Meet the cast of Les Miserablés! (Part 2)
With Asia’s first amateur production of Les Miserablés coming to theatres on the 1st of October, it’s time to meet the cast.
Here’s what they had to say about their character and what it’s like to play the role.
Monsieur Thénardier : Sean Amarasekera and Reihan Stephen
How do you channel his character?
Sean : His character is very fun to play. You come on and steal the show. Give a whole ‘I’m bad and I’m having a marvellous time’ kind of vibe. We have to do a lot of physical work into our act. We watch each other play the role and we try to fix whatever flaws we see. We each have different strengths but how we integrate is seamless to make it look effortless.
Because your character requires a lot of physical work, how exhausting is it to sing and dance at the same time?
Reihan : From a singing point of view it’s not that much of a strain because the singing needs to be ugly (I can see my music teacher cringing!). Mostly it’s exhausting because we need to be live and energetic and give the audience a break and a laugh.
Madame Thénardier - Kumudini David and Shanuki De Alwis
What is it like to play the ‘evil’ character in the story?
Shanuki : it’s super fun! When I saw it on Broadway I immediately wanted to be her. I didn’t get the role initially and I was so disappointed but then later, Jerome saw me doubling and liked what he saw. I was so happy to get to play her - she’s so evil and fun to portray. The play can be so depressing at times and we are the comic relief.
With two of you playing the same character, how did you’ll synchronize?
Kumuduni : We both play two different versions of the character. I portray the character a lot darker and act more aggressive towards my husband. The way I portray the character also changes with whoever is playing Thénardier. With Sean, I’m a more sharper evil than I am with Reihan. But it’s not that hard to switch and synchronize.
Fantine : Melanie Bibile and Yanitra Kumaraguru
Her character - though only there for a short period of time, is pretty powerful. What does she represent to you?
Yanitra : Its challenging and amazing to play her. She’s really strong and she does a lot of things for her child. If not for Fantine, Valjean and Cossette wouldn’t have what they have. So it’s great to play a character that has such an impact on how the story goes.
Fantine’s character changes pretty rapidly. Being a factory worker, getting into prostitution and then her untimely death - all happens very fast. Is that a tough progression to act out?
Melanie : Well, the entire character is emotionally very hard. Yes I have to physically and mentally feel what a woman in that kind of trauma and pain would go through. And then her untimely death brings on so much anguish for her in terms of her craving for her daughter and what would become of the little one. The character I need to portray is built up in pain and suffering. However I must tell you that I love the role I have been give - it helps me to understand abused women in a whole new light.
Interviewed by Panchali Illankoon
Photographs by Indraratna Balasuriya
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