What's new
Autumn Brunch
Take to the waterways
Books reviews
DVD reviews
Yoga
Our new website - Enjoy Britain online www.enjoybritainonline.co.uk/
New CD releases
Discover Knightsbridge, London
Cruises
Birdwatching and more
We're doing a musical show... and it’s got Misérablés in the title. It’s got 29 onstage deaths... It’s largely about French history... there are no real dance routines, no tap shoes, no sequins, no fishnets, no staircase, no big stairs, no cowboys, no chimney sweeps, no witches, no wizards. Moreover, there’s virtually no advance at the box-office and it’s received thumbs-down reviews. How can it possibly succeed.”
How indeed, but director Trevor Nunn, one of the major figures involved in bringing Victor Hugo’s novel to the stage, needn’t have worried because, against all the odds, the musical had, by the time of its 27th birthday in 2012, run up 11,209 performances in the West End alone. Worldwide, more than 100 professional companies had given 48,000 performances of the show in 42 countries – and those numbers are being added to as you read this feature. It is, in short, the world’s longest-running musical.
If it was possible to divine the reasons for this extraordinary success then we would all be writing musicals but, suffice to say, Les Mis, as it has become known, still captivates theatre, and now cinema, audiences because of its winning mixture of great music, a wonderful story, memorable characters and that all too elusive feelgood factor.
In their new book, Les Misérables: From Stage to Screen (Carlton, £30), which forms the basis of this feature, Martyn Palmer and Benedict Nightingale detail the origins of the musical and its transition onto stage and then screen.
The novel that started it all, Les Misérablés, by Victor Hugo, was first published in 1862, and was largely written in Guernsey, where Hugo was in exile at the time. The book focussed on the struggles of ex-convict Jean Valjean and his experience of redemption in the period 1815 to 1832. The plot spans 17 years and is set against the backdrop of a tumultuous period in French history, culminating in the 1832 June rebellion.
Although critically slammed when first published the novel went on to be a great success across Europe. The French Revolution had taken place in 1789 and its repercussions were still being felt at the time the novel was published. Napoleon may have institutionalised the gains of the Revolution but across Europe, in the wake of the Industrial Revolution, many felt disenfranchised and exploited.
© LES MISERABLES: FROM STAGE TO SCREEN BY MARTYN PALMER & BENEDICT NIGHTINGALE (CARLTON, £30)
Motorbike at the National Motor Museum
June's book reviews
Royal robes
Peter Sellers’ Aston under the hammer
National Bingo Day 27th June 2023
Hen Harriers
Air up
Simon Evans reviews the latest CDs
April’s Top DVDs selected by Simon Evans
Here we go, here we go…for the Coronation
Otter
Easter on a budget
‘The Slug’ will race again after 100 years
Bath night for dogs
Classic Motoring Memories
Tios Drinks
Shake up your makeup
New Year, New You
From Italy with love
Mail-order meat comes of age
Christmas recipes
Christmas Crafts Part 2
Back to your roots
In your garden in Winter
Christmas Crafts
Christmas Gift Ideas
Vegan Skincare
Recipes for hope
Beauty Feature - Embrace the grey
Calling all coffee fans!
World Oceans Day 8th June
Beauty Feature - Feet First
Craft Corner - A great Easter basket
Battle of Britain
Claire Foy "I didn't get life until I was 32"
Alexander Armstong: "My family is my priority"
Cosyfeet Community Award 2019
How to Maintain Your Independence in the Kitchen
Ruth Wilson "Audience's don't know who I really am"
1969: The Year The Dream Died
Want to live the (Feel)Good Life? Move to Watford
Pressures of the sandwich generation
Steve Coogan"The most radical thing I can do is talk about love"
Oldie of the Year 2019
Rabble: The Movement keeping you fit and making you money!
Suzi Quatro: "I've always been a rocker at heart"
Giving up plastic
Women in WW1
Do you remember? UFO
Bognor and other Regises
John Lennon & Yoko Ono: 'Imagine'
Bill roache "It's a real privilege to make people happy"
Nana Mouskouri "Music brings me peace, love and hope"
How to Earn Money by Working from Home
How to get the best night's sleep, every night
Ringo Starr "I'm learning to handle life"
Headphones with a built in hearing test
Petula Clark: "I make the most of every moment"
London's other underground
Blue Peter: Here's one they made earlier
Gary Oldman: "Acting is an antidote to self hatred"
Emilia Fox: "I've learnt to find my own voice"
Love Your Gut Week Recipes
Puffin photos help to tackle decline of the 'clowns of the sea'
Craig Revel Horwood: "I don't care what people say about me"
Do you remember? Apple Records
What a Carry On!
Worried about being worried?
"I feel like the unluckiest person in the world."
Death of a Princess
Queen Elizabeth: Happy and Glorious
The Beatles: It was 50 years ago...
Hank Marvin: “Meeting Cliff changed my life”
Nicole Kidman "Children are the joy of my life"
The world of Parry Ray
Monty Python: Something completely different
Staffordshire Day
I always think I'm going to get found out
All shook up...The day that Elvis died
Twiggy: "I thought the world had gone mad"
Peter Capaldi: "I like characters who are strange"
Make eating breakfast a resolution which sticks, with milk&more
"Turning 60 can't be that bad!"Jennifer Saunders
The Enduring Power of the Unknown Soldier
Bradley Walsh "Variety is great for the soul"
Thank you, Brewood
"You never know what's round the corner"
1966 and All That
Remembering the Heroic Olympians
Martina Navratilova: "I Always Question Authority"
Guide for choosing clothes for older relatives
Getting older and disabled drivers behind the wheel
Men in Sheds
Scared to Shop!
Over 40s Named Most Successful Online Daters
Stay at home mum and author re-ignite's her career
Dating in later Life
Great garden getaways
Toton Engineman Review
“I’m a restless person by nature”
"We’re such country bumpkins”
Still time for tearooms
Hallowed hall of fame
Autumn Brunch
Take to the waterways
Books reviews
DVD reviews
Yoga
Our new website - Enjoy Britain online www.enjoybritainonline.co.uk/
New CD releases
Discover Knightsbridge, London
Cruises
Birdwatching and more