Les Miserables
Les Miserables – Dramatic Entertainment
Les Miserables – or Les Mis, to give it its more popular name – for this epic tale of human struggle has fascinated people since Victor Hugo first penned the story in 1862 – is the longest running musical in the world. It opened at the Barbican on 8 October 1985, and has filled London theatre seats there ever since. In fact, it’s the second-longest West End show after The Mousetrap, and the third-longest Broadway show of all time.
Les Miserables - The Story Line
This operatic masterpiece sung throughout a three-hour performance (excluding intermission) focuses on the life and times of Jean Valjean at the time of the Paris June Rebellion. A huge cast of prostitutes, student revolutionaries, factory workers and many extras fills the stage with human drama. Behind this action is a classic tale of law versus human grace, within the context of our universal struggle to be free
The centre-pin is Jan Valjean himself. He is an ex-con released from prison after nineteen years for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his family. A kindly priest takes him in. He robs the priest and is again arrested. His benefactor declines to lay charges. Jan settles in a neighbouring village to rebuild his life. But is this possible – can human grace surmount the chaos that is 19th Century France?
A Classic Tale
Over a century elapsed after Victor Hugo put pen to paper, before London show Oliver inspired French songwriter Alain Boublil to set Les Miserables to music. He got to work with French composer Claude-Michel Schönberg. Two years later the demo album sold 260,000 copies. Needless to say, the stage version sold over half a million tickets.
The UK version of Les Miserables opened at the Barbican in 1985 to rave reviews, following adaptive translation and expansion. Later that year, it moved to the more intimate Queen’s Theatre Piccadilly where it is still going strong after over 10,000 shows. What makes it special? Is it the spectacular stage setting, or the glorious music that accompanies voices rising to the ceiling? Perhaps it is our longing