Les Misérables: stage versions
and other adaptations

The 1863 play by Hugo's son

Just one year after the book was published, Victor Hugo's son Charles published a Les Miserables play, co-written by Paul Meurice. An English translation (copyright © 2000 by Frank J. Morlock) is available here. I don't know if it has been performed recently. Most people don't know about this version. Charles Victor Hugo was better known as an accomplished painter.

Les Miserables has been adapted into at least six different stage versions, including, we are told, a musical version. The musical version has strict legal notices about not using any of its imagery, so let's talk about the others instead.

Jonathan Holloway's Les Miserables

Jonathan Holloway's play combines 19th century France with contemporary street culture, and is favored by people who want their Les Mis to have more bite. It's been performed around the world and is especially suited to small theater groups: it can be performed with a minimum of only nine people! (Three male, six female) But be prepared to learn more than one part...

You can buy a copy and get permission to perform it here. According to Holloway's bio, a Cantonese version is running it in mainland China: see the Chunying theater website for details. The most recent staging that I know of was in  Bedford, England, in January 2007

These pictures are by Gerald Murray, from the 1997 production. They are used by kind permission of  the playwrite and the Red Shift Theatre Company.

Tim Kelly's Les Miserables

Tim Kelly's adaptation of Les Miserables needs thirty people (14 male and 16 female) and is popular with schools. Buy a copy or get permission to perform it here.

These pictures are from the Montgomery Blair High School production of 1998, photographed by John Kaluta, and are used by kind permission of John Kaluta and The Perfect Stage Crew.com

Spiritual Twist Productions

This version is unusual in that it emphasizes the religious side of the book. Which is a good idea, since it's an important part of the story that is usually overlooked or played down in other adaptations.

You can buy a DVD of the production from RoleModel studios, or find out about the original play at Spiritual Twist Productions.

Montfermeil

If you go to the town of Montfermeil in the summer, you can catch an outdoor version of Les Miserables that takes place in one of the key locations of the book, the town where Jean Valjean made his fortune and was appointed mayor. Click here for details.

M.J.Neary's "Hugo in London"

In 1854, at the peak of Crimean War, Victor Hugo, a legendary French romantic, comes to London in search of inspiration for his next novel. He meets up with Jocelyn Stuart, a delusional young benefactress, who promises to show him “the real England”. Disguised as a sailor, Hugo immerses himself into the world of boxing matches, circus performances and gang wars. .

Radio adaptations

Orson Welles's life was changed

In 1935 Orson Welles was only involved in theater, not radio or movies. But he promoted one of his plays, "Panic," on the radio. It was so effective that another network asked him to present an entire play on the radio, and it gave him complete artistic control. Les Miserables was chosen, it being especially relevant in the Great Depression.  Welles began each episode with a few words about poverty, and concluded "...so long as these problems are not solved, so long as ignorance and poverty remain on earth, these words cannot be useless."

To condense such a large book into seven episodes, Wells invented a new style of regular acting linked by a narrator. This approach is now commonplace in radio drama, but Welles invented it for Les Miserables. The production was so successful that it led to a string of offers from radio and movies, which led to the War of the Worlds, Citizen Kane... and the rest is history! The original play can now be purchased on CD.



The 1982 CBS radio adaptation

The only review I could find said this was the worst version ever.



The 2001 BBC radio adaptation

A 25 part adaptation, broadcast daily on Radio 4. The play had a cast of twenty seven distinguished actors, including some who had appeared in the musical.



The 2002 "Focus on the Family" adaptation

Not a great adaptation, but it has its moments.



Audio books

There are of course several audio books available, where actors read or dramatize the text of the novel. These are available both abridged and unabridged.


Other adaptations

Classics Illustrated: Les Miserables

The Classics illustrated series of comics is highly loved and respected (and does a good trade on eBay). Issue 9 is Les Miserables, and sticks very closely to the books. The art isn't perfect (see below), but as a comic it's worth reading.

Years later, in 1997 Les Miserables was adapted once again as part of the same series. This edition was illustrated by Norman Node. Click here for a review.



Any more?

Roaming London’s most notorious slum, he encounters Dr. Grant, a Cambridge-educated opium dealer, Wynfield, a charismatic bandit, and Diana, a sickly servant girl who bears a disturbing resemblance to Hugo’s dead daughter.  Their surreal adventures become the basis for Hugo’s subsequent novels.

When danger befalls his new friends, Hugo vows to protect them, even if it means turning against his old friends and risking his own safety.  How far will a grieving father go for the memory of his child?  Infused with dark humor, “Hugo in London” is a tribute to one of France’s most prolific literary icons.