Nathania Ong brings her Eponine to Singapore for Les Miserables The Arena Spectacular World Tour
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Singaporean actress Nathania Ong will play the tragic street waif Eponine in the Les Miserables The Arena Spectacular World Tour, to be staged at Sands Theatre from March 2026.
PHOTO: JOHAN PERSSON
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SINGAPORE – Come March 2026, Singapore will hear the people sing – and one voice will be distinctly our own.
Singaporean stage actress Nathania Ong will be bringing her breakout role of Eponine from the famed musical Les Miserables back home when the Les Miserables The Arena Spectacular World Tour performance is staged at Sands Theatre.
The show’s run will be extended for three weeks. It will be performed 56 times from March 24 to May 10. All shows will feature the London-based 27-year-old, who first came into prominence when she played the tragic Eponine in Les Miserables on the West End in 2022.
Ong will be joined by Argentine actor Geronimo Rauch, 47, and Australian actor Jeremy Secomb, 52 – who take on the two male lead roles of peasant Jean Valjean and police inspector Javert respectively.
Les Miserables The Arena Spectacular was conceived and developed by British theatrical producer Cameron Mackintosh to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Les Miserables, the world’s longest-running musical.
The critically acclaimed production’s staging, lighting and visual design have been reimagined to deliver a cinematic experience for a large-scale stage production. It features a complete set, the full cast in costume and a live orchestra, transitioning between scenes without the use of traditional set changes.
Launched in Britain and Europe in September 2024, it has played in cities such as Milan, Abu Dhabi and Sydney, and ended its Japan run in Nagoya on Sept 28. It is set to travel to Shanghai in November and December, and Manila from January to March, before it arrives here.
Ong has been part of the show on some legs since November 2024.
Over a Zoom interview from Nagoya on Sept 26, she told The Straits Times: “It feels like a dream that I get to bring this production onto home soil and perform for all of my friends. Many have never seen me perform this role, which has changed my life. It is a very special moment, and I am very excited.”
She tread the boards as Eponine in the United Kingdom and Ireland tour from 2021 to 2022, before moving on to London’s West End theatre district in 2022.
She returned home to play Cinderella in local theatre company Pangdemonium’s Into The Woods in 2023, before heading back to Britain to portray American founding father Alexander Hamilton’s dutiful wife Eliza in the West End production of Hamilton from 2024 to 2025.
Unlike Les Miserables the musical, the spectacular will feature screens on both sides of the stage showing close-ups of the characters performing, Ong said.
“Even if you’re in the back row, you can see the actors’ expressions and their eyes. That really helps to convey the emotions. Getting to face the audience also allows a more direct relationship with them.”
Les Miserables has been staged in Singapore three times – at Kallang Theatre in 1994 and 1996, and Esplanade Theatre in 2016.
In addition, her first time performing at Sands Theatre will be “amazing”, Ong said, having seen The Lion King there in 2011, Jersey Boys in 2013, Wicked in 2016 and Aladdin in 2019.
“I have been very blessed to be a spectator there, and now being a performer feels so special.”
Nathania Ong was the first Singaporean to play the role of Eponine in the West End production of Les Miserables in 2022.
PHOTO: LES MISERABLES THE ARENA SPECTACULAR WORLD TOUR
Her main solo number is On My Own, where her character expresses her unrequited love for her best friend Marius. It will be delivered with the same passion as in the theatrical musical, she promised.
When not on stage, the only Singaporean among the more than 65-strong cast and orchestra plans to take her colleagues around the island to try local dishes such as char kway teow, nasi lemak and satay; and visit attractions like Universal Studios Singapore. She might even take them on a day trip to Johor Bahru.
She typically returns home at least once a year, and stays for between a week and a few months each time.
While the youngest of four girls will be put up in a hotel during the show’s run here, she plans to visit her family whenever possible.
Her dentist father and homemaker mother are in their 60s. Two of her older sisters – pre-school teacher Rachel and real estate agent Angelica – live in Singapore, while a third sister, Kimberley, works in fashion and resides in Madrid, Spain.
Book it/Les Miserables The Arena Spectacular World Tour
Where: Sands Theatre, Marina Bay Sands, 10 Bayfront Avenue str.sg/N3eE str.sg/dMJk Klook str.sg/KLnb
When: March 24 to May 10; 8pm (Tuesdays to Saturdays), 2pm (Saturdays), 1 and 6.30pm (Sundays)
Admission: $88 to $258 via Marina Bay Sands (
