A secret behind Les Miserables: Victor Hugo's paintings

Les Miserables, original novel by Victor Hugo turned into musical, has been already 29 years succeeding on stage. Since the première at the London Barbican Theatre in 1985 it has been continuously represented around the world, while starting to be an important part of the history of musicals as a theatre type. The Spanish production of this play is now on tour around the Mediterranean country, garnering a great success.

How come could its creators, Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, think that their work would be represented around the world in the most important theatre and would win various awards, including eight Tony. Furthermore the stage fame turned the play into a movie which won three Oscar under Tom Hopper's direction.

But one of the more relevant facts we want to talk you about is the scenic renovation on the sets assembly, which hits the original novel essence and spots a new difference. This material change took place four years ago, in occasion of the 25^th anniversary on stage. Cameron Mackintosh present us in this new production some fresh air to renew the interest and passion for this realist, passionate and human literary work. The atmosphere in general terms changes from a light and coloured area to a gloomy and grey environment, mimicking with the feeling of the characters and the real historical situation. The new use of these colours does not create monotony in the plot but on the contrary: it gives a poetical depth.

However, there is another key aspect to high-light the misery and poverty atmosphere: Victor Hugo's paintings projected at the back of the stage. Although he is mostly known as a poet, novelist and playwright, Les Miserables author worked also with fine art. As a result from his autodidact character the French poet and painter created a whole fine art production based on watercolour and charcoal techniques, which according to coetaneous sources helped to inspire him. As they were conceived as a sort of rehearsal and not for the public audience, Victor Hugo never showed them for fear of the critics as it could shadow his literary production, which was the one that really succeed.

Who could have told to the author of Les Miserables that his novel would had triumphed as a stage musical and that his paintings would be projected! We can only add to wish to to enjoy the play if you ever had the chance to see it.

Antoni Obiols