Australians Simon Gleeson & Hayden Tee to Star in LES MISERABLES on London's West End

Cameron Mackintosh's production of Boublil & Schönberg's legendary musical Les Miserables is now in its record breaking 32nd year and Cameron Mackintosh is delighted to announce Australia's Simon Gleeson and Hayden Tee will be reunited on stage as Jean Valjean and Javert at the Queen's Theatre.

Commenting on this exciting news, Michael Cassel, Executive Producer of the Australian production of Les Miserables, said "It's wonderful that, three years after we first introduced Australian audiences to the original Australian cast of Les Miserables, our award-winning leading men Simon Gleeson and Hayden Tee will continue with the production in London. This follows Patrice Tipoki performing the role of Fantine in the West End earlier in the year."

Michael Cassel continued, "Hayden and Simon have an electrifying chemistry on stage and West End audiences will experience something very special when they see them perform together as Valjean and Javert."

Simon Gleeson, who will commence on stage in London on December 5th, has firmly established himself as one of the best Jean Valjeans we have ever seen on stage. He won a Helpmann Award for 'Best Male Actor in a Musical' for his heartrending portrayal in the recent Australian production and lead the production for seasons in Manila and Singapore earlier in 2016.

Hayden Tee, whose extraordinary performance as Javert was lauded both on the Australian Tour and most recently on Broadway, will join the West End cast from January 9th 2017 after the conclusion of the Dubai production. Hayden has firmly staked his claim on Jean Valjean's lifelong antagonist Javert, earning him a Green Room Award and a Theatre People Pro Choice Award for 'Best Individual Performance'.

This news comes on the night that Les Miserables held its Middle East premiere at Dubai Opera. The much-loved and critically acclaimed show has officially opened the city's first purpose-built performing arts theatre. This international production also stars many Australian cast members including principal artists Hayden Tee as Javert, Patrice Tipoki as Fantine and Emily Langridge as Cossette, and in the ensemble, Daniel Belle, Billy Bourchier, Hugo Chiarella, Mischana Dellora-Cornish, Blake Erickson, Tamlyn Henderson, Nigel Huckle, Liam McIlwain, Sarah Murr, Adèle Parkinson, Michaela Powell, and Natasha Veselinovic.

Set against the backdrop of 19th-century revolutionary France, Les Miserables is a much-loved blockbuster musical which has been seen by over 70 million people worldwide in 45 countries and in 22 languages. Les Miserables is undisputedly one of the most popular musicals of all time. Having won more than 125 major awards around the world, it has been hailed as the most stirring, moving musical ever. Based on Victor Hugo's classic novel, it is an epic and uplifting story about the survival of the human spirit. The magnificent score of Les Miserables includes the classic songs "I Dreamed a Dream", "On My Own", "Stars", "Bring Him Home", "Do You Hear the People Sing?", "One Day More", "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables", "Master of the House" and many more.

Cameron Mackintosh's production of Les Miserables is written by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg and is based on the novel by Victor Hugo. It has music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer and original French text by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel. Adapted by Trevor Nunn and John Caird, it has additional material by James Fenton. The 25th Anniversary Production is directed by Laurence Connor and James Powell and designed by Matt Kinley. Original costumes are by Andreane Neofitou, additional costumes by Christine Rowland, lighting design by Paule Constable and sound design by Mick Potter. Executive Producers of the Dubai production are Nicholas Allott, Thomas Schönberg and Michael Cassel.

For further information: lesmis.com

Photo credit: Jory Rivera