Les Misérables: The Arena Spectacular | Short Review
Mark Brown
Monday, October 7, 2024
The large-scale touring production of the revolutionary epic is brilliantly performed and impressive in scale.
Staging a major musical in a cavernous arena is a significantly different proposition from presenting it in a traditional theatre. Due to the distance between the stage and much of the audience, the proceedings of Les Misérables: The Arena Spectacular have to be beamed across the auditorium via huge screens.
Consequently, this production is an opulently-costumed concert in which the soloists deliver the show’s famous numbers face-on to the audience. Ironically, the sheer scale of the show prevents it from being a fully staged musical.
The production boasts a stellar cast. On opening night the headliners were Alfie Boe (as the heroic escaped convict Jean Valjean) and Michael Ball (in the role of draconian, yet emotionally tortured, police chief Javert).
The performances are universally superb. However, the concert format leads to (sometimes disappointing) projected imagery standing in for sets.
This arena production does underline the fact that Les Mis is most comfortably housed in a theatre; however, it is brilliantly performed and impressive in scale.
Les Misérables: The Arena Spectacular is touring the UK and internationally until 28 December 2025 – for information and tickets, visit concert.lesmis.com
Production credits
Les Misérables: The Arena Spectacular by Claude-Michel Schönberg (music), Herbert Kretzmer, (lyrics), Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel (original French book), Trevor Nunn and John Caird (English adaptation)
Ovo Hydro, Glasgow, 4 October 2024
Starring Alfie Boe, Michael Ball, Emily Bautista, Killian Donnelly, James D Gish, Channah Hewitt, Bradley Jaden, Bonnie Langford, Gavin Lee, Beatrice Penny-Touré, Jeremy Secomb, Jac Yarrow et al
Directed by James Powell and Jean-Pierre van der Spuy
