Kinky Boots star Killian Donnelly will play Jean Valjean in Cameron Mackintosh’s acclaimed touring production of Boublil and Schönberg’s Les Misérables which will return later this year nearly a decade after its last UK tour.
Currently playing Jean Valjean in the West End production of the hit show, Donnelly will give his final performance at the Queen’s Theatre on Saturday 9 June before joining the tour which will now also visit the Birmingham Hippodrome (2 April-11 May 2019), Milton Keynes Theatre (14 May-8 June 2019) and Newcastle Theatre Royal (15 August-5 October 2019)
Opening at Curve Leicester for a season from 3-24 November 2018, the recent Broadway production will arrive on this side of the Atlantic following a successful tour of North America.
As previously announced the tour will play the Bord Gais Energy Theatre, Dublin (5 December 2018-12 January 2019), the Festival Theatre, Edinburgh (22 January-16 February), and Manchester’s Palace Theatre (19 February-30 March). Further dates are to be announced.
Commenting on the reaction to the tour and the casting of Donnelly, Mackintosh said: “When I announced the first UK tour of Les Misérables for ten years, I was really delighted that Killian said to me that he would like to continue playing Jean Valjean. No stranger to the original production, having played both Enjolras and Valjean with enormous success, his passionate take on the role will be even greater in the thrilling staging of my new production which has proved to be a worldwide success all over again. He is the first Irishman to play the role since Colm Wilkinson in the original and I’m delighted that from advance bookings, this new tour looks set to be sold out before we open.”
The new staging which features scenery 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.
Currently in its 33nd 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 Schönberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer and original French text by Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel, an 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 where it has already played for 11 years.
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 more than 150,000 school children in the UK, US and Australia, making it the most successful musical ever produced in schools.
Angela Thomas
Tickest for the West End production of Les Misérables are available HERE
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