“Les Misérables shines … run, don’t walk“
Julia Newbould & Alethea Mouhtouris
4.5 French Rebellions
Venue: ICC Theatre
Darling Harbour
Dates: Until Sunday May 11th then touring
Les Misérables shines in Sydney
The powerful musical Les Misérables is a clear choice for a concert adaptation. With songs that range from booming rage to quiet sweetness, and its blend of drama and humour – all set against the Paris uprising in 1832 – Les Miz contains the right ingredients to wow large audiences.
The 8000-strong audience who packed Sydney’s ICC Theatre for the gala premiere of The Les Misérables Arena Spectacular! certainly agreed, with cheering, extended standing ovations, and even a few tears.
The concert is currently in Australia as part of a world tour celebrating the 40th anniversary of the stage musical’s London run. One of the world’s longest running musicals, Les Miz attracts ongoing critical and commercial success, and its songs are well-known. (Watch X Factor or Idol and, without fail, you’ll hear a performance of I Dreamed A Dream.)
As anticipated, stalwarts Alfie Boe as Jean Valjean (prisoner 24601) and Michael Ball as Inspector Javert are powerful in their performances. Boe’s range is extraordinary, from white-hot fury as a prisoner charged with stealing bread for his young ill nephew, to an ephemeral sweetness as he begs God to protect Marius (who loves his adopted daughter Cosette) in Bring Him Home.
For that one transgression, Valjean spent 19 years on the chain gang and once freed, trying to escape the wrathful Javert (Ball) who believes no criminal can change. Valjean restarts his life as a successful factory owner and mayor, and eventually adopts Cosette, daughter of one of his workers, the ill-fated Fantine. Fantine (played by Rachelle Ann Go) sees her life spiral as she desperately tries to find ways to support her little daughter Cosette, who is living with awful innkeeper (Matt Lucas)and his wife (Helen Walsh, standing in for an unwell Marina Prior). Go’s rendition of I Dreamed A Dream is exquisite.
As Javert, Ball injects a sense of vulnerability into the usual core angry arrogance that usually occupies this character. He’s an easy character to despise and Ball reinforces this through fierceness and increasingly wild-eyed unravelling. Shan Ako who plays the streetwise Éponine is a stand-out. Ako’s voice is rich and soulful, an excellent fit for the young woman who endures hardship as the daughter of the Thénardiers, and ultimately dies during the rebellion, in the arms of the man she loves.
Another stand-out is James D. Gish. His powerful and passionate voice suits Enjolras, leader of the rebels, who calls them to action in a move that will ultimately see most of them perish. And of course, Jac Yarrow as Marius, one of the rebels and the man loved by both Cosette and Fantine, is a star. A Welsh stage actor and performer, Yarrow marries gravity and levity in a way that reminds me of Jonathan Bailey (Lord Bridgerton in an altogether unrelated production!).
The humour is brought by Matt Lucas and Helen Walsh as Monsieur and Madame Thénardier. Both are particularly entertaining and play up to the audience, resulting in laughter across the theatre.
Child performers Sebastian Sero (Gravoche) and Alexandra Szewcow (Cosette) are stars in the making.
The visuals and set work exceptionally well to bring gravitas and mood to the production. Dark and chaotic scrawled imagery flashes up on large screens while iron-looking barricades hover above them. Lighting sweeps the audience, and this works particularly well to reflect bullets that fell the rebels.
The beauty of Les Miz is that the song quality is legendary. No sooner has one great song finished than it’s time for the next. Composer Schönberg and lyricist Kretzmer have created a show that lives in an audience’s hearts and minds. The songs One Day More and of course the iconic Do You Hear The People Sing? raise goosebumps.
If there are any niggles, it’s that some songs seemed to run a tad faster than usual, making it difficult to pick up the words. And unlike a musical with dramatic pauses, the songs ran on from each other. Minor things.
In a very special ending for the gala premiere, former performers stepped onto the stage and joined in the finale. Much loved Australians, they included Normie Rowe AM, Philip Quast AM, Nikki Webster, David Campbell OAM, Simon Burke AO, and Lara Mulcahy.
All up, there are almost 40 performances across Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.
Run, don’t walk.
4 and a half French rebellions
photography by Danny Kaan
Julia Newbould & Alethea Mouhtouris, Theatre Now
