LES MISERABLES is to draw double the tears come the autumn, when it plays at both the Queen’s theatre and the Barbican Arts Centre – the first time ever a major musical has had two versions on in the same city at the same time, unless you count panto.
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The Barbican show is part of Les Mis’s 25th birthday celebrations, since it was at The City venue that the English language version of the musical was first performed. The French language original was born five years earlier.
Running from 14 September until 2 October, the Barbican Les Mis is, in fact, the touring production that kicked off in Cardiff in December 2009 and is currently playing in Norwich.
It’s a new version of the musical, with a different set, but the music stays put and features Gareth Gates among other stalwarts of its older sibling.
The so-good-they-put-it-on-twice record isn’t the only one claimed by Les Mis. It is also the world’s longest running musical and helped Britain’s Got Talent phenomenon Susan Boyle claim the most pre-ordered CD in the world accolade for I Dreamed a Dream.
