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Of course, the raised levels of excitement mean that I totally forgot to take a picture to go with this post, but use your imagination and find plenty here.

We are Les Mis fans, I have to admit.  We first saw the show performed by the original cast fairly early on in its 25 year history and it made a deep and lasting impression on us both.  Though we’d seen it again a couple of times, the most recent performance in February left us feeling a little downbeat and disappointed.  It was all smaller, less dramatic and the performance more workaday than the slick, breathtaking one we’d remembered.

But then, we saw the 25th Anniversary DVD and read of cast changes, updates and reorchestrations.  Maybe we needed to see it again.  Looking for something to do on the evening before the party, we eventually managed to get four tickets – not easy because interest had been generated by the new cast members (and here).

Oh my goodness.  The show we saw last evening was as good, if not better than, the original!  The audience were receptive and very responsive – the woots and cheers reflected the genuine reaction to the stunning performances on stage.  Alfie Boe was every bit as good as promised, Matt Lucas the most terrific, instinctive Tenardier and the other major roles were played by equally talented performers.  We all felt blown away by the experience and walked away from the theatre buzzing with excitement.  This morning, the reaction is still ongoing, we woke up high with those marvellous songs going round and round in our heads and of course, Mark is still reeling from seeing his special “mate”.

Definitely one to remember.