Les Miserables at the Atkinson April 10th to 13th. Verdict: An Outstanding Show!!!

‘Les Miserables’ had it’s opening night, tonight (Wednesday April 10th), to a full house, at The Atkinson and there was a unified standing ovation from the audience at the finale!

The talent on display was absolutely incredible, the energy of the whole cast was tangible and the singing was top class! (This is a ‘must see!!!!’)

S.O.N.G (Southport Operatic New Generation) is a theatre group of young people in our town, who have passed a talent audition to get into this prestigious group.

However, you forget the fact that they are aged 10 to 20, because their professionalism is second to none.

‘Les Mis’ is a tale of woe and angst, love, loss and redemption set in France in the early 1800s against a backdrop of revolutionary fervour. The name ‘Les Misèrables’ means The Unfortunate Ones or The Wretched. The cast told the story superbly.

I spoke to 17 year old Harry Corcoran, who played the lead role of Jean Valjean. Harry mesmerised the audience with his acting and singing. He embodied the character and was as good as a professional adult. His performance of ‘ Bring Him Home’ was extremely emotive.

“It’s been a role I’ve wanted to play for a long time and to play it at this age has been an honour!” He said.

Playing alongside Harry, as the strict Inspector, Javert, was Orlando Campolucci-Bordi, who is an equally competent young actor and singer. Again, he commanded the stage and gave a magnificent performance.
Orlando said “It’s been an absolute honour to be given the opportunity to perform in such an iconic musical, so all my thanks go to the incredible director, musical director and the rest of the committee for making the show the success it turned out to be.'

Orlando said “It’s been an absolute honour to be given the opportunity to perform in such an iconic musical, so all my thanks go to the incredible director, musical director and the rest of the committee for making the show the success it turned out to be.’

Marius, played by Evan Thorpe was also fantastic, and with a strong voice too! Tess Wright as Fantine was brilliant and sang ‘I dreamed a dream’ truly magically. Eponine by Kai- Enna Mook gave a stunning portrayal of her character and sang ‘On My Own’ with such emotion. Cosette, by Amaya Spencer played her role just right and had a beautiful voice.

One of my favourite scenes was ‘Master of The House’. Joseph Bigley and Georgia Hankin were a great comedy duo. It was a thoroughly entertaining scene with fabulous choreography. Young Cosette had a sweet voice too and suited the part.

S.O.N.G actually have so many strong vocalists, which is rare to find in one group like this! Every song was really well sang -even the chorus. There are too many names to mention, but all of the cast were simply amazing!

The music of ‘Les Mis’ is so well known and loved; with non-stop favourites and the orchestra played these faultlessly throughout. With strings, brass, woodwind, keyboard and percussion, all instruments blended beautifully. The band were expertly directed by Andrew Standeven. The orchestra were silhouetted behind a screen on stage which was very effective.

Karen Edge has undoubtedly done a wonderful job as director here and deserves the credit. I spoke to Karen last night who told me,

“I have had an absolute ball working once again with such a terrific group of children. To see them perform with such depth, bringing the characters and my vision to life, was an amazing feeling. To see an audience reaction like that, standing before the show had even finished, was something I’ve never experienced in all my years of working with the theatre. So thank you to everyone in the audience.
Here’s to our next performance!”

The scenery, sound and lighting were practically perfect and the costumes were also impressive. A massive well done to everyone involved.

I am rating this show as 10/10!

Get your tickets now if there are any left!!!

https://theatkinson.ticketsolve.com/...hows/873654028

Reported by Claire Kelly
clairekelly@qlocal.co.uk for community interviews, reviews, and events coverage
Review by clairekelly@qlocal.co.uk