Jeff Wayne's musical version of H G Wells’s The War Of The Worlds has sold three million copies in the UK alone. But only now, 38 years after its release, does this bombastic exhibition of prog rock descend on the West End.
It’s a show of undeniable pomp, packed with blinding lights, bursts of flame and thunderous sound. As the Martians terrorise the home counties, CGI backdrops swarm with alien life. But there’s no real menace in the storytelling and Bob Tomson’s production veers between booming self-importance and bewildering scenes involving far too much frantic running around.
What’s fancifully billed as “one of the starriest casts the West End has seen” is one of the most motley. David Essex, a member of the original studio line-up, has the unenviable task of representing the Voice of Humanity. Daniel Bedingfield as The Artilleryman hits most of his high notes but looks as stiff as a Lego figure and so demonstrative is Jimmy Nail as crucifix-wielding Parson Nathaniel, you sense he’d like to be visible from outer space.
Michael Praed as the journalist and Madalena Alberto as his fiancée are a little more poised, as is Heidi Range, formerly of the Sugababes. Ironically, only Liam Neeson as the narrator — appearing on video — seems a rounded character.
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Wayne conducts with relentless energy and is flanked by 22 musicians who do justice to his score. Despite a few transfixing moments, this misconceived hybrid of concert and theatrical spectacle feels overblown and undercooked.
Until April 30, Dominion Theatre (0845 200 7982)
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