Les Miserables Reviews

Debra De Bus from Amsterdam, The Netherlands

BOXED OUT BY THE BOX OFFICE

A relative had booked us 3 tickets. 2 of us were waiting outside the theatre for said relative. He was stuck in traffic (The Pope was in town)and called the theatre to put the tickets in my name. One person of the box office said there were no tickets...that the tickets were gone. Just after the show started one of the other box office employees suddenly remembered that tickets had been put into another name. My name thus. This he announced in a very 'so wanna-be an actor' manner. Not very profesional. And certainly not good acting!

Wendy Hickson from UK

LES MISERABLES

Went to see the show 20/1/10. Some aspects were very impressive. Scenery and lighting were very good and contributed to atmosphere. Choral vocals good but principles very average with exception of Eponie and Maruis who were better.Vocal dynamics rather odd in places. Felt some characters were playing against the clock and not giving their all. Javert though acted well and had presence- believable- as was Eponie. Rather dissappointed overall, along with quite a few fellow audience members around us. Son was in a production of this at school and my niece in an amateur production -so knew the show well and was really looking forward to it. It made me realise how good the school production had been as aspects of it were better than this performance. Orchestrally an electric something or other grated in several poignant places and detracted from dramatic pleasure.

Malcolm Hutchinson from London,

OCTOBER 2013

Having seen the Film Twenty Fifth Anniversary show which I rate as Five star + Unfortunately the Stage show in October was very disappointing. The sound I thought was very poor. The cast were not as good as I expected. them to be I thought very below par. Which is a shame as we had looked forward to seeing the stage for so long. Pity there were NO Real Headliners or really known to me. The Leading roles were not up to par.

Christopher Gough from London, England

LES MIS - SONDHEIM THEATRE LONDON - 11 JAN 20 - 7.30PM

I've seen 'Les Mis', in various incarnations, since its original opening in the '80s. I enjoyed the performance - with some reservations. The lighting design is overly dark. I realise that Paris is the early 19th century wasn't ablaze with light, but there needs to be a balance between realism and the audience's enjoyment. Some of the performers, in their desire to give a 'barnstorming' performance were over-exuberant; their voices sounding strained with singing replaced by shouting (especially Javert) on occasions. 8 shows a week will induce strained vocal chords in no time. 'Les Mis' is a big show shoehorned into a small theatre - which shows. There is now no revolve and the barricades shuffle on from the back of the stage - much less impressive than earlier versions. 'Les Mis' has an iconic score, book and libretto, which makes it worth seeing - but thirty odd years on, its a 'bargain basement' production these days.

Phil J from London, England

NEW PRODUCTION…. COST CUTTING

Just saw the ‘new’ London production of Les Miserable and can’t describe how disappointed I am about the changes. Cameron Macintosh has gone on a cost cutting exercise at the expense of the show. Gone are the turntable and moving barricade, in come a monstrous 3 storey building and push on sets. Wisely he’s left the music and lyrics alone (probably cheaper that way) although I did notice some political correctness sneaking in. Most Les Miz fans will love it but I consider myself more critical and don’t accept any old rubbish!!

Iain Grant from London, England

FOR ME THE GRAND SPECTACLE HAS GONE

I saw Les Mis in 1988. I had never been to a London Theatre performance before, I was 21 and was overwhelmed. It was incredible: The staging, the singing, the performances, all from another world. I cried, the hairs on my arms stood on end. Last night I went to the Sondheim Theatre with 3 others who had never shared the drama or the spectacle of the show before. I said they might cry. I was so wrong. The drama is still there but so diluted, the staging is nothing close to the original with the most unusual attempts at stage effects (e.g. Javert's suicide scene) and the placement of characters on the stage was often misjudged. What disappointed the most was the commitment from the performers. Overall they have good/great voices but that is why they get the call for this show. I just didn't feel they reached into my soul. Valjean struggled, the female leads underwhelmed succumbing to melodrama. Most male voices were weak. But please, don't let me put you off. Judge for yourself.

Chris Davies from London, England

FALLEN FROM GRACE

I’ve seen this 9 times and both the 10 and 25=year anniversary concerts …. Blown away every single time. This time …. not so I’m afraid. Very disappointed on a number of fronts. Enough said. Left at interval.

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