Review:
Les Miserables School Edition
Iona College and Lindisfarne College
Lindisfarne College
Wednesday, August 16
Reviewed by Kay Bazzard
I love a good high school production; the passion and earnestness of the youthful cast brings such excitement and vibrancy to the stage. On Wednesday night the Iona/Lindisfarne Colleges' production of Les Miserables School Edition was a blast for the highly partisan audience and the cast.
Les Miserables the musical follows the life of Jean Valjean from a chain gang prisoner to successful businessman and the mayor of an impoverished working-class Parisian suburb in the early 1800s. It is a tale of hardship, revolutionary fervour, courage, love and redemption. Based on a story by Victor Hugo the fabulous songs are romantic and stirring and instantly recognisable.
The directors Lisa-Jane Easter and Kathy Atkin delivered a really professional production. Here was an amazing set and props, the lighting created a wonderful atmosphere and the movement of the large cast was seamless. Even the stage handlers were quick and discreet. The costumes were appropriate to the period and the characterisations were superb while the orchestra carried the tunes and rhythms and completed the whole. This was an ambitiously collaborative work and it showed.
Valjean is the hero of the show and it is his life journey that we follow, played by Oliver Howlett, his performance conveyed Valjean's humanity and compassion; it is a very demanding role and he played it with dignity and maturity.