Like its predecessors, 2019’s Les Misérables: The Staged Concert will be long remembered as another notable event in the musical’s performance history, heralding the return of Michael Ball to a show he helped to establish, but this time in the role of Javert.
Adapting Les Misérables: Psychological depth and the period drama
The BBC’s adaptation of Les Misérables has been a huge success, gripping Sunday night viewing for the last five weeks offering the first truly comprehensive dramatisation of Victor Hugo’s mammoth novel.
‘Bold & confident production’: NOTRE DAME DE PARIS – London Coliseum ★★★
Gilles Maheu’s production of Notre Dame De Paris emphasises the powerful nature of the story – but ends up getting too carried away with itself.
‘An epic musical score filled with soaring romantic melodies’: Notre Dame de Paris – London Colesium
At first glance Notre Dame de Paris appears as a mashup of an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical and a Cirque du Soleil show in French. But it goes deeper, as it should, being based on Victor Hugo’s novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
NEWS: French musical Notre Dame de Paris has brief run at the London Coliseum in 2019
Twenty years after its Parisian debut, the French musical Notre Dame de Paris is to be performed in London, after receiving acclaim in 23 countries worldwide.
‘A dark & alternative show’: THE GRINNING MAN – West End ★★★★
A particular highlight was Julie Atherton as Queen Angelica, whose comedic timing was on point as always.
Mind the Blog’s best shows of 2017
Any number of shows could have been included in this post; frankly it’s ludicrous that I decided to stick with my whole top 12 idea… As I’ve seen about 90 more individual shows than last year.
REVIEW ROUND-UP: The Grinning Man at Trafalgar Studios
The Bristol Old Vic’s new British musical, based on Victor Hugo’s story, has transferred to London. What have critics made of The Grinning Man’s West End transfer, now running at Trafalgar Studios?
‘An astonishing piece of theatre’: THE GRINNING MAN – West End ★★★★★
The Grinning Man is an astonishing piece of theatre which will appeal to anyone with an appetite for an entertainment which is piquant, curious, original and just a little bit macabre.
THE GRINNING MAN – Bristol Old Vic
The master stroke of the creative team at Bristol Old Vic is to re-imagine his The Man Who Laughs through the dirty lens of Tim Burton, and to centre The Grinning Man on the brutally malevolent humour of a moping and Machiavellian clown played to and beyond perfection by Julian Bleach.