#max robson

“Dawn of Anguish,” “Second Attack/Death of Gavroche” and “The Final Battle,” London, 2014. Anton Zetterholm as Enjolras, Rob Houchen as Marius, Daniel Koek as Jean Valjean, Max Robson as Gavroche, Adam Linstead as Grantaire, Tam Mutu as Javert.

189 years ago today, the barricades fell, so it seems only fitting to relive the tragedy through its most famous fictionalized portrayal.

Last year I shared a video of this same cast from 2013, albeit with a different Gavroche and without the battle’s aftermath. This performance, which allegedly was Anton Zetterholm’s last before he left the show, is just as strong as the earlier one, although unfortunately the camera goes in and out of focus.

Anton’s Enjolras might not be the most physically imposing Enjolras, but his shining blond hair, his chiseled face, the cream and steel combined within his voice, and his demeanor that blends stern, quiet dignity with revolutionary ardor, he’s faithful to Hugo’s vision of his angelic “marble lover of liberty.” His opening lines are moving, as his hushed “The people have not stirred...” comes as close to expressing despair as Enjolras can allow himself, but then his fierce “The people have not heard...” reinforces his unshakable courage. His “Let others rise...” is excellent too, with a magnificent final note on “...is FREE!”

Max is a vivid, vulnerable yet fierce Gavroche, although his drawn-out stiffening and collapse as he dies is slightly unconvincing.

“The Final Battle” is powerful from beginning to end. First there’s the mute, dumbstruck grief of the revolutionaries after Gavroche’s death – I especially like that the only significant movement is the overwhelmed Grantaire sinking into his chair – which erupts into wild cries of anguish and rage when the offstage officer delivers his final message. Then comes Enjolras’s thrilling last words and brief yet moving last moments with Marius and Grantaire. I notice that after “Let others rise...” he never fires another bullet at the enemy, but is already reaching for the flag to wave it when Marius is shot. He was ready to accept death then and there, but then his love for his friends makes him delay it for just a moment to run to the seemingly-dying Marius’s side and to share a handshake with Grantaire before his last stand. As in the 2013 video, he and Adam’s Grantaire recreate “Orestes Fasting and Pylades Drunk” as closely as Nunn and Caird’s staging allows, with Adam reaching the top of the barricade as Anton is still standing and making himself visible to the enemy just behind him, raising his wine jug in defiance.

As always, the tableau of Enjolras’s body on the barricade is heartbreakingly beautiful, with only a small trickle of blood from his mouth. The fact that this performance includes Javert in the tableu by having him stand at the top of the barricade (a choice which, from what I’ve read, has been used on and off in London over the years) adds a biting layer of social commentary, emphasizing that it was “the Law” that killed Enjolras and Gavroche.