Les Miserables
Windsor Upper School.
Farrer Theatre, Eton College
There are school productions that exceed expectations, and then there are those that make you forget you are watching a school production altogether. Windsor Upper Schools’ ambitious staging of Les Misérables belongs firmly in the latter category.
Performed in the beautiful surroundings of the Farrer Theatre at Eton College, and led by local musical director James Manwaring MBE, with a full live orchestra, atmospheric lighting and richly detailed costumes, the opening night unfolded with the kind of theatrical magic that lingers long after the curtain falls.
Les Misérables is no easy undertaking. It demands powerful emotional honesty and a cast capable of carrying an audience through almost three hours (slightly less in the case of the Schools Edition) of relentless drama. It also relies on an ensemble that never lets the world of nineteenth-century France feel anything less than completely believable. From the opening chain gang sequence, through to the lovely ladies and the stunning barricades, this production established exactly that.
The live orchestra and striking young singers captured everything from the intimacy of “I Dreamed a Dream” and the joy of “In my Life” to the comedy of ‘Master of the House”, the pain of “Empty Chairs and Empty Tables” and the stirring grandeur of “One Day More”.
The production wisely trusted the material. The direction allowed the story to speak for itself, very much true to the West End version, supported by stunning set and fluid transitions to keep the narrative moving, allowing Hugo’s sprawling epic to unfold with remarkable clarity and pace.
The young performers and musicians were the stars of the night, but productions of this scale depend upon far more than the performers alone. Manwaring worked together with Naomi Baggett, Huw Thomas, Sian Littlejohns and Bronte Delasalle, plus many talented students and ex-students. Their collective effort, from choreography through to technical direction, and sound through to lighting, resulted in an evening that felt cohesive, ambitious and an inspiration for young people in the Royal borough and beyond.
Windsor Upper Schools should be immensely proud of what they have achieved. This was far more than an accomplished school musical; it was an emotionally engaging piece of theatre, a moment of joy and wonder, that truly captured the spirit of one of the world’s most enduring musicals.
Reviewer: Klara Kallis