Do you hear the people sing? 
Singing a song of angry men. 
It is the music of a people 
who will not be slaves again.

To celebrate 40 years of Les Misérables, amateur theatre companies around the UK were contacted by Musical Theatre International with the offer of staging one the greatest shows of all time for the am-dram circuit. In the West Midlands, this was Birmingham and Midland Operatic Society (BMOS) along with Bournville Musical Theatre Company, Bilston Operatic Company and West Bromwich Operatic Society. The process then began a year ago to prepare for a once in a lifetime moment. The thing is, could amateur dramatics beat what the professionals have to offer on a daily basis?

The plot, in a nutshell: It’s 1815 where Jean Valjean breaks parole (and his word at every opportunity) and successfully evades the worst police officer in France for nearly 20 years. Miraculously, with the proceeds of a few pieces of silver, he becomes a mayor, builds up a business which revolutionises a town’s fortunes, then abandons them to ruin and goes on the run again with adopted child in tow. He then once more survives on nothing but his secret stash to live a life of luxury. Meanwhile, a group of 3000 insurgents rebel against the monarchy and are swiftly defeated by the superior force of the military. All these worlds collide, and we get the wonderful musical based on the 1862 Victor Hugo novel, Les Misérables. Yes, in the musical version plot, there are more holes than a Swiss cheese, but if you can get past the sometimes-dodgy lyrics and mention of God in every other sentence, it’s a must see for anyone. Honest, I do still love it.

With excellent costumes and staging, director Stephen Duckham must have been pleased with the results. So too the musical team of David Easto and Callum Thompson. In addition, the movement (There is not much dance in Les Mis) was superb from the coordination of Aaron Gibson and Lauren Shirley. A few tech issues with mics aside, the sound was good, but I was extremely impressed with lighting and smoke effects which added to the already atmospheric experience throughout.

The already mentioned Aaron Gibson played a superb Valjean as was the case with Robbie Love as Valjean’s nemesis, Javert. Delivering a fine rendition of I Dreamed a Dream we had Annabel Pilcher while Beth Dickson did fantastic justice to my favourite character in the show, Eponine. The Romeo and Juliet of Les Mis are Marius (Luke Griffiths) and Cosette (Ismay Dudzinski-Grubb) and A Heart Full of Love was sublime. Griffiths also delivered my top tune of the night in Empty Chairs at Empty Tables; not a number I normally like, but this time it gave goosebumps. Leading the revolution was Ben Evans as Enjolras, giving a powerful performance on stage. On the comedy front (Yes, even woe and tragedy need lighter moments) we had the Thenadiers. Tim Jones and Sophie Grogan did everything that you would expect in portraying this most odious couple. Wonderful. And a mention to the younger cast who took their opportunities well. Jaron Lewis Haynes (Gavroche), Polly Lewis-Gvozdenovic (Young Cosette) and Florence Hickman (Young Eponine) all shone.

However, you can’t have a show without an ensemble and in this case, all were on point magnificently. For an amateur production, this was very professional. Maybe not so a few of the audience around me who seemed is if they had never been in a theatre before, going back and forth to toilets and bars during songs, talking and having no idea of the right time to applaud. But that was only a minor fly in a rich ointment. This was a magnificent triumph for all, and a pinch me moment for many on stage and the near 100% standing ovation was totally deserved.

Better than the professionals? Of course not. It’s a full-time job for the Pros, and they get paid for the work as opposed to amateur players who do the opposite for the pleasure (Contributing up to £500 in this instance). But I’m guessing it was all worth it. Yeah, I never expected better than a professional Les Misérables, but it was still better than some other professional musicals I have seen (Hamilton, &Juliet take note).

Do you hear the people sing? I certainly heard the audience at the climax. And that was good.

Cheers.

Antony N Britt

*Photos taken from social media and may not represent the performance reviewed.