55
Bo r l a s i a n 2 0 1 3
In School
Les Misérables
: a View from the Audience
What better time to bring
Les Misérables
to the Borlase Theatre than February 2013. Just a month after the UK film
premiere in January, I was eager to see whether the direction by Miss Mountfield could live up to that of Tom Hooper as
film director, and I was not disappointed.
The production transformed the Borlase Theatre, with tiered seating and a raised platform beneath which the orchestra
(led by Dr Parsons), provided the
Les Mis
soundtrack in a way indistinguishable from that at the West End. Guy Lambert
played a fantastic Jean Valjean, and was supported by Chris Murphy as a powerful Javert, and Ellie Potter as Fantine,
whose heartfelt ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ left not a dry eye in the audience. With Berenice Cunningham-Walker playing
the role of Eponine, Immy Birkett as Cosette, and Harry Stott playing Marius, the love triangle between the three was
displayed with great emotion. The students were equally well portrayed by SamNorth, Harry Radcliffe, Josh Raffles, Matt
Mckee and Ross Kelly, whose passion for the role was absolutely tremendous.
Anyone who went to see the show will agree that the vocal ability of not only the leading characters, but the company
too, was outstanding. The company were a key element to this production, with some changing from poor people to
“lovely ladies” and then to the hustle and bustle of the inn, with Alex Garrett as the face behind a rotten but riotous
Thenardier, and Esther-Jane White playing the equally comical Madame Thenardier.
It was evident a great deal of hard work had gone on behind closed doors. From the impressively well-choreographed
dance routines, to the fantastic costumes organised by Mrs Davie and Fiona Bennett, and the fantastic make-up done by
Miss Maffey and her team of make-up artists, all was very precise.
At the end of the day, there was laughter, tears and smiles all round, and I’m sure anyone will agree it was a brilliant
production, and one of the best that the Borlase Theatre has seen yet.
Lauren Palmer Y12
Les Misérables
: Behind the Scenes. The Technical Team
When a show is put on, often people lose themselves in the moment and focus only on the actors. But behind the scenes,
there are a large number of people ensuring that the show runs smoothly; without these people, although they are not
seen, the show would not go on. Here at Borlase an enrichment programme is offered for sixth form called ‘tech theatre’
and is run by Mr Hartley on aWednesday afternoon for year 12 and Thursday afternoon for year 13. This makes sure that
when productions like
Les Mis
come along, there are willing and able students available to help out the wonderful tech
teachers. The enrichment is open to any students wishing to learn the ropes of tech theatre. At the beginning of the year
Borlase took on many students who had limited experience of tech, every single one of these students helped create
some part of
Les Mis.
With plenty of jobs to be done to prepare for
Les Mis
, the tech team began work just like the actors months before the
opening night. Lights had to be ordered, staging had to be planned and lighting cues decided. With a 20- strong tech
crew, the largest Borlase has had for a number of years, the crew set to work readying the theatre for show week. This
consisted of being in school even at the weekends from 9am till 8 at night, to ensure the stage was built in time for the
fabulous actors to take their positions. A vast amount of planning, effort, dedication and time went into this show, and
it shines a light on how dedicated the students are.
In a comment below Joe Lawrie the stage manager recalls his experiences and pride at being part of this fantastic
production.
“I am delighted to say that
Les Mis
was every bit as excellent as I had thought it would be. It is difficult to describe the
effort, skill and amount of time put into this show by all involved. The statistic that I found particularly fitting to help
describe it was that, of our whole school of about 1350 students, approximately one in every five random students
was somehow involved in the show! The audience feedback was, without fail, superb. The feedback was epitomised,
perhaps, by an audience member who had performed in the West end production. He remarked at the attention to
detail and professional feel to the show. The fact that it was staged in the round, he felt, placed the audience straight into
the life of early 19th century Paris – surrounded by revolution and disease. As you may or may not recall from the history
books, this was not a particularly clean, comfortable or happy place to be. The sold out show has been a magnificent
