In 1862, the French novelist Victor Hugo gave us Les Miserable, his work set in the Parisian underworld. Today, the novel is not half as well-known as the musical it inspired - often called Les Miz or Les Mis.

The musical tells the story of ex-convict Jean Valjean and his attempts to start a new life. Written by Claude-Michel Schönberg, it opened in September 1980 for what was supposed to be an eight-week run. It was so successful, however, that it ran for twice as long, shutting down only because the venue had been booked for other projects.