Southampton Mayflower – until 26th March 2022
Reviewed by Lucy Hitchcock
5*****
Southampton hosts the iconic Les Miserables and it is a phenomenon! Directed by Laurence Connor, with exquisite music and accompaniment from Herbert Kretzmer, Alain Boublil and Claude Michel-Schönberg, Les Miserables will make you laugh, cry and invest in the lives of the characters.
We follow Jean Valjean (Dean Chisnall) as he is released from prison, breaks his parole and lives on the run from his former prison guard Javert (Nic Greenshields). Chisnall is superb in this piece, he has a great voice and stage presence. Together with the delicious storyline, Chisnall excels and draws you in from the first breath, leaving the audience heartbroken and crying by the end. Greenshields also commands the stage with ease and when coupled with his brilliant vocals during ‘Stars’, we see his true prowess. He shows empathy and grace, intertwined with angst and aggression-a difficult combination but he delivers expertly. Katie Hall plays Fantine, a dying woman who sings ‘I dreamed a Dream’-the longing for her life before she became poor and had to give up her child. Easily the most recognisable song, this is a true masterpiece and Hall was excellent. She gives her all and poured herself into the song, making for a moving performance. William Barrett also deserves a special mention for his performance as the Bishop-he was visibly moving with his empathy for Valjean and showed such emotion and love. He also has a great voice that filled the auditorium with emotion and brilliance. Also, Helen Walsh and Ian Hughes as Madame Thenardier and Thenaedier provided some much needed comic relief and both relished within their roles.
It was a poignant moment when the cast mentioned the atrocities happening in Ukraine, directing the audience towards a QR code to donate towards the fundraising. This show runs almost parallel to the war in Ukraine and was particularly moving in this sense. This exquisite soundtrack mixed with this absolutely faultless cast will leave you feeling emotional in every way possible-a true must see.