Les Miserables and Cinderella in Hollywood – Why We Need Creativity to Replenish Ourselves

We need beauty, music and art in our lives – more than we admit or give credit to it. Our senses long to be given pleasure and our soul to be nourished. Caught in the day-to-day routine, work and errands, we often forget and don’t make time to replenish ourselves and experience some of the divine expressions of human genius and creativity.

I’m talking about going to the theatre, ballet, opera, concert, museum, exhibition, book reading, garden show, festival and so on. These are just a few of the many ways we can connect to other people’s creative outlets and get recharged by it. I know it’s a matter of time, money and organisation but it’s definitely worth it. Let me share some of my recent interactions with art and how they affected me.

I have been given the ultimate pleasure of seeing one of the most famous and long performed plays at West End, London – “Les Miserables” by Victor Hugo.

It was a present for my birthday and I couldn’t have asked for a better gift. For me, experiences are much more valuable than material objects and make my heart full, glowing with the precious memories many years after.

There is something so special about getting ready for the theatre, choosing a dress, holding the tickets, finding your seats and this tingling anticipation of something incredible going to happen.

I can’t praise the play enough – from the manuscript based on the marvellous Victor Hugo, the extremely talented singing and dancing of the actors, the decors and props, the divine music and songs, the organisation and attention to detail – everything was perfect.

The strong message of Hugo for Liberty, Equality, Fraternity is as valid and powerful today as it was centuries ago. The exhilarated crowd, standing in ovation, mesmerized by the profound, emotional performance was just adding to the magic. As a sensitive and creative person, it was like heaven to me and I believe it affected deeply everyone in the audience.

Recently we’ve attended the ballet “Cinderella in Hollywood” – a different read of the popular tale, performed by the English Youth Ballet.

Children of various ages were dancing their hearts out in this amazing performance. There were so many troupes dancing in the different acts that when they gathered in the end, the stage could hardly take them all. I was astonished how much those kids love ballet in order to sustain the harsh discipline and devotion required for such performances. The dancing was accompanied by classical music, symphonies by the great Shostakovich and many more. They were a beautiful background for the gracious little dancers. It was a never-ending fairy of colours, textures, accessories, and children’s pure enthusiasm.

I was totally charmed by the performance and could only imagine what effect it would have had on the children watching in the audience and how it would subtly educate them to appreciate beauty and art.

I’m sharing these lovely experiences as a reminder for you to regularly schedule artistic performances in your life, and even more if you have children.

We’re contemporaries of a highly consumable culture and it’s more important than ever to connect with real art and the creativity of others. It widens our horizons, it’s a feast for all the senses, it recharges our batteries and reveals some of the beauty that we so much need in the mundane daily life. Next time you are wondering what to buy for a present to someone or yourself, buy tickets. When you feel stuck and can’t afford a holiday, go to the theatre. You will support the creative industries and nourish yourself. If you want to read more about expressing your creativity, you can read my article “How to Express Yourself Creatively and Detach from the Outcome”.

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