theatre, Bradford
Until August 10th 2019