Les Miserables (School Edition)

Stoke Youth never fails to amaze and delight! This was truly a spectacular production. Once again Craig Armstrong has brought the best out of this extremely talented young company, bringing forward some new faces to the leading roles. His ability to bring out and encourage talented young people, with the help of his production team, is quite amazing, as is his eye for detail, and his ability to embrace the actors’ capabilities. The musical direction by Keith Ragdale was excellent, as were the lighting, sound , scenery and costumes. The principal parts were all well played and it unfair to single out any one for praise. But I must mention especially Kath Walton and James Keen as the Thenardiers. Experienced adult performers could not have performed any better (but , then again, this applies to the other principal parts too!). They were splendidly supported by a strong company with all the cameo parts being well played. All the singing and dancing ensemble pieces worked exceptionally well and could not be faulted. The set was simple, but just right, and the costumes were totally in keeping with period and the production. The lighting design and effects all worked excellently and assisted in creating the powerful atmosphere of the piece. The sound, was well balanced, though at times a little too loud. To finish, I would just like to thank the talented young cast for providing a superb evening’s entertainment. I look forward to seeing their next production of Evita, and seeing all the new the young stars develop. Martin Tailby, Deputising for Wyn Mason

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