An almost-full Medina Theatre buzzed with anticipation as the lights dimmed… Les Miserables is one of my favourite musicals, but I have seen a few less than good productions: Curtain Call Creative’s version was definitely not one of those – in fact it is one of the best I have ever seen!

From the moment the stage lights came up on the chorus of convicts belting out the rhythmic ‘Look Down’ right up to the moment I stood with the rest of the audience giving the cast their second standing ovation of two shows, clapping and brushing away the tears, I was entranced by the sheer talent onstage and their ability to tell this powerful story.

It is a particular challenge to tell a story wholly through the music, and these youngsters (backed, it has to be said, by the beautiful and well known songs) rose to the challenge admirably, engaging the audience with the struggles of Jean Valjean against the turbulent background of early 19^th Century France. Simon Apsey just embodied the man character in a way that is rare in such a young performer. His rich tenor voice soared when it needed to, cracked with emotion in all the right places, and he is just as good an actor as singer, drawing the empathy of the audience, especially in key moments such as the death of Fantine and the final death scene which had many of the audience, including me, in tears.

His nemesis, Javert, was another role played with maturity and passion by Ebb Phillips. Javert is a demanding role vocally as well as being the ‘baddie’ and Ebb’s powerful voice rang out as he dominated the stage, drawing subtle boos without ever crossing the line into panto villain. Our engagement with his character made his own death scene very effective. I have had the pleasure of sharing a stage with Ebb and remember when he and Simon were quiet, shy eleven year olds – and the confidence and sheer talent they both have now is a joy to see. Both fully deserve these leading roles.

As do the other principals: Ellie Warne as Fantine conveyed her gradual downfall perfectly, and her delivery of the poignant ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ was completely on point. Ellie Pike delightfully portrayed the charming, innocent Cosette and her beautiful soprano voice evoked the tenderness and emotion of her scenes with Marius, played by Tom Thorne. Another great actor with soaring vocals, Tom conveyed the rebel’s mixture of tender love for Cosette, gentle friendship for Eponine and devotion to the cause. The third of this love triangle is of course Eponine, and Enid Rees was perfect in the role, engaging our sympathy for her hopeless love for Marius – and giving us another death scene to tear up to.

The rebels worked seamlessly as a team, whether belting out ‘Red and Black’ alongside the love struck Marius, manning the barricades or dying – and here I must mention the deceptively simple set consisting of two large pieces on wheels which can among others become Fantine’s deathbed, a pub background, and the barricades. The mobility allows them to turn round while littered with the dead rebels, sparing us the sight of ‘dead’ bodies quietly walking offstage which always spoils the illusion slightly. Rafe Hodge-Thomas as the rebel leader Enjoiras dominates the group and embodies total belief in his cause as he waves the flag both literally and metaphorically for a new liberated France.I was mesmerised by Oliver Back as Gavroche – for such a young actor he absolutely nailed the cheeky, slightly cocky boy who slips through the barricades and brings information. His vocals were again perfect for the role and again I shed a tear at his death.

And special mention must be made of Alfie Luke and Katy Haggerty as the appalling but hilarious Thenadiers. I absolutely loved ‘Master of the House’ a piece of light relief and humour, which was delivered with gusto. Alfie managed to be sinister as he robbed the corpses in the sewer, yet hilarious both in that early scene and in the wedding scene, where the audience clapped along to ‘Beggars at the Feast’.

Although the principals were all brilliant in their role, the power of Les Miserables rests on the chorus pieces, and every single member of the cast contributed to the amazing sounds heard from the Medina Theatre stage as well as the heart-rending scenes of poverty, battle and struggle for survival. Whether portraying Fantine’s co-workers at the factory, ‘Lovely Ladies’, French peasants at the barricades, customers at Thenadier’s tavern or wedding guests, the chorus members gave top notch performances in both singing and acting. I would love to mention each one by name but haven’t the space – please know however, if you were on that stage, you were amazing!

Adding to the atmosphere was the support of the brilliant live orchestra which underpinned the emotions of each song, whether the hopelessness of ‘At the End of the Day’, Cosette’s sadness in ‘Castle on a Cloud’, the rumbustious ‘Master of the House’, tear-jerking ‘Empty Chairs at Empty Tables’, the power of ‘Bring Him Home’ or the absolute highlight of the show, the fantastic rendition of ‘One Day More’.

Les Miserables is a complex, demanding and challenging show for any company to stage, let alone an amateur group, and let alone a youth group, but with a cast ranging from 5 years old to late teens, Curtain Call Creative absolutely smashed it! There is sadly only One Day More to see the show – but please do go along if you can. I understand there are just a limited a number of tickets available so support this amazing group of young people and give yourself a treat. They – and you – deserve it!