Les Miserables at Leeds Grand Theatre Review

Reviewed by Jenny Bray

Having seen the original musical, I was intrigued to see the revamped version and find out how different the Les Misérables ‘For the 21st Century’ was to older versions. I watched a version on Sky Arts earlier this year where all parts were played to microphones at the front of the stage and a lot of the plot didn’t quite happen in the same way. Therefore, alongside intrigue, I was really hoping that this version wouldn’t leave me disappointed, which it absolutely didn’t.

Les Misérables debuted in 1985, and is based on Victor Hugo’s 19th century novel set in a very turbulent time in France when the poor were treated particularly badly, as evidenced in the lyrics at the start of the song ‘At The End of the Day’. It has been performed in 52 different countries since 1985. There is a synopsis of the story in the programme, which helped me to piece together some of the plot that I’d not fully understood before including the year and location of the different parts. The programme additionally detailed how Victor Hugo was also an artist, although he refused offers to exhibit his work publicly while he was alive. The curtain prior to the performance starting depicted one of Hugo’s paintings.

The story centres around prisoner 24601 (Jean Valjean, played by Dean Chisnall) breaking his parole and being hunted by Javert (Nic Greenshields) after rebuilding his life, alongside the French revolution and the story of the downturn of Fantine (Lauren Drew) then of her daughter Cosette growing up (young Cosette played by Karis Musongole and older Cosette played by Rebecca Ferrin tonight).

Innkeeper Thenardier (Ian Hughes) and his wife Madame Thenadier (Helen Walsh) bring some light humour to otherwise quite dark themes, particularly during ‘Master of the House’ and ‘Beggars at the Feast’. However, I most liked Ian Hughes when he was stealing in the sewers and during ‘Dog Eats Dog’. He raised a few laughs amongst the audience at times and was very enthusiastic and animated in the role.

Dean Chisnall and Nic Greenshields were fantastic as Jean Valjean and Javert with their interactions between each other. Nic was well cast in towering over Dean and having that fearsome militant stage presence. The children in the show were also amazing. I especially liked Gavroche (Lucas Melrose Steel) who bounced around stage effortlessly during his parts, although Karis Musongole’s ‘Castle in a Cloud’ was also very poignantly sung and is one of the songs that was lodged in my head when we were going home. Also of note tonight was Éponine (Jenna Innes tonight) and her voice during ‘In my Life’ and ‘On My Own’ with strong vocals.

The set is where things have really ramped up. I don’t usually name the set designer but feel the need to for this one as so much effort went into it. Well done to Matt Kinley. Although the storyline is quite dark and aspects of the set are, there are lots of items brought on and off the set for different scenes and the projection on to the back of the set changes in keeping with the story. It must have been hard to design considering the number of actors in this production as when the majority are on stage, they take up most of the stage!

Also worthy of note are the backstage heroes, the wardrobe and wigs teams. This was particularly evident with Jean Valjean’s changing look over the years which, at times, involved very quick changes between scenes.

Leeds Grand is in central Leeds but is quite easy to find, with several parking choices nearby. We parked in the Templar Street car park, which is only £3 for the evening after 7pm and only about a 3 minute walk from the theatre.

The theatre team seemed slow to open the doors tonight, with people queuing round the corner between 7 and 7.20 (we arrived just before 7 but opted to watch from a bar until the queue went down rather than stand in the drizzle!). By the time the queue had gone down and we went in, there were lots of ushers frantically telling people that they needed to get seated otherwise they wouldn’t be able to go in for half an hour. We therefore rushed to our seats to ensure we didn’t miss the start, but then sat for a good few minutes before it did start, so didn’t feel we’d needed to be rushed along quite so much!

The songs in this show never fail to give me goosebumps during the emotional rollercoaster the audience are taken on. The cast received a standing ovation at the end and didn’t overegg this part like some shows seem to these days. Young Cosette didn’t make it out to be applauded, which was a shame although understandable if she had gone to sleep by then as she’s only present in the first act and only young. I’m pleased that all the original songs and story remain intact. It’s a fantastic musical to go and see and I highly recommend it.

Rating: I rate it a 5/5

Les Misérables is on in Leeds until 10th December and then only has one more venue as part of this Uk tour, in Cardiff. Tour details can be found here.

Tickets cost from £25 to £79
Les Misérables is on at the Leeds Grand Theatre between 28th November and 10th December 2022.
For more information or to book tickets visit www.leeds-theatre.co.uk or www.leedsheritagetheatres.com, contact boxoffice@leedsheritagetheatres.com or call the Box Office on 0113 243 0808

Leeds Heritage Theatres, 46 New Briggate, Leeds, LS1 6NZ