LES MISÉRABLES
Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay, Tue 26 Nov-Sat 4 Jan
Tickets: £23-£75. Info: 029 2063 6464 / www.wmc.org.uk
When it comes to epic theatrical runs, the Wales Millennium Centre tends to really pull out the stops come the Christmas period, and 2019 (plus the first four days of the 20s) will be no exception. ‘Epic’ is a highly relative term, that said: Cardiff Bay is set for six weeks of Les Misérables in the form conceived by emperor of popular theatre Cameron Mackintosh. In July of this year, it closed in London’s West End due to its venue needing refurbishment – it had opened in December 1985 and, infamously, just kept going.
Les Miz, as the musical is colloquially known, is a behemoth of a theatre franchise, and its festive slot in Cardiff forms part of a UK and Ireland tour running until November 2020. A lavish staging with a sizeable cast, it’s headed by a few names with solid grounding in its Francophilic high drama. Killian Donnelly plays jailbird lead Jean Valjean, as he did in the West End; Nic Greenshields, playing gendarme Javert here, Katie Hall as single mum Fantine and Martin Ball as crooked publican Thénardier also have relevant past experience.
Based on the 1862 novel by Victor Hugo, expect tales of good and bad French eggs to manifest in rousing chorus. The last time Les Miz visited the WMC, in January 2010, the big name in the cast was Gareth Gates, which just goes to show what a wild ride the subsequent decade has been.