LES MISÉRABLES to celebrate 40th anniversary with special charity gala performance
Photo credit: Danny Kaan
Cameron Mackintosh has announced that Boublil and Schönberg’s musical sensation LES MISÉRABLES will celebrate its 40th Birthday in London’s West End on 8 October with a special charity gala performance.
A company of nearly 100 performers, including a star-studded line up of guest artists from the first 40 years of Les Mis such as Patti LuPone, Michael Ball, Alfie Boe, Samantha Barks, Matt Lucas, Frances Ruffelle, Carrie Hope Fletcher, Gerónimo Rauch, Jeremy Secomb and Bonnie Langford plus many more will join the Anniversary Celebration Cast in a special finale.
All proceeds from the Gala Performance will go to two UK charities whose work particularly resonates with Victor Hugo’s timeless story about the young Jean Valjean who needed to steal a loaf of bread to feed his family: The Felix Project and UKHarvest, who both work tirelessly to rescue fresh and healthy food and redistribute to those in need in London and around the country.
Cameron Mackintosh said: “It is an extraordinary feeling to be celebrating our 40th Anniversary of Les Misérables on London’s Shaftesbury Avenue. Having staged several of our other milestone performances in iconic venues like the Royal Albert Hall for our 10th or the o2 Arena for our 25th, I wanted to bring this special celebration home back to its roots, in the theatre, where the British version first started at the Barbican in October 1985.
“Unlike any other musical in history, Les Misérables has continuously triumphed in, not one, but two different and equally successful stagings of the musical, a hugely successful Oscar-winning movie, and spectacular staged concerts in both vast arenas and theatres around the world. Victor Hugo’s creation has proved to have no bounds, continuing to reach new corners of the Earth, playing to different races in their own languages, swept along by Boublil and Schönberg’s inspirational musical score. The reaction of the audience, wherever they are on the planet, is always uplifting; just as Victor Hugo hoped it would be when he first published the novel in 1845. Wouldn’t I love to be around for that bi-centennial!
“So, for our actual anniversary on 8 October, I am thrilled that our wonderful company will be joined for one night only by some of our most celebrated, ever-growing family of alumni from the last 40 years in a special finale. We are limited by the 1,100-seat capacity of the Sondheim Theatre and the number of guests who have been involved in Les Mis over the past four decades, but we wanted to make at least 500 tickets available to fans.
“This country, like many other parts of the world, continue to face the critical issues at the core of Victor Hugo’s story: hunger and poverty. So, everybody involved in Les Misérables wished to donate all the proceeds of what promises to be an extraordinary evening to two charities that continually fight to end hunger in England by redistributing fresh and healthy food to those in need: The Felix Project and UKHarvest.”
As previously announced, Cameron Mackintosh has put together a special company of artists who will perform in the show until 1 November, including the special anniversary performance on 8 October. The role of Jean Valjean is played by Killian Donnelly alongside Bradley Jaden as Javert, Katie Hall as Fantine, Jac Yarrow as Marius, Shan Ako as Éponine, Jordan Shaw as Enjolras, Beatrice Penny-Touré as Cosette and welcoming to the Sondheim Theatre celebrated British actor Adam Gillen as Thénardier and Australian theatre legend Marina Prior as Madame Thénardier. Ian McIntosh plays the role of Jean Valjean at certain performances.
The company is completed by Hollie Aires, Aidan Banyard, Ella May Carter, Nicholas Carter, Matthew Dale, Irfan Damani, Lila Falce-Bass, Sophie-May Feek, Jessica Johns-Parsons, Seán Keany, Chris Kiely, Sam Kipling, Mia Lamb, Sarah Lark, Ollie Llewelyn-Williams, Matthew McConnell, Aaron-Jade Morgan, Adam Pearce, William Pennington, Jordan Simon Pollard, Lewis Renninson, Danielle Rose, Georgia Tapp, Noah Thallon, Imaan Victoria, and Danny Whelan.
