#he even has jvj say that god was like 'do you think you are going to be abandoned‚ idiot?' (affectionate...?) which. yeah i know that voice

[i-dreamed-i-had-a-son]

A thousand times yes! This gave me so much to think about. Specifically, your point about how his name represents his old self/identity is very interesting to me, given what we see from him with Cosette towards the end of the novel.

I find it striking that Valjean tells Cosette to refer to him as "Monsieur Jean," out of all things. It makes sense that, because of his conversation with Marius and their belief that he must be cut out of Cosette's life, he wouldn't allow her to call him "Father." And, even though he literally has a full, sobbing breakdown in front of Marius when it seems like Cosette will find out about his past (the only time we see him cry in front of someone else, I'm pretty sure?), he doesn't go by Fauchelevent to her. Cosette likely would've found that less unusual, since we see her refer to him as "my father Fauchelevent" quite naturally, and it would make sense that Valjean would want to minimize her suspicions. But his great denied desire, as he expresses to Marius, is to be a part of a family; that's exactly what he felt he couldn't do as Fauchelevent. Keeping that name would mean he would always be worried that "the mask would suddenly be torn away," and he would be driven out as a monster. He wants to be accepted and loved for who he truly is, and while this isn't by any means complete honesty, in confessing to Marius and dropping the alias with Cosette, maybe he feels a little closer to what he's longed for.

There's also the social and metatextual significance of having Cosette call him "Monsieur Jean." First, in dropping his alias (which supplied Cosette's maiden name), he further severs any perceptible social tie between the two of them. "Jean," as you mentioned above, is a homonym of gens, which is fitting, since JVJ views himself as having become "just another person" to Cosette. And yet, calling him by his first name indicates some level of familiarity; social norms at the time meant that formal address used the last name. "Monsieur Jean" is oddly straddling the line between distant and personal (as Valjean himself is attempting to do).

Maybe most interesting of all is that, as many have noticed, Hugo almost exclusively refers to JVJ by his full name, Jean Valjean. This is one of the only instances in which the last name is dropped, which is part of why it stood out so much on my readthrough. It feels noticably more intimate, but also incomplete. And I think it ties into what (as you mentioned above) his last name means: "voilà Jean/gens": "behold the man." He's not ready for Cosette to know the full truth about who he is, so narratively, it's fitting that the withheld last name (which would allow her to learn about his past) is one which itself references a full and raw perception. It was first used of the suffering Christ, naked and humiliated and condemned and innocent; Valjean, in his fear and self-loathing, does not allow that revelation of himself.

Les Mis Hidden Name Meanings: Jean Valjean

Every Les Mis character’s name is either a pun or has some deep symbolic meaning– or both at once! Jean Valjean’s name has a ton of layers so let’s dive in.

When we’re first introduced to him, Hugo tells us that his name is quote “a contraction of voilà Jean, or “here is Jean.”” We’re told that he was named after his father, and that his family name probably began as a nickname.

The word “Jean” in french sounds like the word “gens,” which means “people.” So his last name is a pun meant to make you think “viola les gens”/ “here are people.”

The most obvious layer to his name is that Jean Valjean is basically John Doe. He is the anonymous Everyman. His sister’s name is Jeanne, so she’s basically Jane Doe. They aren’t special or exceptional or unusual; they’re just behold! The regular people.

In fact his name is so common-sounding that it's a plot point. Champmathieu, the man who is mistaken for Jean Valjean, has a name that the police connect with his. Javert theorizes that "Champ" is a version of "Jean" in a specific accent, while Mathieu was actually Jean Valjean's sister's maiden name. ("Champ" is also the French word for "field.") The fact that Jean Valjean is a peasant everyman makes it easy for others in his position to be conflated with him.

But the other layer is that this is all an elaborate pun biblical reference!

When Pontius Pilate presents a bound Jesus Christ to the crowd before his crucifixion, he says the words “ecce homo” or “Here is the man!”/”behold the man!”

“Voila Jean” or “here is Jean!”/”behold Jean!” is meant to be a reference to that.

During his death scene Jean Voila-Jean even references the “Ecce homo” line explicitly, gesturing at a crucifix and saying:

“Voilà le grand martyr.”

Which Isabel Hapgood translates as “behold the great martyr.”

At another point in the same scene Marius says to Cosette:

“He has sacrificed himself. Viola l’Homme. Behold the man.”

But more references to that biblical moment appear throughout the novel; Jean Valjean is associated with it constantly, all the time. It’s one of his defining biblical allusions. He’ll be trying to live anonymously, or under an alias– and then suddenly his true name and criminal past will be revealed, he’ll be revealed to be ‘the man,’ and some great horrible act of martyrdom will follow.

Sometimes Jean Valjean is the one revealing his own identity, but sometimes Inspector Javert is put into the role of Pontius Pilate. Javert himself explicitly makes that comparison– Jean Valjean as Jesus, Javert as Pontius Pilate– when he’s contemplating suicide.

And this ties into one of the largest differences between the book and the stage musical.

In the musical, “prisoner 24601” is the name that represents Jean Valjean’s dehumanization–while “Jean Valjean” is the name he uses while standing up for his own humanity. He will be called 24601, and proudly declare that “my name is Jean Valjean” to assert he’s still a person.

And while this is a great storytelling choice, it’s almost the opposite of how the name “Jean Valjean” is handled in the book.

Because in the book…. Jean Valjean IS the name that dehumanizes him. Jean Valjean is the name that he’s running from. The name that Javert uses when he’s insulting him, the name that bigots use when they’re threatening him, the name that ignorant people use when they’re mocking him – it’s not 24601, it’s Jean Valjean.

And there’s a special kind of agony to that.

The name that is being used to torture, humiliate, and dehumanize him isn’t 24601– it’s his name.

He thinks of it as a “fatal name,” as a punishment. Living under that name is living in hell. When Jean Valjean is living under one of his aliases, concealing his identity, he thinks:

That which he had always feared most of all in his hours of self-communion, during his sleepless nights, was to ever hear that name {jean Valjean] pronounced; he had said to himself, that that would be the end of all things for him; that on the day when that name made its reappearance it would cause his new life to vanish from about him, and—who knows?—perhaps even his new soul from within him.

It’s no wonder that he ends up internalizing the way society views him, and developing so much fear and hatred of himself. He’s grown to see his name as just….well, ecce homo, behold the man. His name is just the two words people say before they violently punish him.

Names and namelessness are a major theme in Les Mis, and he’s the character who has the most complex relationship with his own names. He has a legal name, but it’s used to torture him, and he has a series of false names he uses to escape torture.

If I were to describe Jean Valjean– one of the most complex characters in all of literature, in one word, that word would be “grief.”

The criminal justice system takes everything from him, including things he wasn’t aware he was able to lose. His name, the last connection he had to his family and his old identity, gets warped into this thing needs to view with fear and horror. The thing society despises isn’t 24601, isn’t a number they’ve placed on him – the thing they despise is Jean Valjean, some intrinsic inherent part of himself. He isn’t hated for what he did, he’s hated for what he is, and that is something he can never escape.

{But speaking of complexity we’ve actually barely scratched the surface of how Jean Valjean reacts to names, because he spends most of the novel living under a series of nicknames aliases. And guess what! Each of these names also has some elaborate symbolic meaning! If you’re interested in more posts covering his different aliases, feel free to leave a comment in the replies!}

[thanks for reading! For more in-depth analysis, check out the @lesmisletters readalong or join our discord server!]

[not-a-christmas-tree]

i just watched the dallas theatre company les mis here are my observations

IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED THIS PRODUCTION I SUGGEST YOU DO! DON’T READ THIS IF YOU DON’T WANT SPOILERS THOUGH!

so, in case you didn’t know: in 2014, Dallas Theatre Company did a modern interpretation of les mis. i just watched it on youtube (i will link it later, i promise) and took SO MANY GODDAMN NOTES so here they are!

ACT ONE 

(Look Down-WHID)

starting out strong! we got some HARSH TRUTHS ABOUT THE JAIL SYSTEM!! blatant police brutality happening BASICALLY the entire first part of the song. it hurts me. 

note on the cops costumes: they legitimately terrify me and they are dressed in like. full riot gear.

okay so,,,valjean wraps the rope from his bag around his neck at the end of WHID. this is interesting bc, a) he’s trying to find a solution as to what he should do after the Bishop and that’s a direction I’ve surprisingly seen no one take, but b) this part has the same melody as javert’s suicide, when javert is ALSO trying to figure out what he should do after his perception on life is altered. for a moment there, they both are on the same page, the page being suicide. however, only one of them takes that choice.

the above makes the lines (in both songs) “i’ll escape now from that world / from the world of valjean” ESPECIALLY interesting because. in two different ways, they did escape, but they ALMOST had the same conclusion for a brief second.

(At The End Of The Day)

in ATEOTD fantine ends up being the last one working, causing everyone to look at her with varying degrees of annoyance or frustration. She do be hardworking doe

OH SHIT KIDS IN THE FACTORY!! three little kids run up to the foreman when he’s giving daily stipends to the ladies!! (they’re also the last to be paid, giving significant sass to foreman who also sasses back)

Girl #5 mockingly calling fantine “innocent sister” when 5 is white and fantine is a WOC...that’s kind of interesting given that that can be read as SERIOUS racial profiling on 5’s part

foreman looks like bob’s boss in the incredibles but like. tall lmao

(I Dreamed A Dream)

her look of like,,shock-but-not when everyone from the factory exits and she takes off her bandana,,,that. that is good acting

her transitions from chest to head voice are so good

i’m kinda sad she isn’t younger?? or just. doesn’t look super young bc fantine is supposed to be like. early twenties. she’s not 45 and had a decently long life before she died, no, she’s young. she was taken advantage of. that’s the whole point. but that’s sUPER little like this lady is way too good

she has the perfect mix of sadness and regret plus anger and shameless hope. like. kudos to you allison blackwell you’re a dope fantine 

the cry on “killed the dream i dreamed” brb sobbing

(The Dock Scenes)

MALE PROSTITUTES I REPEAT!! MALE PROSTITUTES!! (no idea what wig he’s wearing tho. he was done dirty in the wig department) 

oh male prostitute is prostitute #1! 

oh damn there is. lady def on some bad drugs with her kid passing behind fantine on the bench. ouch.

hoo okay they did n o t censor lovely ladies!! (mini note: camera person has the camera down an AWFUL LOT on these docks scenes lmao)

there are cops on the docks. gross.

(Who Am I-Confrontation)

OH SHIT THEY HAVE A FALSE JVJ IN THE BACKGROUND OF WHO AM I 

jvj comforts not-jvj for a second!! (money note was FANTASTIC btw)

fantine being WOC and DYING in a modern hospital also is,,yeesh because. you know. racist doctors. 

jvj cries after fantine dies JUST STAB ME NOW OKAY—

confrontation is really funny when u see that javert has a GUN and jvj has A CHAIR

JVJ DID THE LIL RUN ON “live within my care” YAAAAY

(COAC-Master Of The House)

oh boy baby cosette,,so small,,so pure plus classic baby head shake when she sings I STAN

MADAME T LOOKS—OH GOOD GOD

DID SHE SPIT ON MY BABY--

cosette: “please do not send me out alone—“ madame t: “oooooh my gOOOOOD” omg 

what the fuck is thenardiers hair i—

WHAT THE FUCK IS THENARDIER IN G E N E R A L

random idea regarding thenardier’s prison tattoo: he has the same number on his chest that jvj has. Meaning he was in jail too. so why isn’t he as messed up as jvj? i wanna say maybe he was in for less time, but like. I doubt it. However, he has a whole ass gang. did the thenardier gang break their boss out of jail? please say yes 

him listing things for baby éponine to charge i love it

OH MY GOD THENARDIER FLAUNTS HIS NUMBER WHILE JVJ DOESNT!! jvj hides his past because he believes it will get him into better places (it does, he becomes mayor for god’s sake) while thenardier shows off his past with stubborn pride. while thenardier cheats his way to success, jvj lives an almost honest life where he ultimately suffers due to the stress all the hiding he does gives him

i love that éponine looks like neither of her parents,,,madame t got around huh? 

(The Bargain)

I JUST REALIZED THE STAGE HAS A CATWALK DOWN THE CENTER INTO THE AUDIENCE THAT IS THE COOLEST OMG

Instead of madame correcting thenardier on cosette’s name he asks cosette herself which prompts the CUTEST ANGRY YELL OF “it’s cosette!” I HAVE EVER SEEN

also thenardier fuckin MANHANDLING cosette i’m DYING

JVJ LOVES HER SM I AM SOFTTT

(The Beggars)

omg marius is so ADORABLE i love him

gavroche is a style icon

kid holding sign saying “my mom got laid off” POOR BB

i love éponine

that’s it that’s the note

wait a sec was that montparnasse with the prostitute earlier in beggars??

ALSO I SEE AZELMA AND OTHER THENARDIER KIDS PRESENT FOR “turn on the tears!!” THANK YOU FOR UTILIZING THAT LINE PROPERLY

why does enj have a bat?? If it;s not a bat then,,,what is it? someone please help me

marius saves cosette from bad guy gang!! 🥰🥰

bruh javert misses jvj running by like,,,MAYBE two seconds that is hilarious 

jav looks so done when thenardier is trying to get out of this lmao i love it

javert looks so cop-like it scares me

(Stars)

the line “safe behind bars” in stars kind of kills me here because as the audience you SEE the cruelty that the convicts face. you see the guy on the ground getting beaten you SEE the chains around their throats and yet. yet javert still somehow thinks that putting jvj in jail is safe? i think the thing to focus on here is not whether it’s safe, because it obviously isn’t. the focus is who it’s safer for, jean valjean or javert?

has it always been “your father” rather than “her father” when marius asks éponine to find where cosette lives?? if they changed it that is SMART because yk. jvj would be ALARMED if he found out he’d been found by éponine but he wouldn’t hurt her. he’s not the guy she has to worry about, it’s her own father. thenardier gave her a job and she’s straying from it, he’s what would endanger her.

THE PLAYFUL BOOP AND SHOVE FROM MARIUS 🥺🥺🥺

(The ABC Café)

“note-ruh daym”

hee hee pretty enjolras

pretty enjolras in skinny jeans even better

OOH we have,,,angry enjolras in this version o k a y

grantaire raises his hand before agog/aghast part omg

“i’ve never heard him ooOOOOh and aAAAAh *excited squeal*

“dan joo-wan” i love texas

bossuet spotted :)

longing gay looks NOT spotted :(

i love enjolras okay but this one is just,,,a little too aggressive. enjolras isn’t just angry all the time, he’s not that one dimensional. of course, there is more of the show to see and i hope he changes a little bit, but so far red and black isn’t doing much for me. enjolras is hopeful, not just angry.

A CAPELLA SECTION IN RED AND BLACK?? I think YES

the amis finding out lamarque is dead has “fuck trump just won the election” energy

okay i was hoping that enj would change his aggression thing when they find out lamarque is dead (bc that’s when most enjolrai figure out what may happen and kinda sober up yk) but. it doesn’t look like he did. there is hope for barricade scenes

OMG LIL NOTE ON COMBEFERRE GIVING OUT FLYERS TO AUDIENCE MEMBERS: that is fucking pERFECT and yk why?? because it’s a call to action!! it’s less obvious in DYHTPS because they’re mostly singing to each other but later in epilogue when the words and melody is repeated, it’s meant as a call to action! “will you join in our crusade, who will be strong and stand with me?” is a cALL TO ACTION AND THEY ARE HANDING FLYERS TO AUDIENCE MEMBERS—that’s officially the only way to break the fourth wall THANK YOU 

hey fantine doubles as a student i think!!

HARMONIES ARE C L E A N OOOOH

(In My Life-Heart Full Of Love)

okay yes i already love cosette because she plays awkward-teen-in-love-for-the-first-time PERFECTLY. 

book-ish cosette hell yes a cutie

father-daughter forehead kisses 🥺

awkward mARIUS TIMEEEEE

placing marius, éponine, and cosette in a triangle is a MARVELOUS decision thank u for that symbolism

marius checking if he looks good and ép giving him a thumbs up omg

*aggressively tries to sit normally* same cosette

*awkward curtsy* also same cosette 

(Attack On Rue Plumet)

robbery time let’s see how they do this

ooh marius and cosette run off but i can’t tell if they notice gang before running

thenardier fuckin SLICES éponine after her scream

NOOOO HER LIL WHIMPER AFTER BEING THREATENED AGAIN

(One Day More)

this lil part between robbery and one day more is interesting bc i legit have NO idea what jvj is thinking here. he keeps looking between his watch (i think it’s a watch idk) and cosette after she runs off to pack so like. what. is he doing here bc he looks like he’s choosing between two things but i don’t,,know,,what things

red berets on the amis are dope btw

i think marius is discussing what to do with éponine here, which is FUN because we all know why she goes to the barricade in the brick :’) éponine might be convincing marius to go to the barricade knowing this is her chance to die with him like in the book

omg

OMG

OMG

that stomp bit with the students was the coolest fucking thing i’ve ever seen

END OF ACT ONE

act two will be posted shortly :D

[eponinemylove]

les amis in high school!

okay so this idea came out of nowhere and bodyslammed me in the middle of lunch and it’s my civic duty to now share it with all of you!

Enjolras is... how you say... chaotic. He is either a teacher’s absolute favorite or the bane of their existence, and there is no in between

Despite his alarming number of detentions, referrals, and likewise complaints, principal JVJ never suspends him

superintendent Javert is trying to build a case against JVJ to have him removed from that position bc he suspects that he isn’t handling disciplinary actions appropraitely. It drives him fucking crazy that he can’t because there’s no teachers or staff who have anything bad to say about JVJ, and somehow people in high positions keep... vouching for him?

it shouldn’t be possible for JVJ to have that many convenient friends in just the right place to block the investigation, but he does and they all swear he’s a good honest man and is the only competent principal, ever. also he managed to save their ass one time or another and stopped them from getting fired sooo

ANYWAYS back to the amis

Enjolras is what Javert and the school APs like to call a problem child. He will rage at every injustice he sees, systematic or otherwise, which is to say, a fuckton. He starts protests, organizes walkouts, does sit-ins in the cafeteria, and has exactly 0 qualms about tearing a teacher/administrator a new one

He meets the other amis in detention

Joly is there because an AP saw jbm showing (minimal!! barely any) PDA and lost her fucking shit, screaming about how innapropriate they were being. Musichetta is in it for cussing out the AP right back and demanding that she apologize to her boyfriends. Bossuet is actually there for like 3 different things (one of which is just bc he got way too many tardies and got an automatic detention) but the AP didn’t check and sent him anyways, even though he was already going that day. He’s just always in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Combeferre got detention bc he was a sarcastic little shit to a kid and the teacher overhead (the kid deserved it tho). Also he helps Enj organize/conduct the sit-ins and stuff, so he’s guilty by association

Same for Coufreyac, but he���s also too loud/talkative/hyperactive in class and ends up getting in trouble with the teachers

Bahorel and eponine both got in (different) fights that day. Eponine never actually gets detention though so that was pretty much her only interaction with the group

Jehan’s teacher thought he “wasn’t paying attention” in class and being “intentionally unresponsive”. Homeboy was really just overstimulated and couldn’t concentrate properly on the reading, but what can you do

Feuilly absolutely doesn’t deserve to be in detention as much as he is. He’s really tired from work and school and so he misses a couple of assignments and occasionally skips his last class so that he can go home and shower/rest before his shift. That’s literally the only reason he’s in detention. Other than that he’s a great student except for the part where he always joins Enjolras in his demonstrations. No one has caught him yet and connected it, otherwise he’d probably be in detention for that too

Also, Grantaire is just always in detention. He sits in the back and usually doesn’t say much, if anything, to anyone besides Joly, Musichetta, and Bousset. Enj thinks that he has it for the entire year, but he’s not even sure how that’s possible. Enjolras starts a new protest every week and even he hasn’t managed that. He doesn’t ask.

After that key first meeting of everyone in detention, the amis get along way too well and decide to start a “club”. Basically it’s just them meeting after school and complaining about everything the APs and teachers do wrong, strategizing, and organizing their protests. 

The APs refuse to accept their club. Enjolras gets shut down in like .5 seconds

BUT eponine suggests that they take it to JVJ, and so they do. JVJ approves it, and the club stays. They name it Les Amis d’lABC (obv)

Marius accidentally joints the club. Courfreyac has been begging him to come to a meeting and he honestly thinks that it’s SGA. He almost books it as soon as he meets Enjolras, but at this point he’s too embarrassed and so he just decides to join. Enjolras doesn’t like him very much but he’s Courf’s friend and also he’s dating JVJ’s niece, so.

Speaking of, Cosette comes one meeting because Marius does, and oh my god, they love her. Everyone is so confused as to how she’s dating someone like Marius (he’s not that bad!) but they don’t say anything

Seriously though, she’s great. She’s so funny and kind and she’s full of amazing ideas that help their plans. Even Enjolras adores her

Anyways the Amis fuck a bunch of shit up for administration bc they’re not doing their jobs and also the amis all have issues with authority (Javert is pissed)

So at this point y’all are thinking that Enjolras is pretty much a teacher’s worst nightmare, right?

WRONG

It’s Grantaire

Grantaire is infamous among teachers. They tremble at the sight of him. He will start shit just to start shit. It’s amusing to him. He’ll argue with the teachers over anything, the most random shit, and derail the entire class. God help you if he ever gets bored, because that’s when he makes the most mischief.

The thing is though... every time he’s being an asshole and arguing with the teacher about something... he always has a point. That’s the most infuriating part for them

Like, it’s not because he actually cares about the curriculum or policy or loophole that he noticed, because he doesn’t. But he’ll point it out and debate it because he’s antagonistic and this is fun, and he’ll always have valid reasoning and a legit point. Teachers start to think he’s planning this out, but he’s literally not. He just notices all these failings and he strings them together but doesn’t actually say anything about it until he has nothing better to do. And the teachers can’t even really argue because he’s right!! That shouldn’t be happening, or that doesn’t make any sense. Damn it, R, I don’t know why, don’t you talk to Principal ValJean?

When he’s not arguing with teachers, which is rare, he actually gets along pretty good with them. He knows at least 3 by name, and all his teachers call him R. He’s a good student (academically), too. He does amazing in all his classes, excluding math and science (which is basically just Math with explosions), even though he never seems to be paying any attention in class. Like, he’ll literally sleep through a lesson or just completely do his own thing, but he’ll get an A on the test and all his homework gets handed in on time and it’s actually well thought out and written

Most of his teachers hate him, but they can’t do anything about it because he’s right, he’s just really obnoxious. His math and English teacher love him though, and are always talking to him after class and in the halls

Enjolras hears about R a lot, mostly from disgruntled students and staff. He can’t figure out who this kid is but he sounds perfect. He overhead a senior complaining about him in her history class because R called the teacher out for sending a girl home for her ripped jeans. R stood up on the desk wearing the same ripped jeans and went on a rant about how sexist that policy was and how her outfit distracted no one and was not a problem, but the teacher was, and now he was disrupting her education, and he’s a sexist prick, etc etc. Apparently the entire class joined in and nothing got done all period and now they all have 10+ pages of homework and didn’t get the review for the test tomorrow. The teacher agreed to push it back for their period, but R got an automatic F and the senior girl is pissed because now she has 3 tests that day and no time to study and do all the extra homework

Enjolras swoons

He tells the Amis about it after school and Courf laughs so hard he’s wheezing. Everyone is in complete support of R and Enj says something about how they should recruit him for their club

Musichetta says she’ll ask him if he wants to come but Courf said he probably won’t

Enjolras loses his shit because “You guys know him?? Can I meet him???”

Everyone is so confused

“Enj, you’ve met Grantaire. Didn’t you take Spanish with him freshman year or something? And you’re always in detention with him??”

Enjolras feels like the biggest idiot ever because of course R is Grantaire. He’s a dumbass

Meanwhile Grantaire has been harboring the biggest crush on Enj for the last 2 years but Enjolras can’t (seemingly) stand him for the most part and he actually doesn’t get along with him that well so he’s resigned himself to Oh well, I guess I’ll just drool over him in detention

Enjolras just has a killer RBF, he doesn’t hate Grantaire at all and is mortified when he finds out what R had assumed

Anyway Grantaire joins their stupid club even though he doesn’t actually care that much. He argues a lot with Enjolras just to be a dick (poor Enj is so confused bc he knows Grantaire doesn’t agree with the side of the arguement he’s taking so why) but, again, he brings up a couple of good points as annoying as they are

Ok I’m going to stop here let me know if y’all want a part 2

[rosesutherlandwrites]

I Miserabili (1964)--episode one

Holy crap. I am so glad I’m watching this (and  a huge shout out to @adorablecrab for helping me make it happen with my incredibly awful tech skills) Especially after watching episode one of....erm...certain other adaptations really recently. This is SO MUCH BETTER! I tried to (kinda sorta) live tweet my way through so I’d have at least a record of what i thought, but i made a bit of a hash of it. But here is some kind of order of thoughts on the first episode (there are ten in total so hooray i have something to keep busy with for a while):

Even before getting into the adaptation part of things, this is making my occasional filmmaker heart happy. It’s just SUCH GOOD FILMMAKING. The pacing is amazing, the lead actors are KILLING IT, and even the things that are a little weird from todays perspective are interesting (no incidental music at all! Nothing trying to manipulate your feelings, everything you get is JUST THE STORY and i am telling you, i choked up bad for Fantine.) or weirdly entertaining (sudden changes of location without a transition, the non existent special effects in the Cart Incident ).

They definitely didn’t start with waterloo. But I was also surprised that they didn’t go to Toulon either? But it was really smart(and also from a budget perspective saved a ton of money) to start in the village of Digne, which has the sort of silently suspicious inhabitants that wouldn’t be out of place in a transylvanian village downhill of a vampire castle. All the key points get hit here...JVJ is a big guy btw. I have never seen a Valjean who so truly looked like he could indeed perform superhuman acts of strength. 

Both Mme Magloire and Baptistine made it into this adaptation! The bishop is really great. Quite gentle and saintly, but firm in his beliefs...he isn’t quite as humorously unconcerned about things as Derek Jacobi was, which i actually kind of missed? But really, he was great. He and JVJ have such a good conversation that i thought at one point: how the hell is he gonna turn around and steal the silverware? I should have trusted it would make sense, this is a damn good adaptation. (aside--when JVJ sees the candle sticks, his reaction to them cracked me up) After everyone goes to bed JVJ got a full on Shakespeare-style soliloquy! Which was unexpected and maybe odd by todays standards, but i loved it--a great way to give all the history of his crime, the what and the why of it and his punishment, and that he agrees--he was guilty--but that he feels the punishment was unjust (well yeah) and that society is to blame. Anyhow...the rest goes as it always does. (the silverware basket!) The stunned reaction and confusion of Valjean when the bishop doesn’t narc on him is amazing, and i have the feeling that it’s going to come around in a nice parallel much later when Javert is released. The bishop has bought his soul for god and

incredibly jarring transition (i.e. none) to Fantine and her girl gang (time and place well labelled, btw, 1815). They are having a picnic and their boyfriends have just left for a surprise--a relief to me in that i will be spared having to look at a second rat-face Tholomyes this week. So, Fantine’s friends are meant to be more girls she knows that Real Friends but WOW these are FIRST RATE MEAN GIRLS and they spend all their time talking about how dumb Fantine is, even to her face. and to be fair, she does seem naive to the point of being not all there to start? At the reveal of what’s happened the rest of them, after a moment they start laughing about this trick, but fantine just can’t and it is heartbreaking. In one major change--she is pregnant NOW and has not already had cosette which i suppose could make felix a bit less of a schmuck if he didn’t know but frankly i don’t care. he’s still trash. jump to just before she and suddenly 3 year old Cosette are about to leave Paris. She is a lovely sweet mom and baby Cosette is adorbs and it is just sad as hell...also the longer we see Fantine the more obvious her acting skill gets.

Thenardiers: the swing! Eponine and Azelma! (Baby C is Zelma’s age here, and Ponine is older) These Thenardiers are not looking likely to be played for laughs. The Thenardiess is a hard looking lady...not much indication of how bad they’ll be from the outset, but how quickly they start adding numbers together is a MASSIVE RED FLAG and personally i don’t trust anyone who can do math that fast just on principle. 

On to M-sur-M where we get an INFODUMP from the mayor’s...i dunno, secretary? overseer, something. whoever his is, he is an uncomfortably close talker in the sort of way that says he maybe wants to wrestle you into a broom closet somewhere. It’s ooky. He is like this with Javert, and...yeah. I would not. But anyway. Javert is clearly WELL CAST. He just seems perfect. there’s some talk of his law and order vibe that is bang on and also disturbing in how very cut and dried he sees things. Will he and the Mayor agree? He’s the mayor, so therefore he is not wrong. eeee. They do some really clever storytelling stuff here--we don’t see Javert and JVJ talk together(and the mayors identity stays secret from unknowing viewers a bit longer, too!), instead we go watch Fantine’s factory stuff play out for a bit--no fights over the letter, she has a girl who reads the letters for her and knows about her child, and this girl seems like...probably not the wisest choice of confidante...maybe Fantine IS a little dumb tbh? When Javert comes out of the mayors office we get Infodump Part 2, The Dumpenning. I think i like this device with the weird secretary? We get a lot of stuff about the mayors backstory, but it all feels really urgent because Javert Has Suspicions.it’s also all very brick accurate--including the mayor having gone into mourning at the death of the Bishop of Digne.

The firing plays out differently from the brick but in a way i enjoyed it because it is, stunningly, Even More Unfair. Also, she has a real reason to be bitter and think Madeleine is a hypocrite (her word here), when actually douchbag secretary is the problem! The girl who is the cause of everything apologises to her on the way out and Fantine’s reactions in extreme close up killed me: It is us little miserable people who always end up hurting each other. This is not a subtle show at times? But it does what it does really well.

The final event is the cart sequence (starring M. le Maire’s glorious hair, Hugoesque high forehead, and a mud mask that truly has to be seen to be believed. We end on Javert’s assertion that he has only ever seen one person who could do what he has just done. A convict, Jean Valjean. End of episode,you cliffhanging bastards. I bet in 1964 there were some SHOOK Italian people freaking right out that they had to wait a week to see what happen next.

So far this is seriously the best adaptation I think i’ve ever seen? It’s super faithful to the source material in both events and tone, and the things that are cut or added are all in service to good story telling. Like--the petit Gervais thing? You don’t need it--you can see Valjean’s whole world shifting in the conversation with the bishop! No need to even show Tholomyes and co, they’ve already left and in four sentences and a ridiculous letter we truly know all we had to about their useless hides. I’m really looking forward to (crying my face off during) Part 2!

[headbangingsappho]

so i was thinking about that brilliant haus memes post the check please fandom compiled and i realized that man. les amis memes must be absolutely fucking incredible too

- saying “thats my first name actually” after random things

éponine: i just dont understand white people, like who would name their own child, their own flesh and blood something like McKhynleigh feuilly: thats my first name actually

grantaire, seductively: whatcha thinking about enjolras: brexit grantaire: hmmm interesting.... did you know that thats my first name actually

- sometimes they play dnd together (combeferre is the dm) and they constantly bring up things that happened in game in irl arguments

cosette: hi courf do you maybe happen to know who ended up shedding glitter all over my apartment courfeyrac: i dont know cosette do you happen to know who watched my DEATh in COLD BLOOD and then proceeded to LOOT MY CORPSE for vALUABLES

joly: im just not sure if i can trust you after you cheated on me with that barmaid last night bossuet: babe that wasnt me that was my alterego countess boochie flagrante

- they also have a thing for alignments

bahorel: *throws textbook against the wall* fuck the law feuilly: chaotic neutral

marius: *too busy daydreaming abt cosette to watch his step, trips falls and knocks down a garbage can* courf: chaotic stupid

azelma thénardier: so i told this dude that all lesbians are in a telepathic connection with each other right? and he was like “oh rly.... then whats ellen degeneres doing right now”. and i told him that she was eating her morning cereal, yknow, bc of the time difference between france and the u.s. then he was like “oh rly.... what kind of cereal” and my brain just shut down and i swear to god i couldnt have thought of a single american cereal brand if my life had depended on it so i just said “crunchster munchster” and you know what... he bought it. he asked me if i could check if this one girl he has a crush on was a lesbian and i said “ye dude, for ten euros”. and i thought that was it but i shit you not the next day he walked up to me with a list of twenty names and asked me if he could pay by credit card. rey from star wars was on the list. like not even daisy ridley, straight up “rey from star wars”, except misspelled as “rei”. i told him she was a lesbian éponine: .........chaotic gay

- combeferre is the jack zimmermann of les amis. his “im combeferre, vice president of the college debate club, and on behalf the entire debate team id like to sincerely apologize” is legendary among teachers and students alike

*bahorel gets in a fistfight with someone* “im combeferre, vice president of the college debate club, and on behalf the entire debate team id like to sincerely apologize” *joly and cosette watch cute animal videos on a school computer and end up loudly sobbing in the middle of the library* “im combeferre, vice president of the college debate club, and on behalf of the entire...” *éponine smuggles gavroche’s pet tarantulas in and scares the shit out of an entire class* “im combeferre, vice president of the college debate club, and...”

ferre is a total hypocrite about it tho. *almost blows up the whole chemistry lab bc he had a great idea for an experiment he wanted to try* “im combeferre, vice president of the college debate club, and on behalf of the entire debate team...” *arrives at class late with nothing but a laptop and a pack of monster energy drinks, wearing his doctor who themed pajama pants* “im combeferre, vice president of the college debate club, and on behalf...”

- musichetta is a muslim, joly is a buddhist and bossuet is an atheist so christianity in general is kind of like a weird relationship meme for them

courf and ferre: *came over to the jxbxm apartment, lowkey cuddling on the couch* musichetta: um guys noah fence but this is a good christian household where we always leave some room for our lord and savior jesus christ

bahorel, in one of their shared law classes: are seriously telling me you havent read any of the compulsory readings for today bossuet: bahorel my guy you know damn well that the only book ive ever read and im ever going to read is the holy bible amen

- every time anyone complains abt any minor annoyance or rudeness they suffered from someone éponines advice is to kill them, and she often adds that she knows a guy if they know what she means, which would be funny if it wasnt for the fact that they all know that éponine is best friends with a major drug dealer and through montparnasse she most certainly could find someone whod kill a dude for money and they have no idea whether shes kidding or not

- you know how artists always get asked if their work is anime.... grantaire gets ahead of that and names all of his pieces, like every single one, even the abstract ones that are literally just him splashing some shitty cheap wine on the canvas, he titles all of them “neon genesis evangelion fanart #x”

the numbers are not in order but have some logic to them, like he painted a portrait of jehan once and named it neon genesis evangelion fanart #420, or his portrait of joly was titled neon genesis evangelion fanart #6x10^23

once he drew an actual piece of neon genesis evangelion fanart and he named it homestuck fanart #69

[enjolras voice] i just dont understand modern art

- speaking of R and nge, he has a ramiel shirt and once when he was wearing it enjolras walked up to him and said “nice octahedron” and grantaire, who hates maths with the burning passion of a thousand suns, just went “how dare you speak that word to me” and walked away. enjolras was like ???? i just wanted to be nice but the others thought it was hilarious

marius, studying latin words: hey jehan whats the gender of- jehan: how dare you speak that word to me

musichetta: yo courf remember last new years eve when you did all those jägerbombs and- courfeyrac: how dare you speak that word to me

bahorel still has this reaction to “law” in spite of hearing it approximately fifty times per day

- every single member of les amis is 100% convinced that gavroche is their son

cosette: gavroche, my sweet child whom i birthed and raised myself,

gav: *is wearing crocs* bahorel: son i did not carry you in my womb for nine months for you to disrespect me like this

- they also like to act as if jean valjean is their father which is kinda really weird bc at least half of the amis have a crush on him

courf once called jvj “daddy” to his face. no ones letting him ever forget that

- anyone who tells a longer story ends it with “in conclusion, death to the bourgeoisie and a happy hanukkah to y’all” after a memorable speech grantaire held in their debate club once

please feel free to reblog with more quality les amis memes, im always here to discuss them

[asdamagicbiscuits]

Theatre Hightlights 2017

My Top 10 (13 really if we are being specific) Theatre Highlights and Moments of 2017 (in no particular order but it roughly goes in the order everything happened. I combined things together to make it easier to read and talk about without doubling back on myself)

Now let’s get started!

Les Mis and Cinderella

The start of 2017 saw me returning to London see Les Mis and Cinderella at the London Palladium with my friend Johanna.

It was lovely to kick-start my theatre-going for the year with a trip to Les Mis. I do love that show, it’s a timeless piece and one I will never get sick of. It was great to see Adam Bayjou as Jean Valjean, he did a fantastic job and delivered a top class performance. The vocals in Bring Him Home - sublime!

I was lucky enough to win a competition for two tickets to see Cinderella and wow, I was blown away by everything. The whole company worked so hard to put on a wonderful show, I throughly enjoyed it so much. Natasha Barnes was perfect as Cinderella and I had chills every time she sang, just beautiful. For me I was most excited to see Paul O’Grady in the show and he didn’t disappoint. Absolutely fabulous and I’m so glad I got to see him perform in the show.

Definitely started 2017 in the best way!

Grease at Leicester Curve

My first #BindonOnTour trip of the year had me returning to the Leicester Curve to see Grease the Musical again. Those of you who read last year’s post will remember that I saw it at the end of last year and adored it, so I was thrilled to be able to get in to see the show again before it closed. It made for a lovely early birthday treat and I adored seeing Jessica Paul as Sandy, and Luke George on stage again. Both gave incredible performances as always, and it was well worth all the travel I did that day to see them! The whole company were so on it and I stand by everything I said before about this show!

Death Takes A Holiday

This show had me returning to the Charing Cross Theatre to see another of Maury Yeston’s masterpieces. The score, like the other Yeston shows I’ve seen, spoke to my soul and I fell in love with the show. Maury has this quality of writing stunning music and all the little musical links were so fitting for the piece - I couldn’t get the music out of my head. You could say it haunted me but in a lovely way, drawing me back.

Excellent casting with Zoe Doano, Chris Peluso and then James Gant in the leads as Grazia and Death. Zoe’s soprano was showcased beautifully in this show and someone needs to cast James Gant as Phantom, as the way he sang Alive and I Thought I Could Live on the last show was spectacular. What a voice and boy can that man belt!

The rest of the company were incredible, Scarlett Courtney was a standout for me as Daisy and she broke my heart each time I saw her with her part in What Do You Do. Beautiful.

42nd Street

If I had to pick THE show of 2017 for me it’s 42nd Street hands down. It’s the most feel good show you could wish to see. I get asked what to see in London a lot by people. My singing teacher calls me his theatre guru as I see so much theatre and work all the hours god sends on top! (Hi Adam if you’re reading!)

This is the show I always say in a heartbeat. I’m so happy when I watch it. I cry at the overture - it makes me so happy and an emotional wreck as well. This is also a show I desperately want to see James McKeon conduct!!

The casting is en-point. Clare Halse is divine as Peggy, what a dream and whether you sit front row or at the back of the balcony, her performance never fails to touch and reach you. Tom Lister has Julian down to a tee, and those guys and girls in the ensemble - hats off every time to them. But really the whole company is stellar and I leave immediately thinking when can I go back?! The music is phenomenal, proper old school Hollywood movie musical vibes. I have to mention the person who drew me to go and see 42nd Street and ultimately to fall in love with this musical, Luke George. Those who read my highlights last year will remember that I saw Luke in Titanic and in Grease at the Leicester Curve, so to see him on stage again in this incredible show is so great. I love spotting him in the show and especially at the beginning when the curtain rises and you see everyone’s feet tap dancing! Look out for orange tap shoes and green socks - that’s Luke!! 😀

42nd Street can be found at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London’s West End so get down to meet those dancing feet and also don’t forget to buy the London Cast Recording which is available on iTunes and Spotify.

Mikado

The next stop on #BindonOnTour saw me going to Bath to see the second ever show of All Male Mikado. I also managed to see it again later on in the tour when it went to Brighton. I went to see Richard Munday play the lead in the show Nankipoo. It was fantastic to see Richard on stage again, he was absolutely brilliant and his comic timing was excellent. One moment I remember really clearly was when he plopped his head down on the table and a plate bounced up in the air and landed on his head. It was so unexpected and even now it still makes me chuckle thinking about it. I really enjoyed hearing Richard sing Gilbert and Sullivan. Two very joyous evenings spent in two lovely venues seeing a great show!

Deposit

This was the only play I saw this year but I was very lucky to be able to get to see the show three times, and seeing Natalie Dew again is always a delight!! There were only 4 people in the company, including Natalie. They were all outstanding and played off each other so well, tackling a story which is very relevant to London today. It was a really lovely piece of theatre, extremely well performed by all of them, and the Hampstead Theatre is such a gorgeous venue. Like everything I’ve seen Natalie in, there is always one moment in the show where she makes me cry. She’s a wonderful actress and the truth in the portrayal of every character she plays is so natural and organic. I hope 2018 brings me more opportunities to see this lady do her thing, as she’s damn good and such a sweetie!! ☺️

The Addams’ Family

I was very lucky to be able to see the UK Tour of The Addams’ Family twice. In Bath in June and again in Dartford in November.

In Bath I took my very good friend Holly, who adores TAF Musical, and I managed to get us front row seats. It was incredible seeing the show so close. I was genuinely blown away by the entire production, it was all so well put together. The company were outstanding. Fantastic music, beautiful vocals, stunning choreography. If this doesn’t get a London transfer I’ll cry. Everyone should see this show!! THE BEST touring production I’ve ever seen and I see a lot of theatre, especially through my work. When the gauze came in and they were doing set changes behind it and it went out revealing something different I was so surprised, I didn’t even notice that’s what they were doing behind there. The story and performances were so engaging and really drew you in, especially the ensemble. Shoutout to Kirsty Ingram and Jessica Buckley who always drew my attention whenever they were on stage. The costumes were so well designed and thought out. Especially with the ancestors.

Beg, borrow or steal a ticket if this show goes to London, you won’t regret it!!

A very long Les Mis post

Cast Change is always a hard time as you are saying goodbye to people you’ve watched perform over the past year. The hardest goodbye was to the absolute legend that is Kayleigh McKnight who was such a badass Factory Girl and one of the loveliest people I’ve ever met. She lights up the stage when she is performing and I’m hoping she’ll return one day to Dream The Dream.

Now the 19th July 2017 is one of those stagey dates which will stick in my memory for a particular reason. Now after a year of being on a third cover alert after Cast Change I was moving to a second cover alert and 19th July was the show I had waited so long to see. Antony Hansen’s debut as Jean Valjean. Wow. Just wow. He completely blew my mind during that show for he kept hitting every mark, I couldn't fault him. At the end of JVJ’s Soliloquy in the Prisoner section I knew he was joining the ranks of one my favourite JVJ’s of all time. Hands down the strongest debut I’ve ever seen by someone in a role. Cover debut or Principal! I was very fortunate to be able to see him again front row on September 4th and it was just incredible! The detail Antony put into the character and the performance he delivered. It was strong, confident and he didn’t falter once. Well worth the over a year wait to see him. I urge everyone to go see this man in action as JVJ! You won’t be disappointed. I also want to briefly mention how fantastic Antony is as Courf and how even in the ensemble he stands out and delivers a brilliant performance. Although I do now worry every time at the start of the ABC cafe when he makes his entrance after he nearly fell over on the stairs. Trust me to find something to worry about in what should be one of the safest ensemble tracks there are in the show!

Shitfaced Shakespeare including my Brighton and Ed Fringe adventures

Sitting down to write this part and I’m here thinking - where do I even begin?!

Firstly I must start with a massive apology to everyone at Magnificent Bastard Productions for actually they should have been in my highlights last year! But I’m a plonker and when I came to write 2016’s highlights I completely went blank. So I’m very sorry for that so buckle in for a bumper mention this year.

As mentioned I saw Shitfaced Shakespeare’s fantastic A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2016. I went with two friends from work called Phil and Will (shout-out guys) which still cracks me up now BECAUSE IT RHYMES. Simple things 😂🙊 I digress though. I had the fantastic Saul Marron as Compère and the Rev Lewis Ironside as a drunk Lysander, with Stacey Norris, Beth-Louise Priestley, David Ellis and John Mitton as the rest of the company performing that night. It was, quite simply the best night EVER. So funny, I was laughing so hard I squeaked! Whilst I don’t remember much, what I do remember I still talk about it to this day and I was gutted I only saw it once! Fast forward to 2017. When I saw Shitfaced Shakespeare would be returning to the Leicester Square Theatre with Much Ado About Nothing I knew I had to go and see them. I ended up practically moving into the venue with my very good friends Rebecca and Sarah. We also went on a few roadtrips to see the fringe company in Brighton and Edinburgh perform Romeo and Juliet. Edinburgh Fringe was pure joy and I’m so excited to go back next year to see those guys in action.

If there was a show which summed up my summer it would be that one. So many laughs, so many quotes which had me laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe, my personal favourite comes from Mr David Ellis himself, ‘Go fuck thyself’ had me in stitches for about 10 minutes.

It was fantastic to see everyone I saw in Midsummer on stage again and to get to meet them all was wonderful. The whole Shitfaced family are such hugely talented, lovely and the most down to earth people you’ll ever meet. An absolute joy to watch on stage and those guys certainly made my summer, so many amazing memories. Thank you all, so excited to see you all in 2018!

Tickets for their London run next year are on sale as we speak so make sure you go and book to see Merchant Of Venice and Romeo and Juliet at the Leicester Square Theatre and go see them on fringe too. Follow @shitfacedshake for updates!

Wind In The Willows

Having seen this show on tour in 2016, I was very excited to return to the Riverbank when it transferred to the Palladium over the summer, and I was not disappointed. It was still as delightful and sweet as I remembered. Craig Maither and Simon Lipkin were such a fantastic pairing as Mole and Ratty and had me laughing and crying throughout. The songs which got me on tour got me in London. A Friend Is Still A Friend and A Place To Come Back To have to be hands down two of the best songs ever written but I mean the whole album is inspiring and complete genius.

In London I finally got to see Jenna Boyd as Mrs Otter and Georgie Westall as Mrs Hedgehog. What. A. Show. I had cried already by the end of the opening song. It was a show I certainly won’t forget in a while. Jenna had such a warmth about her Mrs Otter and played really well opposite Emily, who played Portia. Georgie was fantastic as Mrs Hedgehog and stole the show, along with James Gant who played Mr Hedgehog, in the Hedgehog’s Nightmare. Pure joy and one of the best shows I’ve seen this year.

Phantom Cast Change & THAT Phantom Show

Cast Change never gets any easier and this year it was time to say goodbye to the lovely and incredibly talented Lyndsey Gardner, who I’ve seen as a swing then move into second cover Carlotta. I was really sad to see her leave as she is always such a ray of sunshine and lights up the stage so bright when performing. I’ve been very blessed to see her as Carlotta so many times and the first time I saw her (it was her second ever Carlotta show) I was front row and it was magical.

Now I was already planning to go on 7th September to see Georgia Ware as Principal Meg so when I found out that Leo Miles was on for Raoul I was so happy to see them both on together. Then I found out that Lyndsey was coming back as Carlotta and I lost my chill completely. I couldn’t believe it. I had waited a year to potentially see the three of them together, never expecting to get to see them, and it took Lyndsey to leave the company and be called in and for Georgia to be made Principal for it to happen. I remember thinking I must be dreaming, this can’t be real. But looking at the cast board and seeing all their names up there, I knew I was in for a very special and magical afternoon. Sitting in my seat I was shaking before the show even started, I couldn’t believe my luck. During the show I wish I had more eyes to watch all of them individually but I soaked up every bit I could and I throughly enjoyed it. Stunning and flawless performances all round and I was so proud of all three of them and watching them take their bows I can’t deny it I did get really emotional! One of the most unforgettable afternoons ever and even writing about it now I can still remember it so clearly!! Absolutely perfect!

Kinky Boots for Rebecca’s Birthday

My last London theatre trip of the year saw me returning to the Factory with my good friend taking a few newbies to see the show. Me, Sarah and Zoe organised this as an early Birthday treat for Rebecca who had been waiting to see this since February! It was fantastic to see the new company of Kinky Boots. Simon-Anthony Rhoden was an absolute dream as Lola and played so well opposite Jordan Fox who was on for Charlie Price that evening. Their vocals were sublime and if I didn’t know Jordan was a cover I’d have thought he was Principal. Absolutely solid performance and handled my favourite songs in the show with ease, making it look effortless. Verity Rushworth was out of this world as Lauren. So sassy and fun. Even if Lauren wasn’t the main focus in a scene I found myself watching Verity’s captivating performance. A joy to watch.

In every show I’ve seen Dale Evans in the first time I see him in a show I always see him on for his cover role. First Chris in Miss Saigon, then Frank in Showboat and now Harry in Kinky Boots. It was great to see Dale on stage again and on for Harry that night. Take What You Got is my Favourite Song in the show and Dale and Jordan did a fantastic job with it. One of many highlights in the show for me. Hopefully I’ll see them both again!

I’m most excited to be returning to the Kinky Boots Factory in 2018. January can’t come soon enough! ‘Let’s make shoes’

Panto!

My last two theatre trips of the year and also the last two stops of #BindonOnTour for 2017 saw me heading off to Panto land!!

Firstly I went to see Peter Pan at my local theatre where I live to see Abigail Matthews in Peter Pan. I was so excited to see Abigail perform again. I was gutted to miss her last year in Cinderella so made sure I got in to see her this year and I was not disappointed, she was fantastic. I had a smile on my face every time she was on stage. It was really good to see her play both Mrs Darling and Tinkerbell, her characterisation between the two was excellent and casting her as Tinkerbell was inspired!! I loved how sassy and cheeky Abigail was as Tinkerbell and comic timing was en-point. Vocals were divine and damn that girl has a belt on her, completely blown away.

Adam Woodyatt was delightful as the villainous Captain Hook and Antony Lawrence was hilarious as Smee and did great interacting with the audience.

My next trip to Panto land saw me off to Bath to see my good friend Simeon Dyer in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Honestly I had such a good afternoon, absolutely fantastic show and Devon Elise Johnson was a dream as Snow White. Massive shoutout to all the guys and girl playing the Dwarfs, their characterisation was brilliant and as a group they bounced off each other really well - the highlight of the show was all the scenes in their house, loved them.

Both companies in the two pantos were outstanding and did a great job, especially keeping the energy up with the gruelling schedule. Hats off to them!

Well that's been 2017. As stagey as ever but that’s just how I like it! Had yet another fantastic year in the theatre world and I couldn’t love this industry more if I tried. Very proud to be a part of it. Who knows what will make the cut next time but I sure know it’s gonna be one hell of a ride! So make sure you come back next year and find out what my highlights for 2018 are!

Until then, cheerio!