I heard the people sing!
- jacalynblake
- Dec 16, 2018
- 3 min read
Les Miserables has been a part of my life since before I can remember. My mother sang us to sleep with 'I Dreamed a Dream' and 'Bring Him Home.' The first cassette tape I owned was the Original London Cast recording and the first CD I bought myself was the Original Broadway Cast recording. My brother and I used to record ourselves singing all the songs. And my husband and I's common love of the show, is what broke the ice when we first got together.
This being said it was with great excitement that we attended the touring production at Dublin's Bord Gais Energy Theatre last night. We had seen the show in London, the night after it had celebrated it's 30th birthday, but as I knew this production was the 25th anniversary staging, I was really keen to see the changes that had been made.
Well, it certainly did not disappoint. I can honestly say this is best production of the show I have ever seen (and I've seen a good few now considering it's my favourite show.) From the opening bars of the 'Prologue', I was completely swept up and my heart was racing as the first act curtain closed on 'One Day More'. I had been concerned that without the revolve the show would loose some of it's stage magic but I shouldn't have worried. The Hugo projections and new set pieces were a complete marvel, every set change just magical. The cast was superb. Having seen Killian Donnelly in Michael Collins The Musical in the Cork Opera House many years ago, I was eager to see his take on Valjean. He is now my new favourite Valjean, and has cemented my opinion that Irish actors make the very best Valjean's (case in point Killian and Colm Wilkonson). His voice is just spectacular and his journey through the show from a hardened criminal to a man trying to do his very best in life was an absolutely brilliant turn.
Nic Greenshields as Javert was delightful and his Soliloquy was a moment of pure staging genius. He was everything you want from a Javert, intimidating and forthright and someone you certainly wouldn't want to cross.
I have to say, I really loved the grittiness of this production. So many stagings I've seen can soften it, leaving out Fantine's desperation and illness, downplaying all the deaths, really just keeping everything a little too safe. However little moments in this production really stood out, for example Fantine slapping Valjean during 'Lovely Ladies' was a nice added touch. It showed exactly how far she had fallen. The biggest change for me was Gavroche's death at the barricade. Being such a fan of the show, I knew it would happen, but so many productions do the death behind the barricade, where you can only see the students reactions. The staging of Gavroche's death shook me to the core and was a moment of pure genius.
I wish I had a recording of this production that I could play over and over again. None of my other recordings will ever come close to the experience of last night. To all the cast and crew, thank you for the extraordinary evening. It will be treasured for some time to come.
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