Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Cast: Killian Donnelly, Nic Greenshields, Martin Ball, Katie Hall, Tegan Bannister, Bronwen Hanson, Harry Apps, Brian James Leys, Jordan Simon Pollard, Mary-Jane Caldwell Lee Ormsby, Jamie Birkett, Emma Warren, Jessie Hart, Megan Gardiner, Ruby Lyon, Helen Aylott Teleri Hughes, Eva Mairead Connor, Francesca Lidguard, Sadie Horwich, Sophie-Louise Dann, Ava Hope Smith, Lydia Jane Prosser, Eilish Mair Williams, Joseph Sheppard, Noah Walton, Dexter Barry, Leo Miles, Michael Burgen, Will Richardson, Aaron Pryce-Lewis, Shane O’ Riordan, Zac Hamilton, Danny Colligan, Ruben Van Keer, Keoni Blockx, Corrine Priest, Janne Snellen, Joseph Anthony, Nicholas Carter, Nicholas Corrie.
Until you witness the spectacle for yourself, you can never truly appreciate the commotion and clamour for what is essentially one of the finest, most expansive and true musicals of the last one hundred years.
There is a train of thought that Victor Hugo’s epic tale set against the back drop of revolution and the dynamic of law and order has been watched on stage by more people than those who have heroically placed their faith in reading the novel, for whatever reason the public come into contact with the scenes that make up Les Miserables, it shows upon the faces of the audience as it has to be noted that their emotions carry the evening off on stage to its sublime, perfect crescendo.
A true musical, perhaps the closest form to that of the ideals of Opera, and yet one that speaks to the voice inside the audience with words that they understand, not the difference in the language which puts many off seeing the classics of the genre but one without the trace of pretension that so many find a turn off within that particular world and sphere of musical influence.
Les Miserables continues to enthral, the passion of the songs remains resolute, however, the musical requires the depth of characterisation and the urge to see through the complex relationship between the rule of law typified by Javert and the eventual virtue of Jean Valjean, it is also one that demands constant thought of the so called discipline of the subject by the State and how that measures against today’s world, where you can be sanctioned for missing an interview and be thrown to the demands of instant justice for having a different opinion to that of those who wield the power.
The music itself remains a delight, almost the starring role in itself as numbers such as At The End Of The Day, Master Of The House, Look Down, Do You Hear The People Sing, Empty Chairs At Empty Tables and Beggars At The Feast take centre stage to wild, and often wistful applause.
With incredible performances by Martin Ball as Thenardier, Killian Donnelly as Jean Valjean, Nic Greenshields as Javert and Katie Hall as Fantaine, 2019’s epic production of Les Miserables is one to savour completely.
Ian D. Hall