Toddler’s adorable reaction to seeing their mum perform in Les Misérables

Rachelle Ann Go has been playing Les Misérables tragic figure Fantine for a decade. The mother-of-two never dreamed she’d be so lucky.

“It’s a dream come true,” she tells 9honey ahead of the show’s opening as part of the Les Misérables Arena Spectacular, touring Australia now.

“I started doing this show ten years ago when I was back in London, when I was still young. So that’s how it all started,” she shares.

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“I played the role of Fantine and then I just kept doing the show and then I had two babies, right after the pandemic,” she says.

When she was asked to join the Australian tour, she jumped at the chance.

“Doing a concert is a dream for me,” she says of the reimagined production of the Cameron Smith spectacular.

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Ann Go, 38, began her career as a singer and an actress before getting her big break in theatre, starting by playing Ariel in The Little Mermaid in 2011, followed by Tarzan‘s Jane Porter.

Next she joined the West End revival of Miss Saigon, playing Gigi, and Eliza in acclaimed musical Hamilton, in addition to Les Mis – each of the roles “powerful” women.

“It’s privilege to be able to do that,” she says.

“In the Philippines I started pop music 20 years ago,” she adds, adding that she eventually wanted a “new challenge”.

“And then Miss Saigon, the London production went to the Philippines in 2012 so I just auditioned for that… and then I got a role for Miss Saigon,” she says.

Ann Go feels she has grown as a performer and as “a human being” since first playing Fantine, and finds she brings all that growth to the role.

“When I first did it, I was young; I wasn’t married yet, I didn’t have two kids, so it’s a different attraction playing the role once I became a mum,” she says.

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“I feel like I just want to cry, because I got to know the character even more. What I find most compelling is how, despite her suffering, her love and sacrifice ultimately changed the course of the story.

“Even in tragedy I feel like there’s always redemption. That’s the whole Les Misérables story. It’s powerful.”

“I feel like I just want to cry, because I got to know the character even more.”

Ann Go has brought her two children Lukas, four, and Sela, two, with her for this production, and brought them along to see her perform during a technical rehearsal.

”They were singing, ‘Look down, look down!’ It’s the cutest thing ever but they’re like, ‘Mama there are bad guys. They’re mean to you’.

“They understand. They see what is happening and they feel it, which is amazing.”

She can never be far away from them, even though travelling with a family “is hard”.

“My daughter is actually sick at the moment and I’m getting the bug as well so we’re all struggling – but we are here, we are doing it. But they’re having fun as well,” she says.

“I mean it’s a holiday for them you know, traveling and seeing the world.”

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This World Arena tour marks the 40th anniversary of the iconic musical which is still playing on London’s West End, and features an international alumni cast and orchestra of over 65 people live on stage.

The genesis of the Arena Spectacular can be traced back to the original concert adaption of Les Misérables which was first performed in Sydney in 1989 and starred Australian theatre royalty Marina Prior who played Cosette.

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Past Australian stars of the show have included David Campbell, Nikki Webster and Normie Rowe, all of whom joined the cast on stage after the show had ended for a sing along, much to the delight of the assembled crowed.

This arena spectacular also stars Little Britain’s Matt Lucas who plays troublesome Monsieur Thénardier, the inn keeper.

Les Misérables the Arena Spectacular is currently running at Sydney’s ICC before moving to Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena from May 14 and then to Brisbane’s Entertainment Centre from May 28.

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