Theatre review: Les Misérables, Festival Theatre, Edinburgh
Theatre review: Les Misérables, Festival Theatre, Edinburgh ****
Based on a radical novel that seeks to expose a desperately unjust penal system and the plight of the 19th century urban poor, the musical version of Les Mis takes a famously romantic and apolitical approach to Hugo’s story. However soft-edged its style, though - and however heavily it leans on Schoenberg’s almost sung-through score of huge, emotive melodies - it has become a much-loved popular opera for our time; and in this staging by Laurence Connor and James Powell, the show - perhaps significantly - is comprehensively stolen by a magnificent Nic Greenshields in the role of the reactionary policeman Javert, rather than by Killian Donnelly’s slightly muted Jean Valjean.
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Hide AdThe sets are spectacular, the 14-piece band is magnificent, the 40-strong ensemble sing and act their hearts out, belting out famous numbers from I Dreamed A Dream (superbly sung by Katie Hall’s Fantine) to Can You Hear The People Sing as if their souls depended on it; and if the overall effect is far from revolutionary, it’s still thrilling to see an audience of almost 2,000 people rise as one, to hail a much-loved musical that has, in its way, become the new opium of people, and the heart of a heartless world. - Joyce McMillan
Until 16 February.