Les Miserables - A revolutionary musical or empty chairs in empty theatres?

Date seen: 29/3/25

Written by: Matthew Dudley

Les Miserables has been my all-time favourite musical from a young age.

I remember back in my first year of secondary school, singing “Do you hear the people sing” as the finale to the school musical, and I was hooked.

The film, featuring Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway, has been watched and rewatched an embarrassingly high number of times to the point where I know the music and the score by heart, a skill I am probably too proud of.

But on the actual musical, incredible.

It’s the West End; of course it was going to be good, but the singing, wow, beyond amazing.

Emotions galore

I’m a sucker for a cry, especially at films but I never thought I'd be a weeper when it comes to live theatre.

But the power of the music, the atmosphere in the venue, the pain on the actors' faces…biblical.

I’m not ashamed to admit, a few tears did find their way down my cheek.

Obviously, Les Miserables is a musical known for the dramatic score and emphatic lyrics throughout, representing the true feeling of the characters played, and this was demonstrated brilliantly by the cast.

Jean Valjean, played by Ian McIntosh, had the character down to perfection.

The pain in his face as he told the story of the protagonist was mesmerising; the ability to shift between thought processes so clearly during the song “Who Am I?” made it so clear to the thoughts behind his eyes.

Javert, played by Stewart Clarke, was so well-cast. He had the fierce emotion of Javert behind a blank canvas face as he articulated the story of the oxymoron of a character perfectly.

The singing, which was slightly better than Russell Crowe’s - but we still love him - was immense.

His version of “Stars” was impeccable, and his stage presence embodied him in his authoritarian character, which demanded your attention every time he entered the stage.

A personal favourite of mine was Fantine, played by Katie Hall.

Emotion is clearly something I keep coming back to and alluding to, but the way the character was played was exceptional, and you could only sit and feel awful for what the character is going through.

Her figure coming back at the end of the musical to guide Jean Valjean’s character into the afterlife was beautiful and something I won't forget.

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The sole dissapointment

However, there is always something which doesn’t sit right with me, and there is just one thing in this production, and that’s the post-wedding scene with the ‘Thenardiers.’

The partnership in the musical is one of comic relief to a deep and serious theatre production, and I believe that is a good thing.

It allows the audience to take a break from the themes of death, revolution, politics and poverty and enjoy some slapstick comedy and crude humour.

Despite this, there is a scene nearing the end of the show when the pair are in the bar with several of the ensemble cast members, and the scene itself was lost on me.

It was seemingly a placeholder whilst other characters got changed and prepared for the end of the show, but the lack of importance and relevance to the story proved to be something out of a pantomime, and that was disappointing.

Overall, though, the production was simply amazing.

From the set design of the barricade to the lighting cues when the characters were shot, the story was seamless throughout, with little complaint from me.

I would happily see this show again and will continue listening to the soundtrack to better my knowledge of the lyrics.

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