#les mis oslo

[pilferingapples]

[starlene]

The Norwegian production of Les Mis is a pretty wild ride

Maybe you’ve already read that one list about things that happen in this production, but having seen the production for ourselves now, me and @obiskus decided to write our own. Here comes:

- When the curtain rises, the first thing you see is a couple of guards dragging some dead guy away.

- Javert punches Valjean in the gut after “do not forget my name.”

- Foreman is oddly sympathetic towards Fantine. It is only after he sees Mssr. Madeleine coldly walking away from the scene he decides to throw her out.

- Fantine changes into her prostitute costume in the middle of I Dreamed a Dream (even though they still have Lovely Ladies after IDaD).

- Jean “Superman” Valjean lifts a big pile of sawn timber off Fauchelevent like it weighs nothing.

- Javert very gently helps Valjean to put his coat back on and wipes some dust off his top hat.

- Jean Valjean reveals his true identity in the court by taking off his wig. It was me all along!

- Javert brings three soldiers with him to Confrontation. The hospital nuns (wearing KKK-style hood-like white hats) don’t care about the angry men yelling next to the beds and continue wrapping Fantine’s body in a sheet. JVJ takes Javert by the throat, threatens to kill him and somehow escapes.

- Marius follows Cosette around from one poor person to next. They end up wiping the same poor person’s face.

- Montparnasse has the most ragged clothing out of all the Patron-Minette. What’s up with that?

- Javert and Gavroche have a moment! They have moved Gavroche’s little bit about Javert before Stars, he sings it to Javert directly, then they salute each other.

- The poor people of Paris hang around onstage during Stars. Javert buys a candle from one of them and lights it.

- Éponine is there in the ABC Café.

- When Gavroche tells them Lamarque is dead, Grantaire loses all hope instanteniously. He takes out his flask and starts drinking. Enjolras sings one of his following verses directly to Grantaire.

- Marius tries to shake hands with Cosette in the beginning of A Heart Full of Love.

- In the beginning of One Day More, Marius writes the letter to Cosette and Éponine changes into her barricade costume…

- …but you don’t really pay attention to that once Enjolras walks onstage, because he is joined by Grantaire and sings his whole verse to R. Then, I kid you not, Enjolras teaches Grantaire how to shoot a gun - in a way that wouldn’t feel out of place in a fanfic or a romantic comedy. You know, standing very close, taking his hands and correcting the way he holds the gun…

- …and this goes on for the whole duration of the song. Enjolras doesn’t give a hoot about Marius deciding to fight with them; he’s busy staring into Grantaire’s eyes. I kid you not.

- Prouvaire has a pet plant that he takes with him to the barricade. He builds a sort of a little nest for himself and the plant on the barricade.

- Not everything is perfect at the barricade, though: Enjolras and Grantaire have a fight in the beginning of the first act! During On My Own, there’s this odd freeze-frame tableu in the background with lots of characters - there, they stand very close to each other and Enjolras has his hand on Grantaire’s shoulder, clearly trying to make amends.

- They drop Éponine’s body in the sewer.

- Enjolras is pretty Extra about the whole Éponine situation: he sings about her blood blessing the barricade.

- When they catch Javert, they tie him to the front side of the barricade. Valjean doesn’t use a knife when he frees him, he uses a bayonet.

- During Drink With Me, Enjolras and Grantaire sit next to each other and Grantaire holds Gavroche in his arms. R sings his verse to Gavroche, Enjolras reacts a bit, no one else bats an eyelid. Then Enjolras takes Grantaire’s hands, kisses them (and it’s no platonic kiss, let me tell you that) and leaves.

- When they meet in the sewers, Javert straight up decks Valjean.

- When Valjean leaves, Javert finds a huge crucifix, sorta hugs it, sings most of the song to it and drags it around. Then he jumps from the bridge.

- Nuns (in their KKK hats) sing Turning.

- In Empty Chairs at Empty Tables, there are no chairs and no tables. Instead, there are hospital beds. At first, all Les Amis grouch behind them, then they stand up and stare at Marius for the whole song without moving an inch. Then they walk away.

- After Valjean’s confession, Valjean stays downstage for ages, sorta grouching, while Marius walks upstage towards complete darkness, like he is walking to his death or something.

- During the wedding, Cosette recognises the Thénardiers. And is that Javert in the ensemble, dancing there, with his ponytail and his sideburns? We think it is!

- Javert is in the Finale. So are Enjolras and Grantaire. Grantaire rushes downstage to Enjolras to stand right next to him, his hand on Enjolras’s shoulder. I kid you not.

[obiskus]

Hey so @starlene and I interviewed the Norwegian Enjolras and Grantaire (Andreas Hoff and Lasse Vermeli) about their characters and the fact that E/R is canon in the Oslo Les mis. Have a listen y’all these dudes were so nice to talk to <3

on soundcloud

[shedeservesthebest]

ahh so i saw your post about les mis oslo and i watched it yesterday - one thing i noticed that you didn't mention that happened (i guess they might have added this later or something??) was that during/after drink w me R reaches over to enjolras and reluctantly takes his hand. enj looks at him and holds on tight, and then R slowly brings their hands towards him and kisses his hand. enj looks shockedfor a sec but does the same, and they keep eye contact the entire time og jeg har vært død siden

aah, there was so much E/R interaction throughout the entire show, so I might’ve missed that one tbh… but I’m watching again in December (thanks mom), so I’ll make sure to look for it!!!! Den homo-erotiske subteksten gjennom hele stykket drepte meg 

[ballerinadellamusica]

Les Miserables Oslo: September 2017-Januar 2018 Roller: (roles) Jean Valjean: André Søfteland Javert: Hans Marius Hoff Mittet Javert/Biskopen: (bishop) Håvard Bakke Fantine: Karin Park Haddy Njie Cosette: Jenny Langlo Amanda K´Odingo Eponine: Marion Ravn Marius: Lars Henrik Aarnes Enjolras: Andreas Hoff Thénardier: Dennis Storhøi Madame Thénardier: Mariann Hole

Pictures from: Folketeateret facebook video (in costume) Scenekvelder.no (headshots) Headshot credits: 2- L-P. Lorentz 3- Karina Wilk 4- André Løyining 6- Kjetil Moslåtten 8- Isabel Watson 11- Lillian Julsvik 12- Gisle Bjørneby

Cast list from Folketeateret website Calendars Will be Done For this Production For Fantine & Cosette throughout and for javert in November.

[starlene]

Nordic Reviews: Les Mis in Oslo

Under the surface, it's actually the oddest and most unfocused production of Les Mis I've ever seen.

My review of the new Norwegian production of Les Mis. You know, the one where E/R is canon, Prouvaire has a pet plant and Éponine’s body is dumped in the sewer.

Sadly, it’s way, way less than the sum of its parts.

[operafantomet]

Amanda K’Odingo, one of two principal Cosettes in Les Miserables in Oslo, Norway (2017-2018).

[shedeservesthebest]

Les Mis Oslo 15 of March

Okay, so, this time, the actor who plays Enjolras (Andreas) was sick, so Lasse (who usually plays Grantaire) took over, BUT! They had no understudy for R, meaning no Grantaire this time

Foreman EXTREMELY hesitant to throw Fantine out, he also leaves her money before the exits the stage.

Joly took R’s part in Red and Black

Feuilly was called out for the drinking

Joly has the closeness and friendship it’s Gav that he had with R the other times I watched it

Gav sobs into Ponine during all of A little fall of rain, and he has to be dragged off her corpse after she dies

Enj!Actor was on stage, but he didn’t have a role... he’s playing an adorable puppy looking student with a too long sleeved shirt

There’s so much more interaction between Enj and Les Amis from the other times I’ve seen it, tho that might be because R’s gone. They even said Joly, Bousse (Lesgle) and Feuilly’s name on stage!!

They split R’s verse of Drink with me so that every barricade boy had a line 

(Headcanon to explain missing Enjoltaire: Because Andreas’ (Enj) outfit is extremely white/light, and since Lasse (R) plays Enj this time, I’ve decided to think that Enj was killed by something so Grantaire has decided to pick up where he left off and lead the rest of Les Amis into battle, to honour Enj. Which would also “explain” why Enj’s connection with all the other Les Amis has changed as much as it has from the other play troughs. This also fits when you see how none of the other barricade boys interact with Andreas, really, nearly no one talks with or touches him…)

ANDREAS ALSO SINGS “Er det meningsløst å dø” which translates to «Is it meaningless to die”, it’s the last sentence of R’s verse of Drunk with me… which… only underlines my HC…

JOLY SCREAMED WHEN GAV DIED!!

Joly was held back behind the barricade when Gav went to collect powder. And much like R did last time I saw this, he stormed into the battle field to retrieve Gav’s body. Marius followed after him.

As the notes from “He’s like the son I might have known. If God had granted me a son” plays after the barricade boys die, Javert places a cover (a jacket) over Gav’s body

Marius’ came to the edge of the stage and screamed one of his lines from Empty Chairs and Empty Tables, his voice broke and it nearly killed me