I last went to see Les Miserables in, I think, 2005. I have always had fond memories of the show and was looking forward to seeing the show again. Like a lot of people, I'm sure, I went to see the 2012 film in the cinema. The film was fantastic, though the show had made a bigger impression on me. Immediately after coming out of the film, I was determined to see the show again.
The show is now in its 28th year and has been in its current home, The Queen's Theatre, since 2004. Before this it was in The Palace Theatre, where it had been for 18 years. The Palace Theatre is, from what I remember (I was last there over a year ago when I went to see Priscilla), a lovely big theatre, with swathes of seating and huge stage. The Queens theatre is a lot smaller and therefore feels a lot mot intimate. This is a good thing but if, like me, you are off to the edge of the seating (I was B3 in the Dress Circle) you can see into the wings of the stage. This is very off putting when you can see all of the scenery, and sometimes actors, getting into position. If you are only two or three seats nearer the centre, your view would be massively improved.
The theatre is lovely, with a brilliant lobby area and some great merchandise. The seats have a good amount of leg room though they feel a little to close to the ground and are a bit hard, so I was slightly uncomfortable for most of the show. My view of the far right of the stage was blocked slightly by a guard rail and this did interfere for some parts of the show. On the whole though the view was good. The theatre, like a lot in London, is almost drowned in red. though this works well with the show.
Like Phantom the show has been running for a long time however, unlike Phantom, Les Mis has lost none of its quality or charm. The cast is immaculate in both quality of acting and in singing. The sets are brilliant, and the forming of the barricade will always be something I look forward to. If I were to be picky, and I will be, I had a slight issue with Samantha Dorsey as Cosette. Its her professional debut and so I want to be as nice as I can, but you can tell she hasn't had much experience. She was a little to Disney. This really isn't that good for this role or for the show. I couldn't help but continually notice her top row of gleaming white teeth and the strange facial expressions she was pulling, which I can only assume were meant to be anguish. The show also has a young talent in Danielle Hope as Eponine. People in the UK will know her for winning the BBC show Over The Rainbow, which meant she was cast as Dorothy in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s production of The Wizard Of Oz in 2011. She left the role of Dorothy almost a year after her first performance, and has played Eponine since June 2012. She is a good performer in Les Mis and holds the role well. She has made a good transition between these two roles that, I'm sure you will agree, are complete opposites of each other.
Unfortunately for the performance I went to see there were two cast changes. Instead of Geronimo Rauch playing Jean Valjean it was played by Chris Holland and instead of Vicky Entwistle playing Madame Thenardier it was played by Nicky Swift. Both were brilliant in their roles, but I was looking forward to seeing Vicky Entwistle, known for playing Janice Battersby in Coronation Street for 14 years, as this role marked her West End debut. Saying that however, Nicky Swift was brilliant, however she is slim and for me Madame Thenardier is a large lady, mainly because I think of Jenny Galloway when I think of the character as she played it brilliantly for a number of years. As I am on the subject of Thenardier, I would just like to say that Cameron Blakely plays the man himself fantastically, though he does look a little like Sacha Baron Cohen from the 2012 film.
I would love to give the show 5 stars, however I feel it wasn't as polished or as good as I feel it can be. Like with Phantom I could here the staging move, though only occasionally and not as loud. Also in some of Samantha Dorsey's scenes her Disney style detracted from the feel of the show. However Jamie Ward as Marius completely lifted the whole show, as his acting and singing are brilliant, with his rendition of Empty Chairs At Empty Tables pulling at the heart strings of the whole audience.
This is defiantly a show you should go and see, and long may it continue in the West End. Tickets and Info
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