Dreaming the Dream

Les Miserables School Edition

(Coliseum, Oldham, to Saturday)

SOME shows demand great performances to be seen at their best; some simply transcend minor errors and show their greatness regardless.

Les Miserables is certainly one of the latter. The professional show is an incredible spectacle; one of the greatest ever mounted. But even seen here, on a small stage with a cast of under 19s stretched to their limits, it still manages to beat most other musicals you could mention.

The show’s mix of sentiment and romance, violence and compassion, dedication and remorseless, unthinking obedience is rendered a little unevenly but overall superbly in the show’s “schools edition”, presented here by the specially-picked young cast for Congress Players.

The show, directed by John Wood, is exactly the one seen on the pro stage, but can only be played by cast members aged 19 or under - a tall order, you might think, but apparently not.

The pro show has clear highlights - Valjean’s “Bring Him Home’, Fantine’s (Amy McDonough’s) poignant “I Dreamed a Dream”, Eponine’s “On My Own”, the Thenardiers’ “Master of the House”, The People’s Song and more, and here pretty much every one is nailed; even Jack Dolan’s Valjean falsetto - all rendered with passion and show-stopping skill.

Here and there some of the casting leaves a little to be desired: some can sing brilliantly, some cannot and don’t really manage to overcome their deficiencies with conviction. But there’s a lot of energy on stage and masses of goodwill in the audience and this covers a lot, especially with the help of a large-sounding orchestra, brilliant projected backdrops in stunning high definition and even a respectably large barricade.

And no one can deny the quality of Jack Dolan, or the other big showstopper of the evening, Phoebe Coop, whose terrific ‘On My Own” brought the house down.

This is a deeply impressive production of one of the greatest modern musicals: forget any prejudice you might have against “youth” shows and get a ticket - if nothing else, it’s for a great cause, this year Dr Kershaw’s Hospice, and never was helping to raise money for charity so entertaining.