Les Misérables

Victor Hugo dedicated nineteen whole chapters to the Battle of Waterloo in his seminal novel. Its complexity, its absurdity, its savagery.

August 012 will present this bitter English victory, whose outcome shocked both the victorious and the vanquished and sent Europe into turmoil.

Alongside Brexit. On the eve of our departure. We might sing. A raging theatrical lament, this production juxtaposes text adapted from Victor Hugo’s novel with contemporary attitudes, understanding and approaches that reflect the events of the referendum, turning the auditorium into a battlefield. Three actors, a DJ, and a priest will work alongside young dancers from the University of South Wales BA (hons) Dance course, trained by Napoleonic re-enactors as battalion soldiers.

August 012’s production of Les Misérables is directed by Mathilde López and choreographed by Matteo Marfoglia with the support of The Third East Kent Living History Group, Chapter Arts Centre, University of South Wales, Arts Council Wales, Welsh Government and the National Lottery.