The Lord of the Rings: A Musical Tale - Newbury / Plymouth

Have received an email from The Watermill confirming that it is okay to share images taken from the audience perspective, so please find below one shot of the outside space for the second outdoor section and one shot of the stage at the interval.  No photography permitted during the show obviously.  I forgot to mention, how Bilbo disappears is a complete mystery to me, as were a couple of other clever illusions... Keep your eyes wide open if you go to see it!

Anyone travelling a distance who needs to stay overnight, top tip is the Hare & Hounds in the next village..walking distance… www.hareandhoundsnewbury.co.uk/

Hi Toomasj - it definitely isn't a two-way mirror.  I must be honest and say that I don't know for sure how he disappeared.  He might just have jumped off the stage and I might have missed it; more likely for me is that there is a false floor/rubber flap in the raised stage section which would enable him to fall through, though to do so would require the ground underneath to be dug out as the height of the stage is only around 1m high.  I genuinely don't know!  :-)     There are no fireflies in the pre-show aspect, but there are rope hoopla type games, plus they all seem very curious about which way the wind is blowing... There's much more audience interaction than at Drury Lane, and it's a very informal/relaxed intro.  They then begin their storytelling and tell us that they need our help, and the audience then follows the cast to the theatre in a very relaxed and jovial way.  

I am not going to give anything away about Shelob / Balrog - you'll have to wait and see, but it involves epic scale puppetry not dissimilar to the Drury Lane production. There is definite WOW factor and they are quite chilling effects which leave the audience feeling quite edgy.  The production is unpredictable and there are some good crossovers between "haha I'm kind of a bit scared " to "woah, now I'm freaked out".  The key is the closeness of the audience - the intimacy of this production means that everything is really in your face if you are in the stalls first few rows.  Regarding the orcs, they are nasty b***ards in gas mask type apparel - well drilled choreography not dissimilar to the original version. Simialrly some of the hand gestures and movement from the original have been resurrected.

You asked about cuts - yes, there are a couple of trims and slices, unsurprising given that the actors are also playing the instruments. But it all feels less "showy" than the original version, and thus more authentic.  The audience is far more invested in this production because of the proximity to the action - we end up taking the journey with them as passengers rather than observers.  There is one interval, not two (though I believe the second interval at Drury Lane was to enable the immense sets to be shifted around for the final Gollum scene (executed beautifully btw at the Watermill with as much impact as the original did, if you suspend disbelief - the end of that scene is particularly powerful).  The cuts made are judicious and minor, and the pace of the production runs better by having fewer showstopping moments, and not having a cumbersome set to move around.  It flows much better and the running order is accelerated as a result, though not at the expense of the storytelling.  

Sam sings in his natural accent (I think) - Frodo and co have that kind of country twang (if that is correct?).  Boromir is not Scottish - the remaining male actors all do standard english. 

The set has all sorts of secrets within that gradually emerge as the show moves on - some really clever use of projection, perspective, scale, sound design, lighting left me shaking my head at times, because I can usually work the theatrical tricks out, but this show has been so well created that it is very hard to see the seams and the stitching. It just flows fluidly - even when somebody is lugging a trombone or a harp around the stage, it all feels perfectly natural, as if you are at an exclusive hobbit story telling session.

Hope these answers help you build a picture - feel free to message me if you have any other questions... I'm aware that I'm writing some lengthy posts on this thread and I don't want to pee people off.

Depends where you are sat - are you on the balcony side slip seats?  If so, on the stage right / audience left side, there's a little bit of Gollum action around the balcony...  Looking side on you won't miss much as most of the action is in the middle of the stage (it's a very small stage - imagine trying to fit 20 actors on it in one go...)  The areas under the slips are used for storing instruments - strings, flute, tin whistle, cello, harp tends to be stage right / audience left, and brass, piano, accordion, guitars, percussion / bells stage left/audience right. But the instruments interchange between actors so get played anywhere they are required.  Entrances and exits are via both slips down each side of the stalls, plus some additional entrances/exits from the back of the stage at ground level and balcony level.   If sat on the balcony you might not get the full scale of some of the effects and I'm not sure how the projections will look side-on.  This is a thrilling production though and I think you will be too immersed to worry about the odd sightline issue.  I imagine the puppetry from above will look fantastic and there were audible gasps at several points on Saturday at both stalls and balcony level.  This really is an astonishing production.

These photos are excellent and certainly do the show justice, capturing the beautiful set and lighting superbly. Hopefully they whet the appetite a little more for anybody considering going.  I can't emphasise how great this production is.

Just home and still collecting my thoughts but I’m buzzing. That was nothing short of amazing what they have achieved in that wonderful little theatre!

(ACE should be ashamed…but the Watermill have come out fighting…)

With all the great reports I've been hearing - I've decided to pull the trigger and book myself a ticket. When you count travel and hotels this is one hell of an expensive theatre ticket but I'm very excited.

Pointless rag "The i" gives it three stars: inews.co.uk/culture/arts/lord-of-the-rings-watermill-theatre-review-2520368

"Lord of the Rings, Watermill Theatre, review: Turning Tolkien into a musical is absurd – but see it anyway... it manages to crackle with innovation"

The Times 3 stars (paywall): www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-lord-of-the-rings-review-an-earthy-musical-journey-to-middle-earth-rjkh33cjz

"The Lord of the Rings review — an earthy musical journey to Middle-earth"

WossOnStage 5 stars: www.whatsonstage.com/news/the-lord-of-the-rings-musical-review-the-tolkien-revival-makes-for-epic-and-timely-theatre_1516020/

"This extraordinary retelling at the Watermill Theatre draws its audience into the narrative like no other medium I have experienced... Set and costume design, lighting, sound and projection, choreography, puppetry and fight direction work seamlessly and with wondrous imagination to tell the sweeping tale in little more than three hours."

The Spy In The Stalls 5 stars (and a really well written review): thespyinthestalls.com/2023/08/the-lord-of-the-rings/

“The Lord of the Rings: A Musical Tale” is little short of a miracle. As we are led back outside, back to the Shire, darkness has fallen. We bid farewell to Frodo. Emotions are running high. Our senses have been caught in the storm of a spectacle, but we have still heard the intimate sounds of extraordinary theatre making. Most people who have read Tolkien’s high-fantasy novel would agree that they could read it again. Everyone, I’d like to think, who sees this adaptation at The Watermill will agree that they could see it again. And again."