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| Artwork by Natalie Shaw |
On Saturday 7th September, I went to see the UK tour of Les Miserables at the Newcastle Theatre Royal, and I had a very good time. The show was absolutely fantastic and I wanted to make a post summarising all of my posts and even comparing the show to the Original West End Production which I was lucky enough to see. When I say original west end production, I do not actually mean when Les Mis Premiered in London for the first time, I am referring to the Original Staging which used a revolving stage; the production currently touring will replace the one that was at the previously named Queen's Theatre. I saw this on the 6th June 2018. I will also be comparing between the two versions of the show that I have seen throughout this review.
Just to mention, for ease I will be abbreviating words just so it is easier to type up my review (because you know, there are lots of french words), so before you get confused, here's what words are going to mean:
- Jean Val Jean = JVJ
- Les Miserables = Les Mis
- Madame Thenardier = Mme T
- Thenardier = Mr T
Set Design
I was very impressed with the set designs in this show. There are many iconic scenes that were shown in the original production that I thought they may struggle to recreate in this particular production, but I was proven wrong thankfully!
I thought that this production may struggle a lot with the scene transitions, since the revolving stage in the original production made transitions seamless and quick, however, I don't think that there was a moment where the scene transition took you out of the moment.
There were two balconies at both sides of the stage which framed the stage, but there were moments when they moved out and there was action going on on these parts of the stage to cover up the tech team backstage setting it up for the next part of the scene.
There were also little callbacks to the book, with Mr T's Inn refrencing his time at the Battle of Waterloo, and during "Red and Black" the cafe had a sign up saying "Cafe L'ABC". I really liked these call backs to Hugo's original novel that people might not know otherwise.
I was really worried about how the whole scene with the barricade would work, as that part of Act 2 is my personal favourite part of the show, but everything looked fantastic and worked really well.
Although there are definitely elements of the original that I will miss, the set was fantastic in this production, and I will go more into specifics a bit later.
Costume
The costumes for the show were relatively unchanged from the original production, but they were still fantastic.
They seemed to reflect the time that they were from and I don't think there was anyone who really looked out of place. I will say though, there is the part in the show where Marius and Cosette first meet and in the original production, Cosette is in a black dress, where as in this production, Cosette was in a Green Dress. I really liked this change since I never liked that Cosette had to wear all black in that scene in the original. It just seems like an out of character colour for her, and the green suits her so much better, and even compliments her hair colour. Speaking of hair...
I really appreciated the attention to the hair colours in this production. It is something so small, but I really liked how they made sure Fantine had Blonde hair. I know since the 2012 adaption of Les Mis, it has been quite common to see Fantine as a brunette, however I don't think that this really works with her character. The wig maker follows her around and pesters her for her hair in exchange for 10 Francs. If Fantine was brunette, it would not make sense since that was a very common hair colour for the time, where as blonde hair was much rarer. However, it is not something that I am extremely picky about, if it was a brunette wig it would not ruin the story, I can just appreciate that they stuck with the blonde hair.
I also appreciated that Fantine came back at the end with her full head of hair, and not the short wig like she has in the past. I imagine that after you have died and if you do come back as a ghost or a spirit, you would want to come back as the best version of yourself, and with short hair Fantine was definitely not the best version of herself. I mean, the girl literally sold her hair to look after her child because she was that desperate. This was just a small attention to detail that I really liked.
The cast of this particular production of Les Mis was fantastic. See cast list below:
There were two other stand out performances for me, both from two swings. The first was Mary-Jean Caldwell as Fantine and the second was Leo Miles as Enjolras. These are two of my favourite characters in the musical anyway, but both of these actors put so much emotion into their performances that I was really quite surprised when I looked in my program and saw that they weren't officially cast at those characters. Not to say that swings are not as good as the stars actually playing the principal roles, but I just appreciated their performances. I do try to watch everyone in the production, trying to give each character and each member of the ensemble my full attention, but both of these actors took my attention away from everyone else when they were on the stage.
Differences from the Original Staging
This is it, the part that you have all been waiting for, my thoughts on the new staging of the show. If you do not know, I was lucky enough to catch the Original Staging of Les Miserables at the then named Queens Theatre on Shaftesbery Avenue in June 2018 and I absolutely loved the production I saw (which coincidentally also starred Killian Donnely). There were aspects from the original that I definitely missed from the original production, and some changes that I absolutely loved, and I will speak about it all here. |
| West End Production - 6th June 2018 |
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| UK Touring Production - 7th September 2019 |
Line Changes
There were some moments that I noticed where one character used to say one line, where a completely different character said that line. This happens a lot in the show, but the most noticeable point is during Master of the House. This may just be something I notice though, since I did the show in 2015 and learned way more than just my own part!
Thenardier
Food beyond compare
Madame Thenardier
Food beyond belief
Both
Mix it in a mincer
And pretend it's beef
Madame Thenardier
Kidney of a horse
Thenardier
Liver of a cat
Both
Filling up the sausages
With this and that
That was just an example, Mme T does sing more in Master of the house, but in the Touring version of Les Miserables, Master of the House felt like it was trying to be like the movie. Mr T sang pretty much all of Master of the House until Mme T's verse at the end. I really liked it when I saw the Queen's version of the show when Mme T sang some of the lines, it felt like there was much more input from her and the scene just sort of fell flat with the song virtually being a solo for Mr T. I didn't like it in the 2012 movie and I don't like it in this production.
Prologue
The opening and whoe prologues section of Les Mis was different to how the original production staged it. In the original production, "Look Down" is staged with all the prisoners digging, however, in the new production, the prisoners all seem to be rowing a boat (as can be seen in the picture below). This seems to relate it back to the movie, where all the prisoners seem to be working in a shipyard of some sort. The way that this is staged is amazing! I absolutely love the set with the ship and Javert being stood at the top of the boat with all the prisoners working below him. This was definitely an improvement to the original production as it shows the statuses of each of the characters in the scene. The prisoners are all sat down showing they have the lowest status and the guards are stood around the ship, showing that they have higher power than them. And then there is Javert stood about them all, showing that he has the most power in this scene. I am unsure if it was intentional or if it was because the man playing Javert in the Show I saw was very tall, but even when he comes down from the ship to release JVJ, he is the tallest person, showing that he keeps that status. The guard was significantly shorted than him, and JVJ was kneeling, still showing his low status. Whether this was all intentional or not, it is something I picked up on and I found to be extremely effective.
Then there is the next part of the scene. I am not sure if there is a name for this specific part since it just seems to be listed under "Prologue" on most of the soundtracks I have found. So that is what I am going to refer to it as. The part in question is after JVJ has been released from Prison and is looking for work, before he meets the priest.
In the Original staging, I found that it was a really effecting use of staging with the revolving stage, and JVJ was walking but staying in the same place, and the people just appeared and he began to work. I felt like it really helped show his journey to the audience.
However, this part sort off fell flat to me in the new staging. Without the revolve, it wasn't really possible to pull off this illusion, so they just let JVJ wonder around while the farmers all just sort of walked on the stage. It is something so small, but I really thought that that little bit of staging in the original was so effective.
The rest of that scene plays out very similar to the original production, so there is not much else in this scene to really comment on. To summarise, I liked the opening in the boat more than the original staging with the prisoners digging, but I feel like the part after that could have been staged better than it was.
Stars
Stars is my favourite song from this musical and I was really looking forward to seeing how this scene would be updated in this production. And, being completely honest, I was quite disappointed.
I loved it in the original after the "Look Down" Reprise and he goes up the same bridge that was set up in the street. And the Stars appear above Javert as he sings; that was a completely magical moment in the original production, even though it was probably just somebody flicking a switch on some fairy lights. There is just no way to describe it.
In the new production, Javert doesn't climb a bridge, the set comes down and forms on the stage as he is singing. Which I do admit is absolutely stunning and I can totally see what they were going for here. The artwork in the back is also amazing and I do appreciate the little lights appearing as stars in the background. But this scene was much stronger in the Original production; plus the transition into ABC Cafe was more seem-less, as the stage would just have to rotate around and the tables and chairs were all set up there with the students ready to start the scene. Also, with Javert having the stars behind him, he turned around and sung to the back of the stage quite a lot, where as with the original, the stars were above/in front of Javert, so he could maintain that connection with the audience, and this was overall much more effective.
I will say that this has absolutely nothing to do with the different actors portraying Javert. Both actors had absolutely beautiful voices and did their best to bring the character out in this song - which I believe this is an absolutely crucial moment for Javert. It was just the differences in staging and directing that made me not like the changes made in this scene.
Do You Hear the People Sing
Arguably what is the most iconic song in Les Mis, the scene where the students sing "Do you hear the people sing" was one I was hoping would be just as good as the original production. And I was not disappointed.
The scenes in both productions play out pretty similar, Enjolras starts it off in the ABC Cafe, then leads a crowd out into the streets of Paris, gathering a rally of people behind him to join the song.
In the original production, they did have the stage spin and people walk around it, with Enjolras and Gavroche in a wagon being pulled around to lead the crowd, however, I much preferred the new staging.
Although Enjolras is the leader of the revolution and it is not wrong for him to have a lot of the attention in this scene, I loved that each of the soloists in this song had their little moment to shine. Particularly Feuilly's verse, where he stands on one of the bridge set pieces to speak to the crowd of people directly. I just really liked this moment and that Enjolras wasn't completely the centre of attention, after all the Les Amis all played a big part in rallying people for the revolution.
The scene had the same emotions that the original had and the staging was relatively similar to the original - minus the wagon - which makes me think was the revolving stage ever needed for this particular part of the show? Anyhow, my only complaint is that I feel as though the actors all left the stage way too quickly for the transition into Rue Plumet.
Enjolras and Gavroche's Death
An iconic image from Les Miserables is Enjolras dangling off the barricade (or out of the window if you are reffering to the scene in the 2012 movie). Nothing can describe how it felt watching the original production, when the calming reprise of "Bring him home" was playing in the background as the stage moved around, and you saw Enjolras hanging there dead and Gavroche on the floor laying near him. There was something so hauntingly beautiful about that scene and the impact that it left on audiences that nothing will be able to beat it.
Obviously, things needed to play out a little differently since there was no revolving stage. Gavroche's death was different in that you didn't see him while he was over the other side of the barricade. It wasn't until the last lines in his song when he appeared at the top of the barricade and you heard the final killing gunshot and he fell into Grantaire's arms, lifeless. A nice touch to this was Grantaire taking him from the barricade and trying to revive him, I am unsure if you could call it CPR since I don't know if that was a thing in 17th Century France, but it was a nice little touch and added so much more character to Grantaire.
I was worried that we would not get that little moment with Enjorlas at the end since the stage did not turn around,but they did try to make a similar thing happen. Javert was looking at the lifeless body of Gavroche and then a guard came along with Enjolras' body hanging out of a wagon, with a spotlight shining on him. I can see what they were going fore here, and it would have made sense for the guard to bring him alone since he was the leader of the revolution, but it just did not have the same impact as the original counterpart to this scene.
Javert's Suicide
This scene is pretty much a mirror of the set during Stars in both productions, with the bridge coming back in the original production and the set pieces coming back in the new production. Below is pictured a poor quality image of the original staging.
It feels weird calling a suicide stunning, but that is the way I would describe this scene in both productions of Les Mis. In the original production, Javert steps over to the other side of the bridge and jumps off with a harness lowering him to the ground while there are projections of water on the stage floor to create the illusion that he is jumping into a river. Although this works quite effectively, it never quite sat right with me. I always left feeling a little underwhelmed at how this was staged in the Queen's Theatre.
And now we get to the New Production. Oh Boy.
I remember mentally sighing when I saw the set from Stars return, now with a front part to the bridge. The actor stepped up just at the right moments and portrayed beautiful emotion. I was thinking in my head that he would jump the 2Ft to the stage floor and there would be a black out, which would be worse than the original production. What happened next was unexpected.
The actor jumped after his last line, and was on a harness and was floating. The bridge set piece rose into the air and the projection changed with it, further creating the illusion that Javert was falling, and lots of smoke made its way onto the stage. Javert was moved back with a spotlight following him the entire way, and the last you see of him is is hand reaching out before the stage faded to black. It was absolutely amazing how they staged it and it was definitely an improvement to the original staging.
Other
I had no idea what to subtitle this part, but I just wanted to comment on the staging itself and the differences. I believe that the staging of this production is more brutal than the original production. Allow me to elaborate:
During at the end of the day when the scene transitions to the factory workers, you really see the Foreman exploiting Fantine. She is separated from the other factory workers and is sat on a tall stool, and you can see him invade her personal space and how she squirms away from him.
Also the confrontation. Javert manages to handcuff one of JVJ's hands, but JVJ managed to escape from him and grab the other side of the chain and chokes Javert until he is too weak to stop him from escaping.
I don't know if these are things that were in the other production that I do not remember, but I feel like the staging was really gritty and brutal. When people fought, it wasn't a pretty fight. It was a full on fist in hair, drag to floor, kick to the stomach fight. It just made the performance feel much more authentic and that it was actually telling a brutal story. I don't want to say that Les Mis glamorises being poor, but this particular strategy to the staging really shows the brutality of what living in this time as a poor person would have been like. And to me, that is a massive improvement on the original production.
Another thing that I am unsure of is the inclusion of the scene from the film where JVJ finds Cosette wondering in the woods, and the creepiest lines in the movie are sung. It comes straight after Master of the House and just before the Bargain. The lines are:
JVJ
Hush now, do not be afraid of me
Come child, show me where you live
I cannot remember if this was in the original production, but I really hated this part in the show. I did not like it in the movie and I did not like it here. There were better ways of showing JVJ meeting Cosette for the first time and make him not sound like a creep,but alas, the writers did not come up with something better.
Furthermore, there seemed to be so many more women on the barricade in this production than in the original. Which does contradict Enjolras' line "Let all the women and fathers of children go from here", and maybe should have been rethought and reworked, but I love that we get to see the women fight alongside the men, some of them even died on the barricade.
Its something so small but I really did appreciate it, especially since one of my issues with Les Mis is that it is a predominantly male story, so it was nice to add a few strong women into the mix fighting for what they believed in.
And that it all from me today. There is so much more that I could talk about in relation to Les Miserables, but I will leave my review there today. The Tour is definitely worth a watch and I am excited to see what happens when it reopens in the Sondheim Theatre in December this year. What do you think of the new production of Les Mis? Will you miss the old production? Let me know, and thank you for reading!
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