Review by Tony Domaille

LES Misérables is an iconic musical, packed full of characters and beautiful songs we know very well.

It is an ambitious show to take on for a youth theatre, but Lyn Bedford’s production for the Northavon Youth Theatre Company was a triumph of colour and energy, showcasing some outstanding young talent.

The “schools edition” production ran at the Armstrong Hall, Thornbury, from March 27-31.

The story was creatively staged and directed with very effective sets complimenting excellent costumes. The barricades were as impressive as anything you would see on the professional stage, and revolving it allowed for maximum impact. An excellent stage crew kept the action moving.

Well controlled sound and great lighting – particularly in the second act – provided production values of the highest quality, whilst a faultless orchestra delivered the well-loved score.

The music in this show is wonderful, but it was the actors that stood out with some brilliant performances in the leading roles.

Freddie Dixon-Lewis was outstanding in the role of Jean Valjean. This is a young man with real stage presence and a voice that moved us every time he sang.

Josh Moore’s portrayal of the driven Javert was compelling and his rendition of ‘Stars’ was a tear jerker. Another one to move the audience was the excellent Robyn Purchase who brought all the tragedy out of the role of Fantine.

Mention has to be made of the eye-catching performances of William Campbell and Georgia Alderson as the innkeeping Thenardiers.

They treated us to very mature portrayals, getting everything out of the characters that an audience needs to see.

Alex Bell was excellent as Gavroche, and Richard Sawyer led the rebellion as Enjolras convincingly.

Joe Baldwin and Beckie Campbell-Kemp portrayed the love story between Marius and Cosette very well, whilst Rosie Howse (young Cosette) and Harry Thompson (The Bishop) also gave creditable performances.

The selfless Eponine was beautifully played by Bethany Wong and Ella Bryant (on different nights) and it is hard to imagine a stronger set of young people in the lead roles.

With a huge cast, it just isn’t possible to mention everyone, but every member of the cast was an absolute credit to the production and the group.

This was an outstanding show that I am sure will win awards.

It was a real pleasure to see so many talented young people entertaining an audience that was moved to a well-deserved standing ovation at the end.