Rehearsals have begun for the November launch of the eagerly-anticipated new UK and Ireland tour of Cameron Mackintosh’s acclaimed production of Boublil and Schönberg’s Les Misérables.
Returning to the road in this country for the first time in over a decade, the production is already set to break records ahead of its opening season at Curve Leicester from 3-24 November.
Arriving on this side of the Atlantic following a successful tour of North America, The Curve run sold out in record-breaking time and the upcoming visits to major cities in the UK and Ireland are already at 80% audience capacity.
As previously announced Kinky Boots star Killian Donnelly will play Jean Valjean, the role he played in the West End production of the hit show until early June this year.
He will be joined by: Nic Greenshields (Young Frankenstein, Garrick Theatre) as Javert; Katie Hall (Cosette in Les Misérables in 2009) as Fantine; Martin Ball who will return to the role of Thenardier which he previously played at London’s Queens Theatre; Sophie-Louise Dann (The Girls, The Phoenix Theatre); Tegan Bannister (The Lion King, Lyceum Theatre) as Fantine; Will Richardson (Cats, international tour) as Enjoiras; and Bronwen Hanson (Broken Wings, Theatre Royal, Haymarket) as Cosette. Following recent open auditions, Harry Apps will make his professional debut as Marius.
Completing the cast will be Joseph Anthony, Helen Aylott, Jamie Birkett, Keoni Blockx, Michael Burgen, Nicholas Carter, Mary-Jean Caldwell, Danny Colligan, Nicholas Corre, Megan Gardiner, Zac Hamilton, Jessie Hart, Teleri Hughes, Brian James Leys, Ruby Lyon, Leo Miles, Shane O’Riordan, Lee Ormsby, Jordan Simon Pollard, Corrine Priest, Aaron Pryce-Lewis, Janne Snellen, Ruben Van keer and Emma Warren.
The tour is due to visit Bord Gais Energy Theatre, Dublin (5 December-12 January 2019), Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre (22 January-16 February), Manchester Palace Theatre (19 February-30 March), Birmingham Hippodrome (2 April-11 May), Milton Keynes Theatre (14 May-8 June) and Newcastle Theatre Royal (15 August-5 October 2019). Further dates are to be announced.
The new staging which features scenery designed by Matt Kinley, inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo, has also already been seen in South America, Korea, Japan, Canada, Australia, Spain, France, Manila, Singapore, Dubai and on Broadway.
Laurence Connor and James Powell direct with costumes by Andreane Neofitou and Christine Rowland, lighting by Paule Constable, sound by Mick Potter, musical staging by Michael Ashcroft and Geoffrey Garratt, projections by Fifty-Nine Productions and music supervision by Stephen Brooker and Graham Hurman.
Currently in its 33rd year in the West End, Les Misérables is written by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg and is based on the novel by Victor Hugo. It has music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer and original French text by Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel, original adaption by Trevor Nunn and John Caird and additional material by James Fenton.
Les Misérables originally opened in London at the Barbican Theatre on 8 October 1985. It transferred to the Palace Theatre on 4 December 1985 where it ran for 19 years before moving to its current home at the Queen’s Theatre on 3 April 2004.
London is now home to the only original production of Les Misérables with the new production playing on Broadway, Australia, Korea, Japan after touring the UK and North America. Future productions are planned in Spain and the Philippines. There are over 3,000 productions of the Les Misérables’ Schools’ Edition scheduled or being performed by over 150,000 school children in the UK, US and Australia, making it the most successful musical ever produced in schools.
Angela Thomas
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