West End Reviews - Les Miserables

This week I saw Les Miserables at the Queens Theatre in London and I absolutely loved it! The music was just incredible: moving, uplifting, powerful and simply beautiful with many recurring themes and melodies.

The sets were absolutely stunning and fitted with the actions on stage perfectly. As the show progresses, the songs just kept getting better and more powerful. The rotating stage was used in interesting and very effective ways. Costumes and lighting were both also excellent.

The star of the show was John Owen-Jones (as Jean Valjeans). His acting was fantastic and he had plenty of stage presence. In each of his songs he really ‘told the story’ convincingly. My highlight of the show was ‘Bring Him Home’. It was sung with totally believable emotion and his voice was so incredibly haunting, beautiful and powerful. He moved me to tears on more than one occasion. I found myself missing him when he was off stage! The ageing of his character throughout the show, not only through his acting and posture but also through changes in appearance was highly convincing.

The rest of the cast were also exceptionally good. The understudy for Javert: Jeff Nicholson was a brilliant powerful presence on stage and his performance of ‘Stars’ was another highlight of mine. Joanna Ampil (Fantaine) acted very well and had a stunning voice (although she sounded rather hoarse on a few notes, this only served to make her subsequent illness more believable!). Gina Beck (Cosette) had a lovely voice and acted convincingly. The chemistry with Marius was variable but it was definitely there. I was quite impressed by Jon Lee (formerly of SClub7) as Marius. He has a lovely lyrical voice and portrayed the character well.

Sabrina Aloueche (Eponine) gave a very strong acting performance and had a stunning voice. ‘On my own’ was another highlight of the show. Simon Bailey (Enjolras) was also excellent with huge amounts of stage presence. Chris Vincent and Tracie Bennett (Thenardier and his wife) were wonderful and worked incredibly well together. They offered some comic relief in what was a heavy show.

Les Miserables is a musical that makes people cry and perhaps isn’t to everyone’s taste. If you want to go and see something ‘light’ this isn’t really for you. I could see how it could seem like the upsetting bits were ‘over the top' but personally I loved it! The audience reception was fantastic and varied from stunned silence to loud cheering and a standing ovation at the end!!

Overall, it was a truly exceptional show; each and every member of the cast was fantastic. The songs were excellent and the music beautiful. It was visually stunning, emotional, interesting and funny. It made me laugh, cry, think and had me totally enthralled from start to finish. Hearing the people singing the songs of angry men is a theatre experience I wont forget and one I hope to repeat in the future!

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