Simon ParkinWith the 25th anniversary production of Les Miserables enjoying a sell-out run at the Theatre Royal, SIMON PARKIN seesk out 10 facts about this amazing record-breaking musical.Simon Parkin

1. Les Mis�rables had its world premiere October 8, 1985 at the Barbican Theatre in London and transferred to the Palace Theatre in the West End on December 4, 1985.

2. 58 productions of Les Mis have played in 38 countries and in 227 cities. There are currently five productions playing around the world, including in the Czech Republic, Germany and Mexico.

3. Over 51 million people worldwide have seen Les Mis�rables. The box office gross is now more than $1.8 billion and counting, with almost 40,000 performances have taken place.

4. The musical has scooped more than 50 major theatre awards, including eight 1987 Tony Awards (including Best Musical), two Grammy Awards and many gold and platinum discs.

5. There have been 31 cast recordings internationally, with the Original London Cast Recording awarded triple-platinum status in the UK and Gold status awarded to three US recordings: the Original Broadway Cast, the Complete Symphonic Recording and the Complete Symphonic Recording Highlights.

6. On June 22, 2002, Les Mis�rables made history becoming the first Broadway musical to ever play in China. The three-week engagement played to sold out crowds at the Shanghai Grand Theatre in Shanghai, China.

7. The musical has been translated into 23 languages: Argentinean, Castilian, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, Flemish, French, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Japanese, Mauritian Creole, Mexican, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish.

8. The song One Day More was used for Bill Clinton's 1992 US Presidential Campaign. Do You Hear The People Sing? was played over news broadcasts from the student protest in Tianamen Square. Bring Him Home was used as background on promotional material about the US troops engaged in the Gulf War.

9. In America, the show has played in 145 cities in 43 states. The only states that have not yet hosted it are Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming.

10. There are approximately 101 cast and crew members directly involved in every performance. Each performance uses 392 costumes, consisting of 1,782 items and 20 wigs.