| Les Miserables | Gilbert & Sullivan Society of SA |
| Written by Peter Bleby |
| Friday, 23 May 2008 21:57 |
 Left - Andrew Crispe and Rebecca Raymond. Cover - Paul Talbot. Photos - Eric SandsThere is power. There is poverty. There is politics. There is pilfering. But most of all there is passion, both in the music and the story. Les Misérables has justifiably become one of the world’s favourite musicals, and it is capable of lifting audiences to great heights of emotion, and to their feet at the end of a performance such as this. The G & S Society has excelled itself in this splendid production. It is an all new look at Les Mis by director and designer David Lampard, with dramatic, and effective sets, a huge cast, a fine orchestra at the expert hands of Ross Curtis, apposite costumes by Bronwen Major, and some superb soloists. The design uses the colours of the French flag in lighting, costumery and sets to emphasise emotional content, and effectively uses curtains flying up, down and sideways to create micro-areas for intimate scenes. The flying in of the barricade in bits is a master stroke. Against this finely engineered infrastructure of conception, design, music and stagecraft, the cast take off and deliver. There is great energy in their singing and chorus movement. Diction is clear, particularly from the men, and the whole chorus work integrates smoothly with that of the principals. It is amongst the principals that some simply wonderful signing is delivered. Rebecca Raymond is a charming Cosette, with a beautiful well controlled voice. Rachel Rai excelled in her “On my Own”, and Andrew Crispe brought a strong, fine voice and portrayal to the role of Marius. Another fine tenor is Paul Talbot (Enjolras) although the passion of the music was not always reflected in his movements. There was a little inconsistency of pitch in Tom Millhouse’s ensemble singing as Javert, which was entirely forgiven in his solo work. But the undisputed star was Mark Oates as Jean Valjean. He really comes into his own in this role, which he plays with passion, musicality drama and clear talent. His “Bring Him Home” was an absolute tour de force. The work is really Valjean’s story, and Mark Oates tells it with class. Of course there were occasional first night hiccups with the odd wig, sound, projection and mike coordination glitches, which make amateur theatre what it is. Nevertheless with a cast and crew of this calibre, these will be ironed out with alacrity. This Les Mis is a credit to all involved. As Ross Curtis writes in his notes, if you’ve seen it before, this production will bring new insights. If you haven’t - fasten your seat belt! The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of SA presents Les Misérables A musical by Alain Boublil & Claude-Michel Schönberg Based on the novel by Victor Hugo Venue: Scott Theatre Dates: May 22 to 31 Times: 22-24 May & 28-31 May at 8pm | 24 & 31 May 2pm | 25 May 5 pm Bookings: 8447 7239 or Bass on 131 246
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Comments (11)Subscribe to this comment's feed...
Rachel Rai was simply superb as Eponine. The next Lea Salonga maybe?
The rest of the cast were also amazing. Vive Les Mis
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May 24, 2008
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A wonderful performance. Earthy and compelling singing and acting. The passion of Andrew Crispe was a standout for me.
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May 26, 2008
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Attended the Sunday matinee, Standing ovations from the audience. Trish Spence, you always give your best, and again nailed it. Why cant they extend it even one more night, Does anyone know why they dont as each seasons a sellout. Well done David and Ross.
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May 27, 2008
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I had the pleasure of being in the audience on the Sunday 5pm matinee this past weekend.
Never in my years of theatre have I see an ENTIRE audience around me on their feet during the bows. Simply amazing. Credit to Lampard, Curtis, Oates and everybody else involved. If I could get another ticket, I'd be there again.
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May 27, 2008
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I too was at the Sunday matinee. Well done David and cast and crew and musicians. I have seen a half dozen versions of Les Mis but never one with such passion. The scene with Eponine dying in the arms of Marius took my breath away. In my four decades of theatre going I have never witnessed such a stunningly poignant 30 seconds. Well done Andrew Crispe and Rachel Rai on a spell-binding performance. Congratulations to all for this theatrical masterpiece.
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May 28, 2008
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I was in the orchestra for this and was blown away by the actors for the first time in a while....and I've done afew musicals.
I LOVED valjean and Gavroche - that little dude was aawesome. any comments for the orchestra? hehe
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June 03, 2008
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Wow, Ross Curtis was right, fasten your seat belts!!
I've now listened to a few recordings since and I truly believe you won't here better than Mark Oates "Bring Him Home". Passion and quality is true for the whole cast too. Yep I had the Kleenex on standby, and while I didn't actually put them to use, I had tears selling in my eyes when Andrew Crispe sang "Empty Tables Empty Chairs". What a priviledge.
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June 04, 2008
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Mark Oats won an award I hear for his role in this show. Very well deserved, I say! Every since member of the cast deserved one I think. Best show ever!
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August 21, 2008
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Yes, Mark Oates won an ATG Curtain Call award for his role as Valjean. Rachel Rai won an award for her role as Eponine. Matthew Curtis won a technical award for his audio engineer work in the show.
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November 13, 2008
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Absolutely brilliant!!!
Words are not enough to explain the emotion and the appreciation for such a magnificent production. To Ross Curtis a special thank you.
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January 28, 2009
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To answer Doug?s question. The seasons were not extended because it was unfortunately an amateur production and 95+% of cast/crew swerved their involvement around 9-5 work. There was often much talk back stage at how those of us involved would sustain getting up at 6:30am for work, finishing a full day?s work at 5-5:30pm and going straight to the theatre to prepare for curtain, emotionally draining themselves for 3 hours on stage only to return home at 11-12am to sleep before waking up for work at 6:30am ? as well as the shows on weekends! It?s still something we love to do but it?s critical to factor in how long we can keep it up.
In the second half of the fortnight, a lot of the team are focussed on delaying sickness until after final night as best they can, before they crash and spend 2-3 weeks recovering. For instance, Mark Oates struggled to stay well in both seasons because (as his performances showed) he invested a phenomenal amount of physical and emotional energy into it. The difference in Oates? singing tone between opening and closing nights were significant, and like everyone else he just does what he can to keep it up. In working with the cast/crew as a stagehand I personally found mistakes backstage become progressively more and more numerous as the seasons went on due to fatigue, stress and sickness. The show would very soon slip down to a standard that we would not be as proud to contribute to. A lot of the chorus and quite a few of the principle cast members commented that they would be very willing to do Les Mis if they were paid for it, but trying to sustain it in addition to the normal ways we all make a living is generally too hard of a slog. After 12-15 shows on that timetable the vast majority are absolutely spent.
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May 04, 2009
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