Grand Theatre, Leeds – until 12th April 2025
Reviewed by Katie Brewerton
5*****
Leeds Amateur Operatic Society (LAOS) present Les Misérables. One of the most phenomenal and well known musicals of all time. Having seen a few different productions of Les Misérables over the years I have yet to see one that doesn’t blow me away and this is no exception. LAOS are one of a select group of amateur companies granted special permission from Cameron Mackintosh and Music Theatre International to perform Les Misérables as part of Let the People Sing a UK wide project to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the show.
Les Misérables is adapted from Victor Hugo’s story of the same name. We begin with Jean Valjean released on parole after a 19 year sentence for stealing a loaf of bread. Unable to get work or a place to sleep as a criminal, he skips parole and reinvents himself, hunted through the years by inspector Javert. Valjean goes on to become a successful businessman and mayor. While out one day he recognises Fantine, a worker unfairly dismissed from one of his factories, she is on deaths door and he makes a promise to take care of her daughter, Cosette. He raises Cosette as his own, but his past haunts him and Javert is getting ever closer. When Cosette (Maddie Care) meets Marius (Malachy Bray) they have an instant connection, but as Cosette is about to be taken away by Valjean and Marius is risking his life on the barricades of the French Revolution they don’t know whether they will see each other again.
All the cast are wonderful with the majority of roles being played by two actors on alternative nights. We had the pleasure of seeing the blue team. Nick Walton as Valjean and Luke Wilby as Javert were fantastic, with performances that wouldn’t seem out of place on a West End Stage. Emily Huddleston (Fantine) and Leah Spence (Eponine) both gave heart breaking renditions of I Dreamed a Dream and On My Own respectively. The children should also be mentioned, at this performance young Cosette (Anouk Uttley), Gavroche (Charlie Leonard) and young Eponine (Eliza Hunter) were all fantastic and really stole the show, with Gavroche’s ending one of the most devastating of the whole show.
The set is also great, with a brilliant barricade and easy transitions between scenes.
Les Misérables is a heartbreaking story and this is an absolute must see for anyone whether they’ve seen the production before or not. Having seen the professional UK tour a few years ago there is little to differentiate between that and this amateur version. The quality is magnificent and with one of the best known scores out there I can’t recommend it enough.