The UK is among 15 countries lined up to welcome Les Misérables – The Arena Spectacular, a major new world touring production based on the record-breaking Les Misérables – The Staged Concert.
Presented by Cameron Mackintosh in association with Nick Grace, the tour’s launch in September 2024 will coincide with the ground-breaking stage musical’s 39th year and will run throughout the 40th anniversary celebrations for the world’s longest-running musical in 2025. There are also plans for the production to follow its first world tour with dates in North and South America.
Les Misérables – The Arena Spectacular will be an expanded version of the star-studded concert version of Les Misérables which played to packed houses at the Gielgud Theatre in 2019 while the much-loved show’s original home, the Queen’s Theatre, was closed for refurbishment ahead of its reopening as the Sondheim Theatre. Les Misérables The Staged Concert eventually played over 200 performances in the West End.
The new production will feature a new design tailor-made for arenas and large theatres with audience capacity between 3,000 and 5,000. The spectacular production will have a UK company of over 110 actors, musicians and crew featuring a core cast and celebrated Les Mis alumni as guest stars.
Les Misérables – The Arena Spectacular is already booked to perform in the UK, Italy, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Australia, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. Exact dates, cities, venues, casting and on-sale dates will be revealed this autumn.
Announcing the production, Mackintosh said: “Since the very first concert performance of Les Misérables in Sydney in January 1989, this remarkable musical has proved to be as powerful and successful in its every manifestation. Whether in its original full theatrical form, a blockbuster musical movie, or any of its numerous spectacularly staged concert performances. Over the show’s nearly 40 years existence, it has also proved to be the launch pad for an extraordinary list of stars around the world, in many different languages and countries.
“This much anticipated world tour will be a unique opportunity for many of these celebrated performers to play their favourite roles for short periods in different parts of the world, so fans will get the chance to see their favourite stars (and mine!) in their favourite musical.
“Both the show and the score of Les Mis continues to win poll after poll around the world as the public’s favourite musical of all time containing so many of the most memorable and beloved songs ever written for the musical theatre. The euphoria of the cast reunion performances of Miz are legendary and always prove a sell-out so I look forward to this unique event being the ultimate demonstration of ‘Do You Hear the People Sing’ ever! ”
Touring production specialist, Grace added: “I’m thrilled to be co-producing this exciting new world tour with Cameron and to have the opportunity of working on this iconic musical. I’m looking forward to taking this incredible new UK touring production all over the world, bringing it to existing Les Mis fans and those that will be experiencing the phenomenon for the first time.”
The critically acclaimed full production of Les Misérables continues to play 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.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Oscar-winning movie a remastered and remixed version will be released in 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital on 18 July.
Angela Thomas
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