Lord of the rings

Well, Lord of the Rings was amazing. When you get in to the theatre the stage stuns you as there are rambling tree branches reaching off the stage and crawling up the walls and covering the first two boxes at the sides. Even before the play starts there are hobbits walking around the auditorium in amongst the audience trying to catch fireflies with nets. The acting of some characters was slightly hammy (specifically the elves who spoke with accompanying closed fingered weird hand gestures) and Frodo spoke with an odd put-on voice not disimilar to Dudley Moore. The special effects however are awe inspiring. The dark riders on their evil skeletal horses are brilliant, moving very organically. The giant spider is wonderfully animated as well, and Golum is fantastic. There are some lovely touches which interact with the audience such as the Orcs who stalk through the stalls during one interval and autumn 'eaves' which fall from the ceiling near the end. Two parts where Smeigel's cousin swims through the pond, and when Golumn falls into the lava are wonderfully handled with invisible strings and careful choreography. The singing was a bit irritating at times but the actors voices were good.

Of course due to the sheer volume of story to relate, they had to cut a lot of detail, meaning that the audience have to have a basic knowledge of the book and plot. All in all I really enjoyed it and didn't notice the 3 hours fly past.