Lockyer And Thaxton To Star In London LES MISERABLES From June!

There will be major cast changes in the West End production of the 2014 BBC Radio 2 Olivier Audience Award winner "LES MISERABLES" at the Queen's Theatre from 16 June 2014.

Joining the company are: Peter Lockyer as 'Jean Valjean'; David Thaxton as 'Javert'; Tom Edden as 'Thénardier'; Celinde Schoenmaker as 'Fantine'; Michael Colbourne as 'Enjolras' and Emilie Fleming as 'Cosette'.

Rob Houchen will continue to star as 'Marius', Carrie Hope Fletcher as 'Eponine' and Wendy Ferguson as 'Madame Thénardier'.

Peter Lockyer recently completed a year and a half run as Jean Valjean in the sold-out North American 25th Anniversary Tour of "LES MISERABLES". He has also appeared as 'Chris' in "Miss Saigon" on Broadway and in the first National tour and as 'Marius' in the 10th Anniversary production of "LES MISERABLES" on Broadway.

David Thaxton recently played 'Giorgio' in "Passion" at the Donmar Warehouse for which he won the 2011 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Previously he has appeared as 'Enjolras' in "LES MISERABLES" at the Queen's Theatre and 'Raoul' in "Love Never Dies" at the Adelphi Theatre.

Tom Edden appeared in "One Man, Two Guvnors" on Broadway, earning him a Tony Award Nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in 2011. He most recently played 'Fagin' in "Oliver!" at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield.

Celinde Schoenmaker returns to the role of 'Fantine' at the Queen's Theatre after making her West End debut in the part in 2013. She most recently played 'Jenny' in "Love Story" on tour in Holland.

Michael Colbourne most recently played 'Young Buddy' in "Follies" at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre. He makes his West-End debut in the role.

Emilie Fleming was a finalist in BBC One's "Over the Rainbow". Her credits include "Oliver!" at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield. She also took part in the "LES MISERABLES" 20th Anniversary performance schools finale at the Queen's Theatre.

Peter Lockyer is appearing with the support of UK Equity incorporating the Variety Artistes' Federation, pursuant to an exchange program between American Equity and UK Equity.

Rob Houchen trained at Guildford School of Acting and after graduating toured Germany with "The 12 Tenors". Carrie Hope Fletcher played 'Young Eponine' at the Palace Theatre in 2001. Her West End credits include 'Jemima Potts' in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" at the London Palladium and 'Jane Banks' in "Mary Poppins" at the Prince Edward Theatre. Wendy Ferguson played 'Carlotta' in "The Phantom of the Opera" at Her Majesty's Theatre and the 25th Anniversary at the Royal Albert Hall and 'Widow Corney' in "Oliver!" at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.

The full company as of 16 June 2014 will be: Jeremy Batt; Ethan Bradshaw; Melanie Bright; Dougie Carter;Michael Colbourne; Jade Davies; Lee Dillon-Stuart; Tamsin Dowsett; Tom Edden; Christian Edwards;Wendy Ferguson; Emilie Fleming; Carrie Hope Fletcher; James Gant; Carolina Gregory; Rob Houchen;Bradley Jaden; Emma Kingston; Sarah Lark; Jordan Lee Davies; Adam Linstead; Peter Lockyer; Joanna Loxton; Claire Parrish; Adam Pearce; Jonny Purchase; Michael Riseley; Celinde Schoenmaker; Simon Shorten; Ashley Stillburn; Jessamy Stoddart; David Thaxton and Helen Walsh.

Based on Victor Hugo's classic novel, Boublil and Schönberg's magnificent score of "LES MISERABLES"includes the 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.

Now in its 29th sell out year in London "LES MISERABLES" originally opened in London at the Barbican Theatre on 8 October 1985, transferred to the Palace Theatre on 4 December 1985 and moved to its current home at the Queen's Theatre on 3 April 2004 where it is still playing to standing room only. When"LES MISERABLES" celebrated its 21st London birthday on 8 October 2006, it became the World's Longest Running Musical, surpassing the record previously held by "Cats" in London's West End. In January 2010, the West End production broke another record by celebrating its historic 10,000th performance.

In celebration of its 25th anniversary, the legendary musical "LES MISERABLES" made theatrical history with an international first - three different productions playing in London simultaneously. The Original Production at the Queen's Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue, the acclaimed New 25th Anniversary Production at the Barbican (where the show originally premiered in 1985) and the celebratory concert at The O2.

Seen by nearly 65 million people worldwide in 43 countries and in 22 languages, "LES MISERABLES" is undisputedly one of the world's most popular musicals ever written, with new productions continually opening around the globe, with seven more currently scheduled. There have been 47 cast recordings of"LES MISERABLES", including the multi-platinum London cast recording, the Grammy Award-winning Broadway cast and complete symphonic albums, the live recording of the New 25th Anniversary Production and now the motion picture soundtrack which has sold over 1.5 million copies and has topped the iTunes charts. The DVDs of the 10th Anniversary Royal Albert Hall Gala Concert and the 25thAnniversary at the O2 Arena have sold millions of copies worldwide.

There are over 3,000 productions of the LES MISERABLES Schools' Edition scheduled or being performed by over 150,000 school children in the UK, US and Australia, making it the most successful musical ever produced in schools.

The 2012 Universal film version of "LES MISERABLES" co-produced by Cameron Mackintosh and Working Title Films, and directed by Tom Hooper has grossed $450 million worldwide to date. The film received the Golden Globe Award for Best Picture (Musical/Comedy) and received eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and won three Academy Awards. The film's soundtrack debuted at #1 on Billboard's Album chart and has sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide.

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 and additional material by James Fenton. The original London 1985 production of "LES MISERABLES" was adapted and directed by Trevor Nunn and John Caird.