This year’s musical performance was Les Misérables: School Edition, performed by a fantastic cast of Brighton College pupils, and accompanied by an orchestra of some of the College’s finest musicians.
Focussing on social issues in urban France, the tragedy is a whirlwind of revolutionary violence, touching romance, sorrowful injustice, and light-hearted comedy, as the audience experiences the pains of Jean Valjean as he is pursued by Inspector Javert. It is known to be a particularly challenging musical to pull off – almost three hours of live orchestral music, demanding vocals, intense set changes, and a rollercoaster of acting; and all were performed exceptionally, under the skilful direction of Ms Reavey, Mr Kerr and Mr Mathias.
Immediately, every member of the audience was transported by Fantine’s story – an abandoned, working-class girl, struggling to feed her child – whose heart-wrenching vocal performance provoked countless tears. Little Cosette (Fantine’s daughter), mesmerised with her angelic performance of Castle on a Cloud. Despite the musical’s extremely multi-faceted plot, the cast made it impossible not to feel as if you were there, experiencing the passion and anger of the revolutionaries, led by Enjolras; the touching romance between Marius and Cosette;
and even the excitement of an elegant ball, expertly choreographed by Ms Linkenbagh. At times, the entire stage was full of action – the brilliant ensemble was
dancing, singing and filling the hall with excitement and vigour. Yet between these bursts of energy were stripped-down moments of vulnerability, expressed through the most spectacular vocals. Eponine stunned with her emotional performance of On My Own. The larger-than-life
Thénardier couple excelled in adding a much-needed
laugh to the musical; they embodied the cruel,
wretched characters perfectly, as the two schemed,
blinded by greed and their ties to Paris’ criminal
underworld.
The dynamic nature of the play made it seem to end regrettably quickly, and the memorability of the play is proven by the many pupils that still days later continue to hum or sing the songs as they walk round school. That leads perfectly to the Les Misérables orchestra – twenty musicians (although they sounded like there could have been a hundred of them) providing a marvellous live performance of the many challenging songs. Over a hundred pages of sheet music!
This year’s hard-working and talented production team and design crew are also to thank for the show. Evidently, weeks of preparation went into creating the set that included large structures, furniture and decor to match each scene perfectly. The stage managers are to be praised for the seamless changes of sets, from a factory, to a war zone, to a ballroom. With Miss Keyes as designer and a brilliant design crew, it is no surprise that every cast member wore memorable costumes. From the traditional French uniforms worn by the likes of the foreman and the Bishop of Deane, to the blouses, dresses and periodic streetwear worn by the factory workers and criminals, such as Babet and Brujon.
Some may declare it controversial to compare a school musical to a West End production, but these performances truly raised the bar for College productions and exceeded the already extremely high expectations of pupils, parents, teachers and friends who came to watch the show. It is almost unbelievable that the play was both performed and managed by pupils. A truly unforgettable show.
