The Times: "At 5:36, the Almeida Theatre's 'Les Misérables' three-month ticket pre-sale was all sold, setting a record for the fastest ticket sales since the introduction of the online ticketing system in London's West End. ”

At 9 a.m. on May 21, Les Misérables officially opened the pre-sale of all tickets for three months, but it only lasted 5 minutes and 36 seconds before the pre-sale was over. All the pre-sale tickets were sold, which not only set a historical record, but also detonated the topic, and everyone fell into shock and disbelief.

Even if everything really happened, it still can't be believed.

A day earlier, The Times had worriedly suggested that it would be better to lower expectations, and a day later, The Times had generously admitted that Les Misérables had brought vibrancy to London's West End and that it might be a turning point in the development of the theatre industry.

At the moment in 2012, the British acting scene still retains the strict academic tradition, just like the royal and aristocratic customs, and the British actors are still unimaginably stubborn and conservative. Every actor, if he wants to gain a firm foothold in the industry, or if he wants to be recognized by the industry, he must go through three stages:

The West End of London polishing can be a peripheral art repertoire, or a small role in a big repertoire, and the role of challenging oneself to break through can be a reversal of the image of a breakthrough, a role that can be a mad one's life, or a script that subverts oneself, and the focus is on jumping out of one's comfort zone.

Every actor, literally. Except, of course, idol vases.

Because of this, almost all British actors have returned to London's West End, no matter how big the name or how popular, no one is exempt.

Someone once wondered why Emma Watson is so popular, but there is really not much recognition in the industry?

In other words, London's West End has welcomed countless big names, as long as people have the number of British actors in their minds, they can be found in the West End.

Tom Hiddleston, Andrew Garfield, Daniel Radcliffe, Keira Knightley, Carey Mulligan, these new generation of popular actors, will leave the film industry for a while from time to time, not because they can't get new projects, but because they are back in the West End.

However, such a grand ticket sales has never happened - there has never been an actor who has truly driven the popularity and attention of the entire West End, and there has never been an actor who has truly impressed both professional drama critics and ordinary audiences, and there has never been an actor who has pushed the West End to the forefront.

Until today.

The pre-sale record of 5 minutes and 36 seconds, and all the tickets in three months, were all sold out. Tickets that could have taken three days or even a week to complete sales were sold in just five minutes and thirty-six seconds.

Such a momentum is appalling, and in the same way, such a record has never been recorded before, and it is estimated that there will be no one to come.

Even the Almeida Theater itself was frightened, and the official website immediately issued an announcement, "Thank you to the audience for their great support, and all the actors and all the staff of the entire crew once again express their sincere thanks." We will do our best to devote ourselves to the rehearsal, give a more wonderful performance, and repay your enthusiasm. ”

The three-month pre-sale has just ended, and the call for additional performances has already begun to spread on the Internet, and those who have not been able to buy tickets have begun to call for further additional performances and longer performances, looking forward to seeing the performances of Blue Rite in London's West End.

This is no longer incredible, it is simply unheard of.

Les Misérables has only been running for three days so far, and with three months to go, most audiences have not had time to enjoy the play, and it is too early to call for an "extra show".

If, at the end of the three-month performance, the audience again asks for additional performances and extensions after the time of the last performance has been determined, this is the real sign of the success of the play.

Obviously, this is impulsiveness and excitement, and it comes from Lan Li's appeal.

In the face of such a call, the Almeida Theater naturally cannot take it seriously, but it is still necessary to polish each performance step by step and down-to-earth -

Because the audience for each show is different. Any one oversight can lead to a complete collapse of word-of-mouth like dominoes. The trials of London's West End, in all aspects, in every corner, are everywhere, and the consequences of ignoring any bit are unacceptable.

Despite this, this still reflects the strong appeal of Lanli. The entire crew of "Les Miserables" was extremely excited, but also felt unprecedented pressure.

As soon as the tickets were sold, the media reporters flocked to the Almeida Theater to interview the actors of the crew as quickly as possible, and of course, the focus of the spotlight, Lan Li.

In the face of the scrambling voice recorders from all directions, almost poking himself in the face, such a scene is really too familiar, after three months, he returned to the spotlight again, Lan Li smiled dumbly, "I thought that London's West End would be quieter." ”

This ridicule made all the reporters laugh. Lan Li was obviously making fun of the low level of attention in the West End. As a result, a reporter in the crowd shouted, "Lan Li, you should learn to accept it." "It instantly made the laughter even more joyful.

Lan Li nodded with a smile on his face, indicating that he understood, "Of course, I am extremely grateful for the support of the audience, otherwise if the attendance rate is too bad, we don't know what to do." The half-joking joke made everyone laugh, "But, I sincerely hope that the audience will come to watch this drama blindly just because of rumors or because of the excitement." ”

In the face of the frenzy of the pre-sale stage, Lan Li still maintained a normal heart. Because he knows better than anyone that the film field and the theater circle are different, and the gap between them is not acceptable to every audience.

"First of all, it's six hours, and you have to be mentally prepared, secondly, before you watch the play, even if you don't have time to read the original, at least look through the synopsis of the story in Wikipedia, and then look through our official brochure to get an idea of the play, and finally, enjoy the charm of the stage, what makes the West End so magical is the actors and the audience. ”

Lan Li's answer was not so much a thank you as a guide, and she gave the audience some tips for watching the play, and then looked forward to more audiences learning to enjoy the stage play.

The Almeida Theatre's version of "Les Miserables" was a starting point, but Lan Li didn't want this to be the end. Perhaps, after watching "Les Miserables", the audience became interested in the theatre, and then began to watch other plays, and even often came to the West End to cheer on it, which is the driving force behind the artistic creation of the entire industry.

"Every actor in 'Les Miserables' is doing their best to give a top-notch performance. Every audience is welcome to come and pick thorns and urge us to keep improving. Lan Li sincerely extended the invitation, and then nodded politely, "I have to go in and rehearse now, otherwise, if the performance is messed up tonight, everyone will start to refund tickets, which will not be good." If I'm not mistaken, refunds are now fee-free, right?"

After saying that, Lan Li shook his head and walked into the Almeida Theater, leaving the reporters standing on the ground and looking at each other, and then laughing collectively.

The three-month performance is a long march, unlike the movie, when everything is over, whether the audience likes it or hates it, everything is already in place, and the big screens just play the same set of films repeatedly.

Therefore, there is no moment of relaxation in the stage play, and the clockwork must be readjusted every day. All the pre-sale tickets are sold out, which is the motivation, but also the pressure. It's just that all the actors, including Lan Li, especially the young actors, can they withstand the huge sense of oppression brought by such anticipation?

No one knows.

But what is certain is that from The Times to the Stage, from The Guardian to The Independent, and even the Financial Times, which has always targeted the elite, have all published relevant reports, and London's West End has truly become the hottest focus of attention in May.

For George Hall, it was an ordeal.

The Financial Times, which he thought was the last pure land, was aimed at London's most elite and high-end group, and was even hailed as a group capable of changing the course of the country, but now even this newspaper is covering the West End boom. George, there is nowhere to run.

George's muscles tensed, suppressed his emotions, folded the newspaper in his hand, placed it on the small table of afternoon tea, ignored the existence of the report as much as possible, and then saw the person pushing the door in.

George smiled decently, nodded his head, and the person who came came over, led by the waiter, until the other party approached, and then he got up politely, "Marquis Richard, good afternoon." ”

"Dear George, this is not a formal dinner occasion, there is no need to be so grand. The man smiled and looked up at the waiter and said, "Can you give me a glass of brandy?" God, the light rain today is really annoying, I need to drive away the cold. ”

After that, he looked at George, "So, is there any good news lately? Oh, by the way, I just heard the interesting news that the Almeida Theater has rehearsed a new version of 'Les Misérables', which has become a hot topic among the nobles, have you heard?"