Les Misérables

Following its run at the Théâtre du Châtelet, the musical returns in spring 2026 for a tour in France. Nominated for a Molières award in the musical show category, the adaptation of Victor Hugo’s work—seen by more than 130 million spectators worldwide—will be presented in a new staging by Ladislas Chollat. Forty-six years after its first stage adaptation in 1980, this French-language production, whose libretto has been revised by Alain Boublil, offers a chance to rediscover many songs that have become classics: “J’avais rêvé,” “À la volonté du peuple,” “Mon histoire,” “Le grand jour.” The production Les Misérables will be presented on 26 April 2026 at 12:30 PM at the Zénith de Lille.

In service of the text, Ladislas Chollat’s staging emphasizes the complexity of the characters through their symbolic dimension: Jean Valjean’s redemption, Cosette’s innocence, Javert’s antagonism, the Thénardiers’ greed, and Gavroche’s courage. As a painter of the human soul, Victor Hugo spares no shade. “The heroes of Les Misérables are depicted down to the smallest recesses of their souls, in both their shadowed and illuminated parts,” the director explains. The various tableaux follow one another amid a flow of sets (barricades, the Thénardiers’ inn, a ballroom, the sewers of Paris) that occupy the stage. The artistic company comprises 64 actors and musicians, for a performance lasting nearly three hours. Victor Hugo’s fresco, with music by Claude-Michel Schönberg and a libretto by Alain Boublil, still resonates today.