AUDIENCES at Wellington School’s Great Hall gave the cast standing ovations after three sell-out performances of Les Miserables last week.

The iconic musical showcased an overwhelming array of talent, commitment and versatility from the cast, crew and orchestra.

Opening with the dismal scene of dozens of men chained together in slavery, rowing as they have done for 19 years - one man is taken from the ranks, granted parole and sent away under the watchful eye of police captain Javert.  This begins the journey of Jean Valjean.

From here, Victor Hugo’s story whirled through themes of love, loss, injustice and uprising. Spanning three decades, the tale was brought to life on stage by director Claire Davies, with stunning orchestration from musical director Andrew Trewhella and a spectacular cast.

The story was woven together by Valjean, the one constant in the whirl of emotion - first employing the ill-fated Fantine, learning of her lost child Cosette, adopting and raising Cosette, watching her mature and fall in love, then joining a revolution to protect her future.

The scale and standard of the production could easily have graced the West End stage, with stand-out performances from cast members of all ages.

Cameron Forrest in the role of Valjean led the show with sensitivity, conviction and passion; Finn Irving was a menacing and compelling Javert; and Harry Tabb was a fabulously passionate and sensitive Marius with an extraordinary vocal capacity which, set against the fragility of Daisy Caygill with her glorious operatic top notes, created spine-chilling moments of beauty.

A stand-out performance came from Isaac Hines as the charismatic and spell-binding Enjolras, leading such a convincing revolution that the audience could not help but want to join him waving red flags.

When the ensemble came together for numbers such as At The End Of The Day, One Day More and Do You Hear The People Sing? things really hit their stride, with power, conviction and engagement by everyone on stage.

Clever cast changes allowed several fabulous performers to showcase their talent - Martha Askew and Naomi Jacob shared the role of Eponine with pathos and passion, the ill-fated Fantine was played beautifully by Lucy Speke and Ana Knezevic, who tackled the iconic I Dreamed A Dream, left the audience tingling with emotion and all shedding a tear.

Little Gavroche was a star of both casts, played cheekily by Jo Sharpe and Alex Seaton, and his death created such a moment of tragedy the audience held its collective breath, as the action on the barricades really hotted up. The little Cosette, who sings the haunting Castle on a Cloud, was shared by Anouk van Dijk, Mary van der Beugal and Ava Russo.

A rare kick of comic relief came in the form of inn-keepers Madame and Monsieur Thenardier, ably played by Maddy Chipp and the mesmeric Dan Cape, who were about as pantomime as it gets.

This production was an utter triumph - powerful, raw and emotional, leaving the audience elated and traumatised in equal parts and, with not a seat or a dry eye in the house, a live-stream allowed an additional audience to watch in the comfort of their own homes.

These were memorable nights - and a fitting end to two years of enforced isolation.