Les Misérables announces nationwide 40th anniversary community performance tour

Cameron Mackintosh and Music Theatre International (MTI) have announced a new UK-wide amateur theatre project, “Let the People Sing,” to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Boublil and Schönberg’s musical Les Misérables.

The initiative, running from March to August 2025, will feature 11 community-wide productions across the country. For the first time, amateur groups in the UK have been invited to stage the full show while it continues its successful run in London’s West End. The selected cities include Belfast, Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Nottingham, Norwich, Porthcurno (Cornwall), and Swansea.

Each of the 11 amateur societies will act as lead producers in their respective venues, collaborating with other local groups to produce community-wide productions. These groups will receive support and guidance from the West End and international associate creative teams to develop their original, non-replica productions.

Open casting calls for all 11 productions will be announced locally.

Mackintosh explained: “The phenomenon of Les Misérables continues to break new ground, just as Victor Hugo’s novel has since it was first published in 1862.

“The world’s longest running musical was first made available to students under 19 (in an edited schools’ edition) in 2002, to mark the bicentennial of Victor Hugo’s birth.

“As we approach the extraordinary landmark of the 40th record-breaking year of the iconic musical’s London run, alongside countless productions around the world, we are delighted to invite 11 of our leading amateur companies in the UK to stage, for the first time, the entire show in their own productions. This will involve many hundreds of amateur performers around the country, becoming part of our own yearlong celebrations.

“The success of this much-loved musical was famously made by the public – not the early critics – so what better way to enjoy this unprecedented event, than Let the People Sing!”

Sean Gray, Managing Director of MTI’s London office said: “MTI cherishes our amateur theatre companies.  They bring our musicals to the whole country, including to towns and areas not regularly visited by national touring productions.  They nurture and develop talent in a unique and invaluable way, as well as providing opportunities for everyone who loves performing and making theatre to be a part of productions on all the country’s stages. Many of the great shows live on in amateur productions, often decades after their initial productions in the West End or on Broadway.

Although we have been able to license thousands of productions of Les Misérables School Edition to schools and youth groups, the remarkable success of the West End production in London and on tour means it hasn’t been possible to offer the show to our major amateur companies. But for one year, we are thrilled to have this opportunity to invite amateur theatre companies across the UK to produce eleven local productions, which we hope will be genuine local community projects. We already know how much excitement the project will generate, and we are really looking forward to guiding everyone towards a great national amateur celebration of Les Misérables in 2025 to mark the 40th anniversary of the London production. Let the people sing!”

The project will be staged at the following venues and dates: Grand Opera House Belfast (4 to 8 March 2025), Grand Theatre Leeds (3 to 12 April 2025), King’s Theatre Glasgow (23 to 27 April 2025), Minack Theatre Porthcurno (25 to 30 May 2025), Theatre Royal Nottingham (27 to 31 May 2025), the Alexandra Birmingham (10 to 14 June 2025), Norwich Theatre Royal (2 to 6 July 2025), Liverpool Empire (3 to 5 July 2025), Grand Theatre Swansea (10 to 19 July 2025), Bristol Hippodrome (12 to 16 August 2025) and Theatre Royal Brighton (13 to 23 August 2025).

A starry arena tour production will commence later this year as well.

Sign up for our newsletters for more.