The director tried and succeeded to produce a very dark and unhappy time of life. Most of the poorer people where all dressed in dark and dingy colours which was a lot like the backgrounds and the lighting which in times where shades of browns and dirty yellows.
The songs also where a very good example of the mood and atmosphere because most of them where to a steady beat which shows that there life was always the same and never changed they kept to the beat.
I had very high expectations of this play as I had heard a lot of good points about this performance. It is not just a run of the mill play, it was a historic master piece that has been a hit in many different countries, such as England, America and France. My initial response was that I was very excited as soon as the safety curtain rose up from the floor of the stage. The first thing I saw was a group of criminals in a chain gang who where singing the song “look down” which in my opinion is probably the most powerful songs in the whole performance.
Main Body of The Review
The Performance Space
Les Miserables was staged in a Proscenium Arch with a rotating plate in the centre of it that is essential because of several scenes that definitely revolved around the rotating plate. I think that the director chose to use this technique because it gave the audience quite a wide view of what was going on around them. Even though the staging was done very well I didn’t feel very involved except for the marching scene when it felt like the actors where marching right towards us. I think the director wanted to stage the production in this way to make the audience feel involved.
The Set
The set was fairly large with a rotating plate in the middle, the plate was very symbolic in this performance because it symbolised the lives of the characters because they seemed to be going round in circles. The set also had moving barricades, which were very realistic for the barricade scenes. There is only one set in the whole performance but there are a number of props that come on and off of the stage to set the scene. The barricades are made up of mainly woods such as beds and chairs which shows that the citizens didn’t really have anything but they would put all there household goods up for use if it was going to get them even the slightest bit of respect. The space that was available for the actors was used very well because the performance overall was spread out and wasn’t just crammed into one corner.
In my opinion the best use of space and levels was in the scene when Javert jumped off the bridge he didn’t actually move but the bridge rose very quickly giving the impression of him jumping, this scene would only work if the timing was exactly right. The marching scene also relied a great deal on levels because the people would step forward and lean down at the same time which created the illusion of the actors moving forward even though they where just moving backwards and forwards.
The Actor And His/Her Performance
Jean Valjean
Hans Peter Jonssens played Jean Valjean. Jean Valjean was imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread for his poor and dying sister, he was sent to work in the chain gangs he was no longer a person but just a number which was 24601. He broke his bail when he was released from the chain gangs and started a new life. He is physically an exceptionally strong man and a lot of people comment on it. He speaks very firmly to adult men especially Javert and stands upright to show his strength and authority, but when he speaks to women and children he speaks very softly and seems to lean over as if they are equal in authority, he seems to be a true gentleman. Jean Valjean seemed to be a very proud man we can tell this by his body language because he stands upright at all times other than when he speaks to children. I liked the character Jean Valjean which in my opinion meant that it was a successful character.
Javert
Peter Corry played Javert. He was the good guy but the way he portrayed the character made us hate him. He is a police officer and was in charge of the chain gang that Jean Valjean was in. he remembered him because he was so strong. Javert comes across as a very straight man that will always speak his mind and if he didn’t like you then he would make it quite clear. He is a gentleman and is very religious, he does every thing by the book and treats everybody the same. Javert didn’t really give anything away with his facial expressions, as it was always the same. His posture and body language shows us that he is proud of his authority and is pleased that he is enforcing the law.
Marius
Niklas Andersson played Marius. Marius was Fontines boyfriend, he was one of the students that were in the barricades he got shot and went unconscious. Jean Valjean went into the sewers and carried Marius to safety. He didn’t tell him when he gained consciousness. He is a young man and I could see the resemblance between him and Jean Valjean because they both love Fontine and they were both very dedicated in more or less everything they do. He tries to be a man about things especially in the barricades and tries to hide his fear you can tell this by his body language and the way that he moves around the barricades he is always on his toes ready for the next attack.
Javert hates Jean Valjean and Jean Valjean also hates Javert. They met when Valjean was in the chain gangs and in Javerts mind once you are a thief you are always a thief. They have many run ins through out the performance. The best is probably the one in the barricades because for once Valjean has the upper hand over Javert and has the perfect chance to kill him as he is a spy in the barricades, but he doesn’t he pretends to but lets him get away with it.
Javert doesn’t particularly like Marius because he is a student and is in the barricades and Marrius doesn’t like Javert at all because he is an enforcer of the law and the French government.
Marius quite likes Jean Valjean and I would even say that he looks up to him as most people do. He especially likes him because he is a father figure of cossets. I would presume that Jean Valjean wouldn’t particularly like Marius because he is trying to take his daughter away from him.
Costume
The costumes where typical of the time because they were the right design and had appropriate colours for the status of the poorer actors such as dark browns and yellows. The costumes where symbolic to the working class because they seemed to stay in the same work clothes all the time, showing that they could only afford one type. Valjean’s costumes were especially symbolic because they went from being dull and dingy to very expensive and looked upper class compared to his chain gang years. The costumes told us about the characters financial status.
Lighting
The lighting was a very important part of the performance because it could completely change the mood in a split second. Every time someone died the lights went bright white which may have symbolised heaven. When Javert was about to jump off the bridge the lights went very dark and when the scene with Jean Valjean carrying Marius through the drain the white light had a grid over it which gave the impression of the daylight coming into the sewers. The lighting changed in different ways to show tension and emphasise the characters moods and emotions.
Sound And Music
The overall view of the music was that it was all to a steady beat that was the same in several different but very effective songs which emphasised the beat in movement as well as just the music. I think that all of the music in the performance was very well suited and chosen to perfection. There where a number of sound effects used throughout the performance such as the gun shots in the barricades, the sound of smashing rocks in the chain gangs in the opening scene and the sound of wind as Javert jumped off the bridge.
Music played a very big part of the performance, as it was very powerful. The best example is castle on a cloud, where Fontine sings about her dreams of a world where every one is equal and they all live in a castle and there is no fighting or arguing she wants the world to be a peaceful place to live. Look down was the song that was sung in the chain gang at the beginning of the performance the beat was repeated several times and was a great choice of song to start it all off and keep the viewers focused. Master of the house was one of the only comical pieces of the performance. It broke it all up very well, it was set in the pub and was performed by Thenardier and his wife along with the customers of the pub, this described the characters, which is what all the songs do even if they don’t say it directly.
Conclusion
Overall Impact
I thought that this was an exceptional performance and I would definitely see it again if I ever get the chance. This was an unusual performance because it made you feel sorry for the bad guy (Valjean) and made you hate the good guy (Jevert). The performance kept my attention at all times. I think that the rest of my piers shared the same views of the performance as I. I thought that the most interesting part of the performance was when Jean Valjean ripped up the piece of paper and decided to become a person rather than a number. I thought that the highlight of the performance was the scene with the run away cart. Jean Valjean did the impossible and lifted an extremely heavy cart to save someone’s life when people where saying and thinking that he would never be able to do it even if he did have three men to help, but he did it on his own. This got him great respect but Javert was watching and realised that only one man could do such a thing as that and that was prisoner 24601 aka Jean Valjean. I wouldn’t change anything about the performance by choice but if I had to I would stage it in a larger theatre so that more people could see this great piece of theatre!
The most visual moments I retain is the opening scene where Jean Valjean is first seen working in a chain gang. I felt a mix of emotions because I was sad that Valjean had died but pleased to have witnessed such a good performance.
I would remember this production because of the acting and musicals as well as the characters Jean Valjean and Javert because I felt that I could relate to them.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of Les Miserables and would definitely recommend it to anyone that appreciates good theatre!
