By Ellie-Louise Style
Les Miserables review on the outstanding musical at London’s Queen Theatre, on Monday 13th of October.
Most people know the tear-jerking story of Les Misérables and there have been many versions made of it, but the longest running version is in the theatres. There are shows in 42 countries including: London, Broadway, Toronto, Spain, Japan, Australia and Korea. The show is a worldwide success, as it has won 76 international awards, been seen by 70 million people, and is the world’s longest running musical!
I went to see Les Misérables on Monday 13th of October at the Queen’s Theatre in London. The show has been running for a record-breaking 29 years in London, but it was originally at the Palace Theatre. Les Misérables is running for just under 3 hours in the theatre, and every minute of it was worthwhile. All the actors were superb, but the main ones: Jean Valjean (played by Peter Lockyer), Javert (played by David Thaxton) and Fantine (played by Celinde Schoenmaker) were fantastic, as they made you feel as if you were really in 19th century France with their spine chilling voices. They never failed to bring tears to your eyes. Even the Child actors who could have only been about 6 or 7 never slipped up on their lines or made a mistake, which I thought was fantastic seeing as their only young.
In the performance the actors and scriptwriters made it very easy for you to follow the storyline even if you have never seen the film or read the book before. Plus the show performed all of the songs from the film, including the most popular ones, like: ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ , ‘Bring Him Home’ and ‘One Day More’, which sounded better than the famous voices in the 2012 film. The best part was during the performance there wasn’t any missed scenes or a change to a scene, like other musicals do, so the directors can adapt the show to the stage, but in Les Misérables the stage was adapted to the show.
The Queen’s theatre itself is outstanding and beautifully decorated with a white and gold theme to give it an 18th century look. It can hold up to 1099 people at a time, so there is an overwhelming audience for each performance and the seats always manage to sell out, so you might want to book in advance!
It is located in central London, right near Piccadilly Circus, so there are plenty of places to find somewhere to eat after or before the performance, and there’s easy access to transport to get you home. The only slight criticism that I’d say about the theatre overall is that they don’t really accommodate for taller people, when it comes to seating, as the man in front of me didn’t look too comfortable. Plus if you want to see the show properly I would sit in either the stalls or the first few rows of the dress circle, as you can see every emotion and expression of actor’s faces from there. However I would highly recommend this musical, as it really is spine chilling and well worth the money.
Here is the link to the official website if you’d like anymore information.
