One adaptation more: Les Misérables on stage and screen

At first glance, a hulking 19^th century tome about the history of France, an ex-convict finding his faith, antimonarchism, prostitution and poverty is not an obvious choice for adaptation into a stage musical. It is (as the title Les Misérables suggests) not very cheery, and (spoiler alert) most characters don’t survive. Yet, despite its gloom and its long digressions about sewers, Les Misérables is a great story that remains relevant in many ways. But how does a novel so wide-reaching and, let’s face it, often depressing, fare on the stage?

Pretty well, I would argue. One of the greatest successes of the adaptation is its clever use of space and set. A portion of the stage rotates in order to give the illusion of travelling or time passing, and allows the audience to see the action on each side of a gate or barricade as it turns. It helps the action move quickly and fluidly – very important for a musical adaptation of a novel with an impressive amount of subplots and characters to focus on. Les Misérables is one of the longest novels ever written, and the musical – though selective – still has a runtime of just under three hours.

One of the greatest successes of the adaptation is its clever use of space and set.

The issue with many subplots being juggled in the musical adaptation, however, is that you don’t get a real feel for many characters. Jean Valjean is the main focus, but it adds a lot when you know more about each character’s backstory. Learning how Fantine ended up in poverty is one of the most affecting passages in the novel but it is barely touched upon in the musical. Likewise, you learn little of Les Amis de L’ABC, whereas in the novel their representation makes their fates even more tragic.

Similarly, settings such as sewers cannot be realised on stage very easily. The use of music, carefully chosen set pieces, lighting, and sound effects is thus very important in distinguishing each location. To fully render each would clutter the relatively small stage and make scene changes take a long time. Instead, the production relies on the audience picturing the surroundings themselves, unlike the film version with its plush costumes, sets and cinematography.

The stage production relies on the audience picturing the surroundings themselves, unlike the film version with its plush costumes, sets and cinematography.

This really puts the storytelling, music and actors into the spotlight and it mostly pays off; the production is so slick that you can forgive the staging of Javert’s suicide (him stepping off a ‘bridge’ into a ‘whirlpool’ of light on the floor). Unlike the film version, which was criticised for weak singing, the singing is incredibly strong and even more emotive. Nowadays, many of the songs are so famous that they are even used in adverts. Despite the presence of these songs in everyday life though, they are still wonderfully poignant and rousing in the context of the musical. It’s hard not to a) cry, and b) want to help take down the French monarchy of 1832.

The unsung heroes of this show are the ensemble who play convicts, ‘lovely ladies’, downtrodden masses, nuns, tavern patrons, aristocrats, students and workers, and ensure the bustling atmosphere of Paris comes across without sacrificing pace. Similarly, the use of the villainous Thénardiers as a source of comic relief is well-executed, as the musical would be rather heavy without them.

It’s hard not to a) cry, and b) want to help take down the French monarchy of 1832.

On the whole, the slight simplification of the plot and glossing over some character backstories are merely minor complaints. These ‘issues’ are necessary because no one wants to see an eight-hour production (not even me), no matter how good! In terms of really capturing the heart of the novel, I would say this adaptation is a success. Word of advice though: take tissues for your guaranteed tears!