THE LORD OF THE RINGS at the Watermill Theatre

★★★★★

“The nuances of the characters are beautifully executed, particularly up close on the small stage.”

‘When Mr Bilbo Baggins announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement’. And so opens J. R. R. Tolkien’s monumental “The Lord of the Rings”; one of the best-selling books ever written. Since my early teens, I’m not sure I have met anybody who hasn’t read it. The Sunday Times once stated that “the English-speaking world is divided into those who have read ‘Lord of the Rings’ and those who are going to read it”. Peter Jackson’s trilogy of films echoes the epic scale of fantasy and adventure. How, then, can the story translate to a two-hundred-seater theatre in the Berkshire countryside? A good question, and one that becomes swiftly answered as we wander through the Shire, under an open sky, into Bilbo’s much anticipated birthday party. Woodsmoke drifts from the gardens of the old mill down to the stream, with the scent of Hog roast floating among the jugglers and minstrels, while Hobbits mingle with ‘the Big Folk’. As the party reaches its end, we are ushered inside where the adventure begins. A very big adventure in a pretty small space, but The Watermill Theatre have concocted a production in which each element of the stagecraft would put the most hallowed wizard to shame.

It is telling that this adaptation by Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus (with music by A. R. Rahman, Värttinä and Christopher Nightingale) is referred to as a ‘musical tale’ rather than a musical. Shunning convention it avoids formulaic showtunes. Instead, the soundtrack follows the pulse of the emotions rather than the narrative; the underscoring seamlessly merging into song. Impressively performed by the actor-musician cast and ensemble, Mark Aspinall’s orchestrations ranges from folk to bar-room jigs, through to bombastic percussion-driven anthems, back again to the mysticism of the Celtic harp, whistles, fiddles and gorgeous voices.

“Each member of the cast deserves mention, and each could threaten to steal the show”

Frodo, who has inherited the One Ring from his cousin at the birthday party has to undertake the quest to destroy the ring in the fires of Mount Doom. Louis Maskell carries the role with an instinctive ease that belies the demands of the emotional journey required. Nuwan Hugh Perera, as his companion Sam, is an unexpected voice of reason, merging light relief with solid support for his fellow hobbits. Across the board, the portrayal of the characters is natural, and paradoxically believable in all their other-worldly implausibility. Peter Marinker’s Gandalf has the wizened wisdom that keeps his power in check. Both Georgia Louise, as the Royal Elf Galadriel, and Aoife O’Dea as Arwen, enchant us with their performances and musicality. Each member of the cast deserves mention, and each could threaten to steal the show. The largest threat being Matthew Bugg’s Gollum, who weaves his way into the second act: feral, feline and fluid. Bugg moves as though underwater, defying gravity as easily as abusing the hobbits’ trust.

The nuances of the characters are beautifully executed, particularly up close on the small stage. But remarkably, when required, the epic proportions magically come into full force. Paul Hart’s staging is phenomenal. Simon Kenny’s ingenious design utilises every nook and cranny of the playing space. With the stunning combination of Adam Fisher’s sound, Rory Beaton’s lighting, George Reeve’s projections, Charlie Tymms’ puppetry and Anjali Mehra’s choreography (to name a few of the key creatives), the effect is that of a sweeping panorama. Only later, in retrospect, does one wonder how it is achieved.

“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.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS at the Watermill Theatre

Reviewed on 1st August 2023

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Pamela Raith

Previously reviewed at this venue:

Mansfield Park | ★★★★ | June 2023

Rapunzel | ★★★★ | November 2022

Whistle Down The Wind | ★★★★ | July 2022

Spike | ★★★★ | January 2022

Brief Encounter | ★★★ | October 2021

The Lord of the Rings

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★★★★

“Throughout the show, Sidwell is a master of timing and expression.“

In the list of the greatest female, gay icons, Barbara Streisand is at the top – pipped to the post only by Judy Garland. It is no wonder, then, that the sassy, superstar outcast, whose fabled career, love life and ground-breaking AIDS work has been watched, admired and imitated for decades, should find herself the focus of a theatre show. Moreover, a show that ingeniously crosses the divide between celebrity-driven entertainment and candid cultural commentary. I’d been previously told that to enjoy “Buyer and Cellar”, you need to be both a dyed-in-the-wool Barbara Streisand fan and a lover of all things ‘camp as Christmas’. Not true in the slightest. Whether it helps I couldn’t tell you (I am not particularly either); but the beauty of Jonathan Tolins’ writing coupled with Aaron Sidwell’s cheeky and captivating performance unashamedly shatter any preconceptions with gay abandon.

It began as a throwaway idea planted in the fertile mind of Tolins, which has grown into a ninety-minute sketch. Although ‘sketch’ doesn’t do justice; there are fabulous washes of colour and shade between the lines. We are told from the start that what follows is fiction, although it’s served up with great truths of humanity. Aaron Sidwell is Alex More, an out of work actor, fired from his job at Disneyland and landing a mysterious job caretaking an underground shopping mall in the basement of Barbara Streisand’s Malibu mansion. Alex doesn’t know this at first and, although we do, we still share his wide-eyed glee when he discovers who the lady of the house is.

Sidwell commands the stage as Alex More, slipping into the other characters with ease; including his bitchy boyfriend, Barry; the sardonic secretary, Sharon; Babs’ hubby, James Brolin and of course Streisand herself. He eschews impersonation. Instead Sidwell teases her, simultaneously evoking Streisand’s detractors’ distaste for her celebrity eccentricities, but also highlighting the vulnerability and isolation that is often found when you reach the top of your game.

But there’s no danger of wallowing in too much pathos. The laughs come thick and fast. We delight in the moments of surreal situation comedy, like when Streisand haggles with Alex over the price of her own doll in the shop window, or fussily orders a frozen yoghurt with childlike precision. Throughout the show, Sidwell is a master of timing and expression.

Buried below the fiction of the piece, of which we are repeatedly reminded, is the fact behind the inspiration: Barbara Streisand’s coffee-table book, “My Passion for Design” – a hefty tome that documents the real-life shopping mall beneath her home. David Shields’ design doesn’t try to replicate this but instead suggests the weird world with projections. Similarly, director Andrew Beckett has created an atmosphere that doesn’t duplicate the bizarre reality but conjures up an intoxicating mix of fact and fiction. It’s a gorgeous cocktail of reverence and satire, affection and aversion; bubbling with Sidwell’s energy and natural stage presence.

Yes, high camp and showbiz it is, but with more insight than in-jokes. There might not be a lot of theatre at the moment to choose from, but even if there was, this would still be a ‘must see’.

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

Photography by PBGStudios

THE LORD OF THE RINGS at the Watermill Theatre

★★★★★

“The nuances of the characters are beautifully executed, particularly up close on the small stage.”

“Each member of the cast deserves mention, and each could threaten to steal the show”

THE LORD OF THE RINGS at the Watermill Theatre

Reviewed on 1st August 2023

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Pamela Raith

Previously reviewed at this venue:

The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings

Above the Stag

Reviewed – 15th October 2020

★★★★

“Throughout the show, Sidwell is a master of timing and expression.“

Yes, high camp and showbiz it is, but with more insight than in-jokes. There might not be a lot of theatre at the moment to choose from, but even if there was, this would still be a ‘must see’.

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

Photography by PBGStudios

Buyer and Cellar

Above the Stag until 8th November

Previously reviewed at this venue: