In Les Miserables, Frenchman Jean Valjean is jailed for stealing food and is forced to flee from the police, in particular an officer called Javert. The chase ruins the lives of both men, and eventually Valjean is caught up in France’s student revolution. The characters include factory workers, prostitutes, student revolutionaries and many others, all of whom join the leading characters in the struggle for revolution and redemption.
Les Miserables combines love, sacrifice, betrayal and vile villainy in a captivating tale that runs the full gamut of human emotions. The musical is an adaptation of Victor Hugo’s book of the same name, written in 1862, and the story is set in France in the early 19th century.
Winner of more than 70 theatre awards, Les Miserables has been running in London’s West End for twenty-six years, and had its ten-thousandth performance in January 2010. The Tony Award-winning score features the unforgettable song I Dreamed a Dream, which is performed as a solo during the first act by the character Fantine. This classic musical masterpiece has been translated into 21 languages to enthral audiences around the world, proving beyond doubt that it is a show everyone should see at least once.
