I Dreamed a Dream…

Nearly a year in the making, Truro School’s ground-breaking performance of Les Misérables (School Edition) wowed packed-out audiences from start to finish.

Truro School’s version opened last Wednesday night and left the audience stunned. Les Misérables is known as the grandfather of all modern musicals, the show that broke the mould and set a new gold standard for what musicals could be: sung entirely through, Les Mis is a challenging musical to deliver, both in terms of the score and the setting, but the cast and crew rose to the occasion to create a phenomenal piece of theatre.

Truro School’s Director of Drama, Ben Oldfield, said, “The students have excelled themselves once again with their vigour, commitment, discipline and good humour. It has been wonderful to see a mini community spring up in the drama and music departments, with students of all years involved as musicians, technicians, design assistants and performers – all working together towards a common goal, forging new friendships, and making new discoveries of what can be achieved.  It is, quite simply, a privilege and a joy to have worked with them in such a fertile and creative environment.”

The cast were accompanied by Truro School’s Symphony Orchestra. The music, with new orchestrations specially adapted for the School Edition by Stephen Metcalfe, is one of the most memorable musical scores of all time. The Orchestra thrilled audiences with knock-out numbers including ‘At the end of the day’, ‘Do you hear the people sing?’ and the entertaining ‘Master of the house’.

All musical numbers were delivered with energetic precision and fun under the careful guidance of Musical Director, Martin Palmer and Associate Musical Directors, Peter Thompson and Oliver Jones.

Furthermore, the meticulous detail and abundant effort from the Truro School Tech and Theatre Team, which included four former and three current students, ensured a highly professional show was enjoyed by 1,323 audience members over five performances.

The classic tale of the hunted fugitive Jean Valjean and his tormented oppressor Javert has captured audiences’ imaginations for nearly 40 years.  A romantic, gothic tragedy of penury and degradation, it still has the power to touch us: the squalor of the factories and the streets, the violence of criminals and soldiers, all add to the tapestry of Les Misérables.  Yet running through this harrowing tale is a rich seam of hope, seen in the fervour of the revolutionaries, the love of Marius and Cosette, and in Jean Valjean’s eventual redemption.  Even doomed waif Fantine’s desperate plight shines briefly with a glimmer of hope for her daughter Cosette.