Our resident theatre-guru and all round middle-Earth fan Claire Taylor could hardly sit still in anticipation of her "behind the scenes" tour of the upcoming Lord of the Rings musical last week. The show is getting tongues wagging all over town,... I mean, just how are they planning to bring a story (and set of movies) of such epic proportions to the stage in the Theatre Royal this May? And surely the live horses will poop everywhere, and the Hobbits will molt, and the grass on those rolling hills will wither under the spotlights? HOW, CLAIRE? Tell us how!
"Once I got wind that we were invited to see backstage at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, wild horses could not keep me away. That’s because this theatre is now home to the most exciting show to come to the West End this year...
The Lord of the Rings.
For me, and I am sure countless others, the curiosity levels around this show are far higher than anything else that has swept onto the stage for a long time. ‘How will this classic and epic tale be adapted for the theatre?’ is the question on everybody’s lips. I have heard reports back from a few who ventured to Toronto, where Kevin Wallace debuted his show last year, but this does not rival the chance to take a peak for myself.
Entering the function room at the Theatre Royal there is already a bubbling anticipation from everybody in the room as we wait to see the results of the cast and crew’s toils during the last two months of rehearsals. Even for those who saw the show in Toronto, there’s still an excitement about all the work since then to make this show even bigger and better.
It isn’t long before our anticipation is satisfied, and we are led forward into the theatre where we can take a peak at the work going on behind the scenes. As theatre-goers, it is sometimes easy to forget the amount of sweat shed backstage to provide us with the delights that we witness when we go t
o the theatre, so it was fabulous to be able to see this first hand. Rows upon rows of laptops and equipment, taking up the seats that will be filled with eager faces in May, indicate the amount of work involved in creating this new stage masterpiece.
I make my way through the technical throngs to find myself onstage, looking back at what seems to be an immense space of seats. This is my first time on a West End stage, especially in a theatre of this size, and it is humbling to realise what will face the performers as they bring this show to their new audience. It’s also exciting to see the space of the stage and to wonder at the potential it can provide.
The potential is quadrupled once the mechanics of the stage are revealed. Imagine a floor made up of a puzzle of interlinking pieces, each with a mind of its own. We each took to a piece of the stage and began our ride, not for the faint hearted. Not only was the stage revolving at quite some pace, it was also moving up and down, unlike anything I had ever seen in a theatre before. I finished my ride more than a little dizzy but also awestruck at the performance that my imagination was unveiling. Once the scenery, performers and costumes are in place this is going to be a spectacular of gargantuan proportions.
It's time to get excited...."
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