LES MISERABLES

Damian was persuaded to audition for a role in the hit musical 'Les Miserables', now in its 14th year. He was successful and joined the UK Touring Cast in 1998. He was cast as 'The Factory Foreman' and the student Courfeyrac, but also as the understudy of Jean Valjean.
He was fortunate enough to be able to play the role of Valjean several times at performances in Bradford, Edinburgh and Liverpool.

However, the big break for him came in 1999 in Dublin. The well-known Irish singer Colm Wilkinson, who had originated the role of Valjean, was back in his home town for a four-month run of the show. Late in March, Colm was ill with a throat complaint and Damian took over the role for a week. His performance for someone so young was extremely convincing.
His interpretation of the role led to him being offered the part of Valjean twice a week with the company.

Since Dublin, the tour has gone to Sheffield, Birmingham, Newcastle and Bristol. The tour ended at the end of March 2000 in Manchester.

24601 ... or Damian as he is known to you

Excerpts taken from an interview by Martin Hudson of the Classic Rock Society,

which appeared in the July 1999 issue of 'Wondrous Stories', The Journal of the Classic Rock Society

In 1998, a big change occurred in Damian's life. His solo album 'Cosmas' had been completed and he had nothing planned for the immediate future.

One day while out running, he bumped into a stranger, an actor who was at that time appearing in the popular English series 'Hollyoaks'. They got talking and the stranger had heard of Damian the singer and suggested the time was ripe for the theatre and suggested that he tried this avenue. A contact telephone number led Damian to London and eventually to an audition for the part of Jean Valjean or 24601 as he is known to the constable Javert in the show 'Les Misérables'

"I didn't know the first thing about Jean Valjean or Les Misérables. I knew more about Iron Maiden than Les Misérables and I thought the most obvious part for me was in Jesus Christ Superstar, but in fact they thought I would be better in the part of Jean Valjean. So I went to see Jesus Christ Superstar and when I'd seen it, basically, I thought I could do that, I could do that tomorrow. Then when I saw Les Misérables, I thought I couldn't do it and I couldn't understand why they thought that I would be able to do it. My acting wasn't very good either and I thought that it was beyond me and there was no way I could do it and I told them I couldn't act'

When I was at school I was always very keen on acting, but basically was one of the nice guys at the back. Then in my last year at school I did get the chance to do some acting. We rehearsed hard and then before we were to perform it they pulled it. The play depended very much on my acting skills and when they pulled it, I was convinced it was because my acting was so bad and
I couldn't remember my lines".

So acting is not one of Damian's strong points by his own admission, but if you have caught one of his performances as Jean Valjean you would surely have to disagree with the man himself. Practice makes perfect you might say.

"Well I don't think about my acting anymore. With Jean Valjean I feel so much a part of him, when I'm doing it I just go with it".

While touring Damian has been official understudy to Phil Cavill for the part of Jean Valjean while also playing the Factory Foreman and student Courfeyrac.

"Well I'm pleased to say that I am no longer the official understudy, but yes I was the understudy and there is a lot of adapting for the whole cast throughout the tour.

When I turned up for the first audition for the part of Jean Valjean, I had nothing prepared at all.
I didn't really know what to expect, I didn't have a clue. I didn't know whether I would have to sing scales or sing a song. I had nothing prepared at all but it was great to go to the Palace Theatre and do the audition. You actually audition on your own but there are dozens there auditioning for the parts".

Once Damain had the part(s), he then had several weeks of rehearsal. Everyone else had either come from acting school or had some experience while Damian had none. A daunting thought!

"No not really because I didn't know what I was letting myself in for. I was taking each step at a time, particularly I think because at that time my personal and family life were crazy and I was just going along with it all. To be honest, I didn't really see myself touring for fourteen months or more. I don't know what I thought was going to happen".

The first show was in Southampton and then the fourteen months to date have taken him to Bradford, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Dublin and then the Sheffield Arena.

High and low points?

"Oh yeah, plenty of them. High points include making so many amazing new friends. It's back to the comradeship of school days really, but more so. The sort of friends that I thought that I would never have again. When the cast disbands that would be a low spot. It's a great tour and any kind of challenge is good and this is a great show and a great compliment to be able to play Jean Valjean. The chance to play the role at The Point in Dublin for a week with fans travelling from Australia and America expecting to see eight shows with the great Colm Wilkinson playing Valjean and then getting eight shows of Damian Wilson instead - it was amazing and the fans were so fantastic. I saw Jeff Leyton do the show in Edinburgh and he's a well known Valjean and he is Scottish. When I saw him do the show, I thought it was amazing to see it. You don't really see it when you are in the show. When you're on stage and you're doing the show and you're doing the show every night you just don't think about it. You don't think how great and emotional it is. I saw the show and wept. It really surprised me, but you do become the character when you are on stage".

The character Valjean goes through various phases of his life, starting off in 1815 after 19 years in prison and he dies by the end of the show. How difficult is it to adapt to so many different stages of life in one evening?

"I really don't think about it. You get there emotionally, you drain yourself emotionally and dig deep emotionally in to things that have happened in your own past and for whatever reason that has brought these emotions through. You dig deep into these situations and you understand them. I don't have to have gone to acting school to understand these emotions. There are some great actors who have played this character and I don't come anywhere near them. When I play this part I can just be playing part of myself and there is a lot of me in that part".

The last night must be a bit like the end of term at school.

"It is, or is it the beginning of term because when you start somewhere new, you have a party for the press and local celebrities to help sell the show. Often they want to know if you have a party at the end of the show. But what happens is although the actors finish and go back to where they came from, the guys in the wigs and wardrobe departments have so much work to do, that it doesn't feel like the end. It's just continual really".

Unlike many of the others in the cast of Les Misérables, Damian Wilson comes from a rock music background. Many would think that singing with Landmarq or Threshold and being on stage in front of 3.500 people playing Jean Valjean would be totally different with variations of nerves?

"The great thing about fronting a band is that you do what you want to do. There is that complete freedom and that's great. The other lovely thing about the band is that you tend to meet the people. When you are with the show you don't meet the people, you are so detached from the audience which you don't really appreciate until you are in it. You need to go out front to hear them talk about how wonderful the show was. You forget about this because you're doing the show every night and it can get just like work. With Jean Valjean you can't afford to have that attitude, you have to go in there and give everything".

There are some very special moments in Les Miserables, such as when Valjean sings 'Bring Him Home', a beautiful ballad. Watching Damian perform this song made me think how fantastic it must be to play such a role and have the ability to sing such a song and totally captivate an audience. Does he ever, in those quiet moments on stage, think 'Wow it's me'?

"No, but when I first played the part a couple of times I might have thought, 'what if I go wrong' or what if I forget my words', it would be disastrous. Whenever I've thought something like that,
I may have forgotten my words and then have to dig myself out of it. But when you are playing it and once you do know the part there's a reality about it and you don't think about the audience".

And so with all the excitement of the past eighteen months or so behind him, where would he like to be in, say, twelve months time?

"I'd love to play the part in the West End", Damian chips in immediately.

The show now leaves Sheffield and South Yorkshire, an area where Damian has enjoyed his stay. Les Mis., as it is fondly known to many fans now moves to Birmingham. Damian will no longer be playing the role of the Factory Foreman, only that of Valjean. Mondays and Tuesdays are the days to see Damian play the lead role, but are there other parts in the musical that he would liked to have played?

"There's not, no. The funny thing is you look at some of the actors and they play several parts.
I could never play Javert, for instance, it's just not my sort of character, he's a very judgmental character. I feel I can relate more to Valjean"

Before that life-changing meeting on the towpath back in Surrey, it would be honest to say that Damian Wilson's knowledge of the theatre and shows in general was very limited. Now after fourteen months with Les Miserables ,are there other parts that he might like to conquer?

"You know the answer to that, Martin", Damian says with a big smile on his face, "I'd love to play Jesus Christ for sure just because wherever I go and see posters I think he looks like me. The show is in Woking at the moment and people keep looking at me curiously as if to say, 'That's him' (laughing).

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