Out of a chorus of more than 300, they were selected to join stars like Matt Lucas and Michael Ball in renditions of the musical’s most famous solos.
Their journey to the Royal Albert Hall started in summer 2024 when renowned theatre producer Cameron Mackintosh launched the Let The People Sing project.
Performance rights for Les Misérables were released to amateur dramatics groups for the first time as part of a UK-initiative to mark the show’s 40th anniversary.
Community-wide productions were staged in 11 parts of the UK: Belfast, Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Nottingham, Norwich, Porthcurno (Cornwall) and Swansea.
Primary school teacher Boyd Rogers, from Lisburn, and barrister Karl McGuckin, from Dungannon, were cast as Javert in the Belfast production, which was staged with two rotating casts at the Grand Opera House in March.
Ulster University lecturer Samuel Moore, from Newtownabbey, shared the role of Jean Valjean.
Months after their show finished its run, the professional production company announced that it would be selecting 30 people from every group that staged the show to take part in a mass chorus for the show’s feature at the Royal Variety Performance in the Royal Albert Hall.