💍review: lord of the rings musical 2023 revival (watermill theatre)💍
💍review: lord of the rings musical 2023 revival (watermill theatre)💍
NOT SPOILER FREE! my review of the watermill theatre’s beautiful revival of the 2007 west end musical, the lord of the rings: a musical tale. let me show some love.
💍your friendly neighbourhood fangirl’s video: • what happened to the lord of the ring…
💍‘full bootleg’ of west end version user’s page: https://www.youtube.com/@lordoftherin…
💍production photos by pamela raith: https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/the…
💍rehearsal photos from the watermill theatre: https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/the…
💍 interview with the watermill’s artistic director, paul hart: https://www.newburytoday.co.uk/news/l…
music credits:
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♪ This Is For You (Prod. by Lukrembo)
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♪ Home (Prod. by Lukrembo)
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♪ Teapot (Prod. by Lukrembo)
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#lordoftherings #lotr #lordoftheringsmusical #lotrmusical #thelordoftherings #thelordoftheringsamusicaltale #thewatermilltheatre #newbury #uktheatre #westendtheatre #westend #theatre #musicaltheatre
Content
0.18 -> I first heard about the Lord of the Rings musical
I think somewhere in my late teens -- certainly
6.12 -> far too late to ever get the actual chance to see
it since its West End version closed in 2008. In
12.96 -> the years since I've longed desperately
to see it performed in some capacity,
17.52 -> although I didn't hold out much hope
what with it being remembered by most
21.42 -> as a hugely expensive flop -- which is a
horrible legacy for such a beautiful piece.
27.18 -> Still, I thought I'd have to be content with the
album and also THIS particular bootleg somebody
33.6 -> on YouTube put together using all available
video clips and photographs -- really a very
39.48 -> dedicated piece of archiving, but not the
most watchable thing in the world. Still,
44.76 -> I-- uh-- you know, very grateful for it! But
imagine my surprise when I saw the news that
51.12 -> there was indeed going to be a revival
here in the UK, in this the year 2023.
56.58 -> Cue me absolutely pacing around on the room.
My heart was pounding like I was in fight or
63.3 -> flight mode -- was this for real!? I--
I texted my sister immediately-- Newbury
68.64 -> is such a long away from us, but we told
each other well there was no choice! Uh,
73.5 -> we had to go. We had to go There And Back Again.
77.1 -> Luckily for us my partner Toby is
also a Lord of the Rings fan and
82.02 -> is in possession of both a driver's license
and a car. So I booked tickets in a frantic,
87.54 -> hurried, fugue sort of a state,
and when the day came around,
90.96 -> we picked up our party and we set off about
noon, arriving in Newbury at around 6PM.
97.2 -> It was the longest drive that Toby has ever done
-- a 400-ish mile round trip in total as we went
104.52 -> 'there and back again' in one day -- although
the return journey took us into the early hours
109.38 -> of the next day. We attended the third preview
performance on the 27th of July 2023. This means
117.24 -> that what we saw may differ to what will be seen
by audiences after the official Opening Night,
121.56 -> although considering that this is a show that has
previously been staged - although in a completely
125.7 -> different way - uh, changes are likely to
be minor. Um... on a brief stopover for a
132.42 -> packed lunch, a gentleman walking a splendid
dog named Ernie said to me "did I overhear
138.12 -> you saying you're going to see the Lord of the
Rings musical? I saw it in London years ago."
143.58 -> And he had this look on his face like
he was remembering the strangest night
147.66 -> of his life. This is a reaction that I
was expecting and was prepared for, uh,
152.52 -> given the general opinion that circulates
these days about the Lord Of The Rings
156.36 -> Musical -- but I assured him that I knew
that what I was going to see would be
161.52 -> something that I would love every second of.
He looked non-plussed, but wished as well.
167.7 -> Also the car we were using for our trip
was electric and we were really starting
171.3 -> to get down for the dregs as we got closer to our
destination. This is me willing the car to charge
177 -> quickly and not have any problems because, oh--
just really just needed to get there, you know.
182.64 -> A few hours later we arrived at
the Watermill theatre in Bagnor,
188.16 -> Newbury. A water mill has apparently always
been there, but in the 1960s was bought by
194.7 -> David Gollins and turned it into an intimate
theatre, though I think it had been originally
199.62 -> intended to be a cathedral. There apparently
remain some original beams and corn chutes.
205.08 -> Here I am with a big rusty looking wheel that
I presume was also once part of it -- and it is
211.02 -> absolutely the perfect place for a production
of The Lord of the Rings Musical to be put on.
215.76 -> My partner described the place itself as
"Magical. Perhaps even Garden of Eden-like."
221.7 -> It's been done up with string lights, and
there's a willow ring photo op -- we even
227.88 -> got to see a pair of The Watermill's famous
Muscovy ducks which looked huge. There were
233.34 -> also smaller willow rings to purchase at the
merch table along with programmes, and it does
239.16 -> seem that since the official opening night there
are now also tote bags available for purchase.
245.1 -> I'm now going to go into the review part
so if you're looking for someone to give
249.18 -> you a glowing recommendation without
any spoilers then let me quickly do
252.96 -> that now -- Please go and see it if you can!
It's wonderful, it's a glowing performance,
257.88 -> it was one of the most wonderful nights of my
life. And it might be one of yours too! Uh,
263.28 -> the combination of the new directio, the use
of puppetry, the skills of the actor-musicians,
267.9 -> the magic of the projection to transform
the space and create the otherworldly,
273.3 -> fantastical setting... all combined to make a
production that is so unique, and unexpected,
278.46 -> especially to those who are familiar
with the Toronto and West End versions,
282.24 -> but to those who aren't -- it's a fresh take on
the Lord of the Rings, certainly it's different
287.46 -> from the films of course, being a musical, though
it leans strongly into the musicality of Tolkien's
292.62 -> novels. After all he did write some songs in them
if I remember right. It will certainly transport
299.1 -> you to Middle Earth and it's just-- it's-- it's
a wonderful-- it's wonderful. It's wonderful.
305.04 -> From now the rest of the video will absolutely
not be spoiler free. If you're going to go and
309.84 -> see it for yourself, wait until you've done that,
and then please come back and watch this! Uh,
314.34 -> if you're happy to hear spoilers as I gush
about how wonderful a time I had then play on!
318.6 -> So let us return to the setting: the Gardens at
the Watermill theatre. Once it hit 7 PM that's
324.54 -> when Bilbo's Birthday Party begins and we are
led into the outdoor stage area around which
329.52 -> are placed several picnic tables and benches.
My group choose to sit next to the covered area
334.68 -> where we saw some musical instruments were
placed-- um, which unfortunately did put us
339.3 -> out of the range of the hobbits who doing
ring toss games. It did seem on the night
342.9 -> that we went that the tables were reserved so we
probably wouldn't have gotten a chance anyway.
347.52 -> Um, but other hobbits were bringing around a
little ball on a string like flippy type game
354.12 -> for everyone to try -- my group did, we all got
three attempts each and none of us succeeded. But
359.46 -> it's very fun to try. Uh, and fun in general to
get to chat with the hobbits who welcomed us in
364.08 -> as if we were also Hobbits, and were asking like
"where's all your food come on we're hungry" uh,
368.94 -> we joked with them about how far we had traveled,
we were like "we've come from Manchester." They
372.6 -> were like "Manchesterford!" Um, very silly. And
they were like... "how many horses and carriages
377.46 -> would it take you to to get from Manchesterford
to-- to the Shire." It's just so fun, so silly.
383.34 -> Um, anyway you get to see them just like
juggling and playing around and it's splendid.
387 -> And this of course is the semi-immersive
part that the show sort of advertises, uh,
393.78 -> the framing of the entire sort of thing
is that it's being told by Hobbits from
398.94 -> the perspective of Hobbits, and we too as
the audience are welcomed as Hobbits. Uh,
404.94 -> all cast members bar the one playing Gandalf
start out at hobbits, by the end only those
410.34 -> who like leave on the boat, uh, plus Aragorn
and Arwen have remained as their like named
415.02 -> characters. So those that played Boromir,
Legolas, and Gimli are back to being Hobbits.
420.3 -> So you are able to interact directly
with the hobbits first at the start
423.9 -> during the party but also at the end during
the rebuilding of the Shire towards the end,
428.52 -> uh-- when the four Hobbit characters return
to the Shire so do we too the audience, uh,
433.38 -> return to the outdoor stage - where we discover
that the picnic tables and benches have all been
437.76 -> toppled over to represent the ransacked Shire.
And this was something that felt particularly
442.8 -> special though it was maybe just a small thing,
really. Having us as audience members help the
447.18 -> performers turn the seating the right way up,
uh, really gives that feeling of being included,
451.62 -> and part of the story, and doing
your part to help rebuild the Shire.
455.28 -> And then of course in between this outdoor
beginning and ending is the whole story that
459.48 -> you get told once you've been shepherded into the
theatre proper. So I mean that interactivity was
464.34 -> something I really, truly, absolutely loved, and
let me tell you some more of the things I enjoyed.
469.32 -> Should I label it? What I
enjoyed. Uh, the direction!
475.08 -> It's- it's a small difference really, but a
big difference I suppose in in seeing it. Uh,
480.48 -> having the hobbits narrate the story, versus the
deep voiced, omniscient, disembodied narrator of
486.12 -> the original West End production. You know, he's
like [deep voice] "In a time before whatever,
490.56 -> the hobbits were this, and their lived Frodo--"
[normal voice] um, instead you know the hobbits
495.18 -> all sort of take turns to narrate the thing.
And it really makes all the difference,
499.44 -> obviously given the complete opposite scale this
production has compared to the West End's like
504.66 -> 'biggest thing ever'. It really really involves
a lot of creativity in order to tell that story
510.48 -> but with such a limited space and with limited
performers, um... the creativity! Creativity.
516.18 -> I enjoyed the actor-musicianship! From
what I remember the only cast members who
522.78 -> were not musicians - you know like, playing
instruments - were those who played Frodo,
527.16 -> Galadriel, and Gandalf. I think everybody else
did play an instrument, some performers played
532.2 -> multiple. And this is just incredible I mean
it's hard enough to play an instrument! But
536.46 -> to be like moving about singing and dancing
all while playing is just incredible. Uh,
542.28 -> I had seen the Watermill's production of Amelie--
uh, Amelie the musical, when it was touring,
547.86 -> and I was so, so thrilled when I learned that Lord
of the Rings would be staged in a similar way. I
553.44 -> think having the actor-musos really helps heighten
that storytelling element, and the instruments
558.66 -> just suit the characters so brilliantly too you
know, we've got Elrond on the flute and Arwen
563.46 -> on the harp which goes so well with the like elf
hand movements that they all do. Uh... Sam on his
568.8 -> reliable guitar and Pippin with a fiddle, it's
just great. It's just great, it fits perfectly.
574.38 -> The songs themselves. I enjoyed the songs
themselves -- uh, the songs are presented
580.02 -> wonderfully, and better than I could do,
by "your friendly neighbourhood fan girl"
583.92 -> so please watch her video. She also covers the
entire history of the original version of the
589.26 -> lord of rings musical. It's just a very good
watch, so I recommend that. T'will be linked.
594.84 -> With the Watermill's production of course the
musical arrangements are a little different due
599.16 -> to being performed by fewer and by different
instruments. Once again though just you know
604.44 -> it's so good having actor-musicians perform
everything because they're just-- yeah.
608.52 -> The use of puppetry. Uh, horse skull puppets
represent the Nazgul and they're very very
614.16 -> cool... Shelob is represented by a big puppet with
light up eyes there is no imagery of this spider,
620.52 -> she's a surprise. Smeagol and Deagol's
story is told via shadow puppets this
625.92 -> is probably my favorite use of puppetry in
the entire thing or I guess it's animation,
629.52 -> really because it's sort of a projection
-- which there is heaps of, you know,
632.7 -> just used to great effect in such a small space --
but um yeah, the shadow puppets it's very much uh,
638.22 -> reminiscent of like "The Adventures
of Prince Achmed" if you're familiar
641.76 -> with that bit of Animation history.
Very, very lovely I-- I loved it.
647.34 -> The chore-- the choreography. The choreography.
The Lord of the Rings musical already has some
652.98 -> South Asian influence within its scre
as one of its composers A.R Rahman,
657.42 -> an Indian composer who has worked
on scores in many Hindi films. Uh,
661.5 -> traditional Indian music has been a big
inspiration for Rahman and I feel that
665.04 -> this inspiration is most evident in songs like
Saruman, Flight to the Ford, Star of Earendil,
670.32 -> and Lothlorien, but this new production
brings in more of that South Asian influence,
676.38 -> um, because there is now another creative
(on the team) with South Asian heritage.
680.46 -> Anjali Mera who is... uh, as far as I know it
just said she's of 'South Asian descent' this
686.64 -> is as specific as I could find, but um... it's
clear that she has also been very influenced by
690.42 -> traditional South Asian dance, and then brought
this into the choreo. Certainly this is how it
695.16 -> looks to me who like, isn't South Asian, um... but
some of the choreo is reminiscent of, you know,
700.14 -> what I've seen of Bollywood movies and stuff.
There's there's much of it in like the shaping,
704.46 -> and and you know lots of those sort of arm
movements. And it's stunning, it's stunning. Uh,
710.04 -> I also um, I think I did notice a little
bit of voguing during the Cat and the Moon,
713.4 -> which is something I never would have imagined
would go together. Um, amazing, loved that.
717.6 -> And then the costuming off the back of this, uh,
the designer (Simon Kenny) is intentionally kind
723 -> of vague about it and I'm not someone who has a
very broad knowledge of cultural and historical
727.68 -> dress, but that said um... they're pulling from
traditional cultural dress from what looks like
732.96 -> Indian... um, Celtic? Viking? Clothing styles...
it's a wonderful idea. And in the programme,
739.62 -> it does state that they took inspiration from but
tried to avoid using full traditional or cultural
744.36 -> dress and just sort of maybe like rework the
silhouettes and stuff. This is probably for the
749.28 -> best considering that most of the cast is white,
I don't know maybe you wouldn't want to see them
753 -> in in full like, yeah, here we are in our like
traditional South Asian clothing. Again at the
757.38 -> end of the day too it's a fantasy, so it's good
to be inspired by the actual world that we live
762.9 -> in but not use like-- like use that. You get
it, you dig, I'm into it. I liked it a lot.
769.56 -> The environmental message. Now the movies miss
out on this bit, um, and I did mention it already,
775.32 -> but the music-- the musical does include
the part from the books where the four main
780.54 -> Hobbits return home to find the Shire has been
destroyed by Saruman's industrialisation. And
786.42 -> in keeping with the whole thing of Sam being
given a box of precious earth from Lothorien
791.64 -> in order to regrow the plants of the Shire we
too as audience members are given a precious
796.68 -> envelope of wildflower seeds in order to have us
'Rewild the Shire'. Um, I've got one, hold on...
803.28 -> Right yeah, so you get given these on your way
out, and um, I was like actively blubbering
808.98 -> still when the Usher handed it to me. [fake
sobbing] "It was so good thank you so much,
813.78 -> I had a wonderful time," um, really
lovely. Uh, I presume it's it's sort of
819.72 -> English wildflowers and yeah I-- I'm yet to plant
mine but maybe- maybe I'll wait until next spring.
825.36 -> It's just a really lovely thing to receive.
Um, and it is the combination of all these
832.44 -> aspects that makes the whole thing so special,
so fantastic, and so well worth seeing. Yes.
839.76 -> Specific performers that I liked. Uh, now
actually I think I'm very lucky to see this
845.64 -> version specifically, now, um being that I am
just sort of like a casual-ish uh, UK theatre fan.
852.6 -> Um, because -- and I hadn't even considered
this would occur -- it meant that there would
856.38 -> be performers that I was already a
fan of that would be cast in this
860.1 -> production. And that's specifically
Louis Maskell and Nuwan Hugh Perera.
863.82 -> So Louis Maskell as Frodo. Those who have seen
his performance in The Grinning Man will know
869.64 -> that Maskell is very good at portraying Tortured
Guys. And he really brought his like 'man with no
875.46 -> bones' thing to this role, like if you know, you
know. Um, that said he also does well in Frodo's
881.28 -> sweeter moments too, it's not ALL watching him be
agonised, although like. It's a lot of watching
885.96 -> him be agonised. Obviously this man has a gorgeous
singing voice. Though he doesn't have any like
891 -> full-on solo songs what he makes of what he's got
is beautiful, of course, you know he has the the
895.74 -> most moving duet... ever! Um, he also he just has
a very distinct way of singing and like shaping
902.4 -> his words that shines through even with the little
like English Country Accent that he's doing, it's
908.46 -> still like unmistakably Louis. Um, and also he's
just very handsome, and I was like "hee-hee-hee"
915.24 -> when he walked past like, behind me during
Bilbo's birthday party. I was like "I'm so
919.86 -> aware that he's like right behind me."
And I'm like ~my goodness~. Um, yeah.
926.64 -> Then also Nuwan Hugh Perera as Sam. Nuwan has
previously led the Life of Pi on the West End,
934.26 -> I believe he took over from the original, uh,
guy who was sort of leading as Pi there. And I
940.8 -> had been lucky enough to see him understudying for
Lucien and Mysterious Man in Amelie, uh when it
946.32 -> was touring in 2019 and I-- I really liked him
as Lucien, so I was absolutely delighted when
952.92 -> I saw he was announced to be Sam. Um, notably he
does not do like a rural English accent like the
960 -> rest of the hobbits, uh, but leans into his Sri
Lankan accent instead! His Sam is a very lovely,
966.3 -> kind, level-headed friend, but level-headed is
the word. He's not the same sort of Sam as say
971.46 -> Sean Astin or Peter Howe, and he like
doesn't give Frodo an inch. You know,
975.18 -> if Frodo is like "I'm about to do something
stupid" Sam is like "no. no, or you know if
980.82 -> you are, then we are doing it together." But
um, I would say his portrayal is a little bit
985.44 -> less like [fake sobbing] "oh no Mr Frodo!"
you know he's more like "Mr Frodo. Come on."
991.14 -> At least until the end and then like he was
crying, and I was bawling, you know. Uh,
995.64 -> yeah he-- he shows much steadfastness,
and and great physical strength too in
1000.2 -> carrying Frodo. Nuwan is the shortest of the
four main Hobbit actors where Louis is the
1005.78 -> tallest, so it's really emphasized there
whenever he's having to carry him around.
1010.82 -> And yeah I just I just believe
him, every moment, he's wonderful.
1015.38 -> Amelia Gabriel as Pippin and
Geraint Downing as Merry.
1020.18 -> It could be Geh-raint, I'm not sure, I'm sorry.
1022.04 -> Uh, Amelia is lovely and charming as Pippin, with
big wide eyes and she definitely gets the biggest
1027.26 -> laughs from the audience whenever she does her
funny bits. She's like she's the funniest one.
1032 -> Um also she plays SO many instruments? I remember
1033.98 -> seeing her play at least
three but she may play more.
1037.58 -> She and Geraint as Merry are a great pair
with him as like the level-headed one, uh,
1042.86 -> to her goofball. I really believe
his smartness, and it's sweet to
1047.12 -> see him like alternately looking out for
Pippin and being like protective of her,
1051.68 -> or just being like annoyed by her. They
really have like tremendous Sibling Energy.
1055.58 -> And also seeing him lug around the big double
bass... cello thing... I don't know what it
1060.56 -> is -- but seeing him like heft that around
with ease just- just wonderful. Tremendous.
1065.3 -> Um then... Folarin Akinmade as
Gimli. He has a lot of Gravitas.
1069.86 -> I generally don't think very much of "Lament for
Moria" the- the song that Gimli performs-- but I
1075.62 -> thought his performance was very captivating.
And also he was the hobbit that we interacted
1079.58 -> with the most at the beginning, so that
makes me very biased towards him, you know.
1085.22 -> Also Yazdan Qafouri as Legolas. I
just think-- I just think he's neat.
1090.5 -> Um, very impressed with him like climbing
around and still playing the accordion.
1094.1 -> I like his energy. I also noticed that
during one of the battles he like kissed
1098.72 -> his bow [kiss noise] and I just thought that
was hysterical, I thought it was so funny!
1102.98 -> Um, then he was the hobbit that we interacted
with like the second most so biased again.
1107.48 -> Matthew Bugg, too, as Gollum. I ah-- I'm not a
Gollum fan, whenever I see Gollum in the movies
1113.24 -> I'm like "who is this CGI beast" but Matthew Bugg
is a very, very sympathetic sort of a Smeagol.
1119.84 -> Um, really really good, he
climbs all around the stage,
1122.66 -> he's so strong and there's also something to
seeing uh, the guy playing Gollum like playing
1128.24 -> accordion when he's not like in a scene
that's great. Um, I thought he was really,
1133.58 -> really a standout performer. Very good, very
good, I was really feeling his Smeagol. Very good.
1137.6 -> Everyone else. Everyone else, I'm just
thoroughly impressed with everyone who's
1140.54 -> out there acting and singing and dancing
and playing instruments I've already said
1143.84 -> it but it bears repeating, and it gives
performers with otherwise smaller parts
1147.86 -> much more to do all throughout the entire
piece, like how after Boromir dies we still
1153.32 -> get to see the actor all throughout he's just
there like wailing on the trombone. Amazing.
1157.76 -> Actually I also really liked John O'Mahoney
as Bilbo. Uh usually I don't particularly
1162.26 -> care for Bilbo, but I thought O'Mahoney
had a lot of charm. I was very charmed by
1166.1 -> his Bilbo. He also plays Theodenethor, um,
and it's great to see an older guy killing
1171.86 -> it at the fight choreography alongside the
20-somethings. Just like Yes, King. G'won.
1177.62 -> What I think could be improved. The Uruk-hai
costumes? Like we got the idea in in the modern
1185.06 -> military clothing and gas masks they're clearly
meant to represent the industrialisation and
1189.86 -> machinery, but the modernity of their clothing
looks incongruous with the rest of the costuming
1194.66 -> and I think it might even better served with
something just a little bit more historical.
1198.98 -> Um, but whatever. And also
maybe just like Arwen's too,
1202.16 -> because it kind of looks off the rack,
like high school costume cupboard-y but
1206.48 -> you know, what can you do. Like
otherwise I do really like the costumes.
1210.62 -> I also think maybe we could just lean a little
a little bit more into the emotional bits?
1214.82 -> Like while I was happily sobbing my face off
anytime that they sang 'Now and for always'
1218.78 -> or 'The road goes on', I was a little sad
that they were very brusque about like--
1222.44 -> uh-- the "don't go where I can't follow," line?
Like, I don't know if this is something that
1226.34 -> has already been changed because I did see a
preview, but uh yeah, he was just sort of like
1232.88 -> just like "Oh, Mr Frodo. You're
okay. Don't go or I can't follow."
1237.5 -> It's not the like [sobbing] "Mr Frodo!"
um, yeah who's to say. Otherwise...
1245.6 -> the pacing! I have seen people mention
the pacing when they talk about it, uh,
1250.04 -> it's true that it is most I think it is the
same script from the West End that does remain,
1255.08 -> and I suspect that really truly you just have to
let that go.Like sometimes they were talking, and
1260.84 -> I was like "all right where's the next song" but
also it's the Lord of the Rings! Uh, it's long!
1266.18 -> If anything like I do think the original
book writers for the show they did a good
1270.32 -> job of condensing everything down. When you
think about how it's like the three ginormous
1275.72 -> books as one piece and they-- they managed
to maintain all of the the main sort of bits,
1281.78 -> you know the main plot points or whatever
like they did a good job cutting it down.
1285.92 -> Think about like we could have been sitting there
for 10 hours but we were there for three and a
1290.06 -> half-- three and a half hours. It is long. But
um, it doesn't feel that way for the most part
1293.72 -> I really do think it feels like, "yeah! here we
go! have I really been in here that long! wow!"
1299.48 -> Um, that's it all you know it it's very difficult
to find fault with it because I genuinely just
1304.76 -> thought it was so wonderful -- although this
does come from the perspective of someone who
1309.68 -> already absolutely adores The Lord of the Rings
Musical and has wanted to see it for many years,
1314.42 -> and does enjoy the films, but has not ever
actually managed to finish the books. Uh,
1319.1 -> I got part way into the two towers and gave
up. And apparently my sister did the same!
1322.7 -> My final thoughts! and-- and reasons to
go see it. Now the Watermill theatre lost
1329.12 -> its Arts Council England funding, and I
believe then it's production Lord of the
1333.8 -> Rings is sort of like a direct response to
that. According to the artistic director,
1337.22 -> Paul Hart, he says "We're throwing everything at
this - that it plays on a tradition of work here
1342.98 -> which has made use of our whole site to create
an unforgettable experience such as The Archers,
1347.72 -> Henry-- Henry V-- and House and Garden, where the
piece has taken place both inside and outside of
1352.64 -> the theatre." So yes, that that was here too.
Um... "On the back of the Arts Council cut it
1357.26 -> has become a chance for us to celebrate the
importance of this venue locally and also
1361.34 -> on a national scale." And I imagine that's quite
true too, obviously I'd never been there before,
1365.66 -> but for some people this is their local theatre
and they get to go there all the time. I-- I
1369.8 -> think it was well worth the trip, you know we
came a very long way, but when my group and I
1375.08 -> were sort of sat in the car just buzzing with
excitement about it, um, I think one of the
1380.9 -> things we kept saying every time was "so worth the
trip, it was so worth coming here." Um, and that,
1386.66 -> yeah, on a national scale, yeah! Celebrate it
on a national scale! What a fantastic place.
1392.72 -> So the show is running until
Sunday the 15th of October 2023,
1397.34 -> and I absolutely urge you to see it if you can.
Certainly for all the reasons I've described but
1403.34 -> um, if you did see the original West End or even
Toronto versions it's so vastly different that I
1408.62 -> imagine it would feel like seeing a different
show entirely. If you're a fan of The Lord of
1412.82 -> the Rings in general I imagine you'll find
real beauty in the adaptation, especially
1416.72 -> since it's a musical and after all, Tolkien, you
know as I said, he did write songs for the books
1420.74 -> though none of those songs are present there is
still clear Tolkien inspiration within, of course.
1426.38 -> Um, if you're just sort of a theatre fan
in general, I could not recommend what's
1429.68 -> become at least to me the Watermill's
signature actor-muso style of direction.
1433.88 -> All the performers are SO skilled it's just
just wonderful to see-- to see them at it.
1439.34 -> I've been recommending it to everyone I know
- everyone I think who could possibly feasibly
1443.54 -> travel down there, um, I am recommending to
YOU watching this, if you're able to go see it.
1448.22 -> I think that it's something that's just so special
1450.56 -> in a way that would be difficult
to replicate in any other place,
1455.3 -> that really just needs to be experienced
firsthand. I uh- I-- I could hope and pray that it
1459.92 -> might tour but I imagine you'd lose something and
not being able to have that outdoor-indoor-outdoor
1466.22 -> sort of staging, but even so just I mean just
try and get-- try and get there, if you can.
1472.46 -> I'm going again because Toby, my partner,
he's fallen madly in love with the idea
1477.5 -> of just like becoming a hobbit. You know we
walked in there he saw all of them in their
1480.98 -> clothes and he was like "Is this how I want
to dress? This is what I want to look like."
1484.82 -> Um, he wants to go for his birthday so he
can tell Bilbo that he's ALSO celebrating a
1489.2 -> birthday. He's like not quite turning 30 - when
Hobbits come of age - but it's close enough.
1494.66 -> Um, and yeah that- that's my review. My review
is glowing, my review, uh, you know it's- it-
1502.34 -> it's so good, it's so good, it's so good, it's so
good. I had such a wonderful time, I cannot stop
1506.84 -> thinking about it I've been thinking about it
ever since, um... and yeah. Wonderful, amazing.
1514.4 -> That's the end now, so thank you for
watching if you made it this far,
1517.64 -> THANK YOU! And YOU will see ME again
IF there is another one, goodbye.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKKHfhI3Qag