New additions announced for Les Misérables London cast

[clockwise] David Thaxton, Ava Brennan, Nathania Ong, Robert Tripolino and LuLu-Mae Pears are cast in the West End production of Les Misérables

After playing both Javert and Enjolras at the Queen’s Theatre, David Thaxton (Passion, Donmar Warehouse, Come From Away, Phoenix Theatre) will return as Javert alongside Ava Brennan (Hamilton, Victoria Palace Theatre, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical, Aldwych Theatre) as Fantine, Robert Tripolino (Whistle Down the Wind, Watermill Theatre, Jesus Christ Superstar, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre) as Marius, with Nathania Ong (Be More Chill, Shaftesbury Theatre) taking on the role of Éponine after playing the role in the UK and Ireland tour and Lulu-Mae Pears (West Side Story, Ljubljana Festival in Slovenia) making her West End debut as Cosette.

They will join current stars Jon Robyns (Jean Valjean), Gerard Carey (Thénardier), Josefina Gabrielle (Madame Thénardier) and Jordan Shaw (Enjoiras).

The company also includes Hazel Baldwin, Brad Barnley, Emma Barr, Cameron Burt, Natalie Chua, Matthew Dale, Matt Dempsey, Bryony Duncan, Louis Emmanuel, Sophie-May Feek, Natalie Green, Melad Hamidi, Harry Jack,  Christopher Jacobsen, Benjamin Karran, Yazmin King, Bart Lambert, Sarah Lark, Georgie Lovatt, Ellie Ann Lowe, Adam Robert Lewis, Donald Craig Manuel, Jodie Nolan, Sam Peggs, Jo Stephenson, Phoebe Williams and Ollie Wray.

First conceived by Mackintosh in 2009 to celebrate the musical’s 25th anniversary, the acclaimed production returned to the West End following the Covid-closedown in September last year and is now booking up to 5 March 2023.

Seen by over 120 million people worldwide in 52 countries and in 22 languages, the musical is also currently in the middle of a successful UK and Ireland tour. The record-breaking North American tour is due to resume in October while a new tour of The Netherlands will launch in early 2023 with further productions to be announced.

The original 1985 production of Les Misérables took its final bow at the Queen’s Theatre (now the Sondheim Theatre) on 13 July 2019 when the theatre closed to allow for major refurbishing work including the restoration of architect W.G. Sprague’s original boxes and loges, which were destroyed, along with the entire front of house, by a bomb in 1940.

The star-studded concert version of Les Misérables initially played to packed houses at the Gielgud Theatre in 2019 while the much-loved show’s original home next door, the Queen’s Theatre, was closed for refurbishment ahead of its re-opening as the Sondheim Theatre.

Cameron Mackintosh’s 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 with additional material by James Fenton and adaptation by Trevor Nunn and John Caird.

Orchestrations are by Stephen Metcalfe, Christopher Jahnke and Stephen Brooker with original orchestrations by John Cameron. The production is directed by James Powell and Laurence Connor, designed by Matt Kinley inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo with costumes by Andreane Neofitou and Christine Rowland, lighting by Paule Constable, sound by Mick Potter, projections realised by Finn Ross & Fifty Nine Productions, musical staging by Geoffrey Garratt and music supervision by Stephen Brooker and Alfonso Casado Trigo.

Angela Thomas