So last night me and my girlfriend went to see Les Mis in London and we were talking about how differently every production presents Enjolras and Grantaire's dynamic — whether it is one-sided longing, reciprocated, a bit overlooked or very much back and forth, etc etc.
Let me just being to say that last night's Grantaire was absolutely perfect. I could clearly tell there was a whole characterisetion that had been established and that came out in the little details. He was a skeptical Grantaire, yes, but there was more to it— almost a frustration in the awareness of his inability to avoid what is inevitably going to come. This Grantaire — ad this was a detail I loved— was truluy part of this group, lots of students had many interactions with him in a very familiar/comfortable way, and even the scolding that happened from time to time was light, not as repetitive and insistent as I've seen it before. Grantaire was very much part of that group, he had his own established role.
With Enjolras, let me just say that there were a lot of very interesting decisions that were made in terms his and Grantaire's positions on stage. There were multiple moments when the two would stand in a diagonal way— with Enjolras always being in the highest corner of the frame (either on top of the barricade or on the stairs of the Musain) and Grantaire being on the bottom corners, always diagonal to Enjolras, always a few steps away from the other students who were naturally drawn to their leader. This was truly a beautiful composition, it really helped to oppose them but also draw a connection between them.
Then, to go back to the E and R dynamic I was talking about before, at one point, my girlfriend said to me, "They are already dating in this". And let me tell you it made so much sense.
Grantaire's bits during Red and Black were acknowledge by Enjolras, but he didn't stand there glaring at him or trying to get him to sit down/put his wine away the whole time. It almost felt like Enjolras was used to this— not to him being, well, Grantaire, because that is obvious in every single production, but to him having his opinion on the Revolution, on their ideals, on Enjolras, on their friends— in this, it felt as if Enjolras had already acknowledged Grantaire's voice, had already understood it and kept it in the back of his mind, as a "i know you, I don't agree with you, but I know where you stand, because we've talked about this". That is why the scolding didn't feel as severe, why it almost felt as Enjolras didn't acknowledge him much during Red and Black, when in reality, he was always aware of what Grantaire was doing or saying, despite him being busy discussing things with the other students. There was a familiarity, I think, with the presence of the other.
(Of course Grantaire's staring at Enjolras when Marius was raving about Cosette and about a love so strong that comes without a warning and completely takes over you didn't go unnoticed, I feel like it deserves an honourable mention.)
And then. Then, when they were on stage at one point, right after Do You Hear The People Sing, there was a brief moment where Enjolras was the one being playful with Grantaire, gently shoving the flag towards him, and then at one point he leaned in, both of them face to face, Enjolras' mouth already open because he was singing— let me tell you I would suspect I was gaslighting myself, but since my girlfriend had the same reaction as me (our mouths dropped open) I feel better about affirming that it looked like Enjolras was going in for a kiss, then pulled away last second. Now, whether that was intentional or not, it doesn't really matter, does it? And regardless, I wouldn't exclude the intention behind it because we have seen several instances of Enjolras kisses on stage. I'm just saying.
Finally, the barricade. Drink With Me? The way Grantaire sang the line "is your life just one more lie?" Altered my brain chemistry, because I've never heard it delivered in such an intimate, betrayed way, the sorrow was there, the awareness that Grantaire was going to lose Enjolras and everyone else, the way he whispered the word "lie", in such a resigned, tired, hurt way. Like the two of them have had that conversation before. The way Enjolras grabbed his arm, and there was no surprise from Grantaire, no pause to think "oh he's finally acknowledged me", he only shook Enjolras' hand off him and walked away, he looked broken. And this is why we said this didn't feel like an unrequited sort of longing, or like Enjolras had not acknowledged him until that point, or like Enjolras was being stern and only focused on the Revolution, on the other students' morale. No, this felt like Grantaire finally giving up to the idea that this is going to happen, it's a "I wish you could change your mind" knowing that it won't happen, not because Enjolras doesn't care, but because they have had this conversation before and they've never agreed on it and this is now inevitable. The care was there, you could see it so clearly.
When the National Guard began shooting, Grantaire didn't even flinch. When all his friends died on the barricade, he slowly made his way to the same spot where Enjolras had been shot, looked over at the National Guard, yelled to catch their attention and let them shoot him— no attempt at fighting back, no "vive la république", because that is not the reason he will be killed— only a yell to catch their attention and the awareness that this is what it was going to be all along, the moment he'd lose Enjolras, his friends, he'd lose himself too.
Rant is over now, but I just want to say one more time how perfect this whole cast was, how perfectly put together the whole show felt— every scene made sense, everything flew, every actor clearly knew their character inside out. If you do have a chance to watch it, then do so, you won't be sorry.
