As of 2022, which is the longest-running musical at London's West End Theatre?

The West End's longest-running musical, 'Les Misérables', has been enjoyed by over 70 million people in 42 countries and in 22 languages around the globe. Directed by John Caird and Trevor Nunn and featuring a score by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, Cameron Mackintosh's original production opened in London at the Barbican Theatre on 8 October, 1985, where it went on to become a musical theater phenomenon. It includes hit songs such as “I Dreamed a Dream,” “Bring Him Home,” “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables,” and “Do You Hear the People Sing?" The original French musical premiered in Paris in 1980 with direction by Robert Hossein.

Adapted from the original epic 1862 novel by Victor Hugo, 'Les Misérables' is set against the backdrop of 19th-century France and tells a moving story of unrequited love, sacrifice, passion, redemption, and revolutionary spirit. The newly-free prisoner Jean Valjean builds a new, respectable life for himself but is hunted by the prison guard Javert, all while revolutionaries fight for freedom in France.

'Les Misérables' was nominated for 12 Tony Awards, of which it won 8, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. It has ran on Broadway (New York City) in 3 separate productions and has enjoyed numerous UK tours. Directed by Tom Hooper, the film adaptation of the show was released in cinemas in 2012 starring Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway. The film won 3 Academy Awards, 3 Golden Globe Awards and 4 British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA).