The immensely talented 40-strong cast of pupils from Forms 3 to 7 produced some phenomenal vocal and acting performances to transport Victor Hugo’s epic tale of passion and redemption in the French Revolution era to the stage of the QET.

In a first for a Main School Production, both of Oakham’s Heads of School took on leading roles; David as Jean Valjean, a former convict who spends a lifetime seeking redemption, and Annie-May (alternating the role with Sixth Former Eloise) as tragic Fantine, the mother of Cosette who Jean Valjean adopts as his own daughter.

Featuring such famed songs as ‘I Dreamed a Dream’, ‘Do You Hear the People Sing’, and ‘Bring Him Home’, all elements of the production were superb – the acting and singing performances, choreography, set design and costumes, lighting and sound.

Director of Drama, Gilly Norell, said: “I am immensely proud of everyone who has contributed to putting on this incredible show.
“Bringing such a classic ensemble piece to life requires 100% commitment from everyone all the time. We had big choruses, and getting those scenes to work required a lot of hard work, not least from the actors."
“Some of the singing parts in Les Misérables are very challenging indeed, but we are lucky to have had such a talented cohort of pupils taking part in this show, who have delivered fantastic performances night after night.”

“We have also had a brilliant team working behind the scenes to help bring Les Mis to life: two hair and make-up artists, several people helping in the sound and lighting galleries, four stage crew plus a Stage Manager and a couple of members of staff helping to coordinate things.”

The plaudits have flooded in on social media with comments from those attended “… a really unified cast with consistently excellent performances”, “Fabulous show, the cast were absolutely outstanding”, “Such a privilege to be in the audience”. Ahead of their final performance the cast was even treated to a good luck message from OO Katie Hall (’08) and the rest of the London West End cast of Les Misérables, telling them to ‘break a leg’ in time-honoured theatre tradition.