Les Miserables - Schools Edition

The Merriman Theatre Group

Les Miserables                                                                                                                    

As seen by: Frankie Telford on July 7th 2018

Director and Musical Director: Graeme Savage

Assistant Director: Rob Cottrell                                                                                                    

Assistant Musical Director: Bruce Arnold

Choreographers: Nicola Paine and Emily Stenner

Vocal Coach: Laura Lewis

Dragonfly Theatre, Writhlington

This was Merriman’s Twentieth Anniversary and I loved the message in the Programme, which read “I can think of no better way to celebrate a significant birthday than by staging a violent anti-monarchist revolution.”  From a staging point of view this show suited the group very well with the tight ‘get in’ and ‘get out’.  They used a completely bare stage with black drapes, bringing on basic furniture and props as required to transport us to the many locations.  The most elaborate pieces of set were the gates and wall for the house on the Rue Plumet, and The Barricade, which had been very cleverly constructed in three sections on wheeled trucks, this allowed just the centre section to be turned around when we needed to see the Barricade from the other side.  The sound balance between microphone and music was mostly good and well cued.  The lighting had been well designed with some interesting effects, such as for ‘I Dreamed A Dream’.  The costumes for the main characters had been well sourced and looked good, aiding them to establish their characters.

There is a great deal of difficult music in this show and as most of the story is told in song it is vital that the words can be heard. The standard of the singing was good and there were some lovely harmonies.  Musical Director Graeme Savage had control over musicians and singers and they were always together.

This is not a show with flamboyant dance numbers, but choreographers Nicola Paine and Emily Stenner, had devised routines, which reflected the type of show it was, which were well rehearsed and confidently executed

This show has a large number of male parts and as with most companies there are more females than males, so several of the male roles had been given to females who rose to the challenge.  Everyone had obviously enjoyed the opportunity of being involved in this iconic show and had given of their best from the ‘first timers’ to the ‘old hands’.  The ensemble, Thenardier’s Gang, Students, Factory Workers and Lovely Ladies had all worked well together in all that was asked of them, really supporting the action and helping to tell the story.  The principals had been well cast and had all developed believable characters and brought the story to life confidently. On this 20th Anniversary, as always with Merriman, the encouragement and support given by the adults and more experienced members of the group was evident making this a real team effort, showing the talents of this young company and giving a great deal of pleasure and enjoyment to your audiences.  I wish you all well for your future productions.  Thank you for a lovely evening I was honoured to be a part of your celebrations.

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