First thing’s first, I want to talk about how extremely pleasant to see the extras was throughout the whole play.

In the part of the factory, there are two things I’d like to highlight: first, Fantine and that one worker actually fought, making it look quite harsh; in most plays I’ve seen, the actresses try a bit too hard not to hurt each other, which I understand, but it takes a bit away the emotion when you can see there’s nothing happening; in this play, however, they actually committed to it, and I loved to see that. The second thing, which I loved even more, was that Fantine was not only harassed by the foreman, but by other male workers as well; there was, however, one worker that defended her a bit, which I found curious and nice, until Fantine is revealed to be a mother, and then everyone yells for her to be fired, this man included; I loved this because it showed how some people will only defend victims when they are seen as clean and perfect, but will turn away the second the victim shows to not be what they thought; I think this was very on point for Fantine’s story as a whole, and I’m grateful for whoever had this idea.

The next extras I want to talk about are the prostitutes, which I found absolutely charming. In more plays than not, they are shown as cruel and carefree, talking with Fantine to tell her to work with them too, not as a way to help her, but as a way to get her out of her high horse, if that makes sense. In this play, however, they are shown as victims of the system, and they treat Fantine as a sister, almost as if thinking “I know you’re suffering, and I want to help you, but I can barely make ends meet by my own, so I will tell you how you can get money as well.” I find this absolutely precious, specially because some of them actually try to defend Fantine when Javert comes, which is an amazing contrast to the man in the factory.

The next and last extras I’d like to talk about are not that important, but I think they really helped show how poor people will do whatever they need to scrap a bit of money. This moment happens in Look Down, when, after Éponine throws Marius’ book away, two women take it, and when Marius tries to retrieve it, they withhold it from him until he gives them a few coins. It’s not a big moment, but it’s one I can’t forget, and one I think is worth mentioning.

Now, onto the next part: the main characters.

As you may know if you’ve ever seen any play of Les Mis, at first Valjean is shown as a cynical man who doesn’t care about people because they don’t care about him, and that is maintained in this play, but what I think is not shown as much is just how violent he can be. Here, Valjean enters fights for whatever reason he can find, treats everyone around him with disdain, and threatens the bishop before he brings him to his home. I love that the actor showed Valjean as a man who no one would look at twice, as someone who would never be given a chance, who may not even deserve it, because it just makes the bishop’s decision even more important.

Also, I adored how gentle Valjean was with Fantine. In the two songs they have together, he holds her a lot, always trying to be as near her as possible, holding her hands, head… They looked at each other with such tenderness it made my heart break.

As for Javert, he is probably one of the most normal ones I’ve encountered, so I have little to say about him other than the actor did a very good job portraying his nuance as a character. There is a moment, however technical it was, that I found beautiful. In his suicide, when he jumps off the bridge, instead of just seeing him fall into a pitch of black, we see him go into the dark, his hand reaching into the last light on stage. THAT WAS SO FUCKING COOL, YOU HAVE NO IDEA. I LOVED IT.

Also, a little thing: even though Thénardier was pretty “meh” in this play, the fact that they changed the lyrics of the wedding from “this one’s a queer, but what can you do?” to “this one’s a queer, and I’ve tried that, too” is precious, because seeing this man dip an unsuspecting guy and trying to kiss him was the funniest shit I’ve seen all year, props. Also, everyone did a fantastic job in that song, specially the extras; I will never forget that.

Now, onto the part that made me write this in the first place. May I present you, the immaculate, the bisexualest, the drunkest… GRANTAIRE (there are applause, yelling, someone is throwing things. Everyone is me).

Oh, this man, how clean he was made by the actor… God, truly, he couldn’t have been better even if the actor had tried!

Ok, first thing’s first: him being a cynic that hates the revolution because he wants his friends to live: 10/10, spot on, I cried. This man is always being cheerful and funny, but the second shit gets real, he has the saddest eyes in the world and takes Gavroche to the corner of the stage to make him stay with him, out of danger; truly, he’s such a dad.

And talking about Grantaire being a dad, you cannot imagine how I felt while seeing Gavroche’s death. All Les Amis were so anxious, so scared, only to have hope when Gavroche gets up the barricade, hope that quickly dies with the child. Grantaire, however, was another thing entirely. Once Enjolras hands him Gavroche, he takes him in his hands with such care, walking around as if with no destiny, an expression on his face of such horror that it made me think for a long moment that he was going to scream. He didn’t though, he just left the child in their corner of the stage, hugging him, crying without shame while the rest of his friends battled.

And oh, the last battle. How Enjolras and he were. The two of them had acted as true friends the whole play, teasing, touching, looking at each other… it made me feel such warmth to see Enjolras being sassy towards Grantaire rather than cruel or disdainful. This dynamic peaked, I think, in Drink With Me, when Grantaire starts singing, having a breakdown because of the friends he’s already grieving, when Enjolras comes down the barricade with the gentlest “shh,” bringing him into a hug Grantaire reciprocates before he pulls away and goes to the corner of the stage, where Gavroche hugs him as well.

In the last battle, however. Grantaire stays in the corner with the child’s body, crying, refusing to see his friends fight. It is not until Marius is down that he goes make sure he’s fine at the same time as Enjolras, and they look at each other’s eyes; then, they rise up, and have the tightest, longest hug in the whole play before Enjolras goes raise the red flag, being the first one to die; he’s followed by his friends and, in the end, it is Grantaire the last one to die, letting himself fall in the same spot Enjolras did. I know this is what happens in all the plays, but there was just something about this one that really got to me.