~Cezanator

Helen and I went to see Les Miserables last night, and I've been requested to talk about it...

Well, we were in the front row corner, so first up I couldn't see much. Anything too far back or too low down was totally out of my vision. And overall, I found the whole thing...disengaging. Maybe it was because of the sightlines but my attention was never drawn to where I was meant to be looking so I kept missing vital parts of the plot. Lovely that they had a revolving stage and towards the end they actually started using it to good effect, but throughout the first scene in particular they just couldn't keep it still, and mostly it just seemed like they were moving it for the sake of moving it. The slow-motion was used well at the end, but at the beginning I just couldn't work out what was going on. The whole thing ran like a series of events rather than an actual story; it seemed like a series of small plots that didn't really feed into each other and it carried on and on after the main climax, rather than having a set beginning/middle/end.

However the performers were good - the acting and singing was fab, esp. from Jean Valjean and young Cosette, as I'm too lazy to find my programme and figure out who played them. And I can't even remember the other girl's name, who falls in love with Maruis; she was awesome in every way.

So maybe through not brilliant seats, feeling ill or having the most irritating person kicking my chair behind me, but I have seen better shows. I think Les Mis is just not really my thing; I like my musicals colourful and dancy, perhaps. But it was a great show, and the cast gave a fantastic performance, and yes, if the opportunity arose I would go again, preferably for the front row of the royal. Hope I haven't put anyone off, because I'm sure this show deserved the standing ovation it got from the right kind of audience.