The Lord of the Rings musical – first look images released

Exclusive: First look production shots from the current UK revival of The Lord of the Rings musical have been released!

The new ‘semi-immersive’ show began performances at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury last week, with audiences following the story across the venue’s auditorium and garden spaces. A press night is scheduled for tomorrow, 1 August.

The musical, which was first seen in Toronto in 2006 ahead of a West End premiere the subsequent year, is based on the classic trilogy by J R R Tolkien about a group of Hobbits who attempt to destroy a piece of malevolent jewelry. The series of novels was famously adapted into three Oscar-winning films by Peter Jackson.

The stage version has a book and lyrics by Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus and music by A R Rahman (Bombay Dreams, Slumdog Millionaire), Finnish folk band Värttinä and Tony Award winner and Grammy nominee Christopher Nightingale (Matilda the Musical).

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Starring in the production (in alphabetical order) are Folarin Akinmade (Perfect Show for Rachel) as Gimli, Matthew Bugg (Zorro the Musical) as Gollum, Reece Causton (Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man) as ensemble, Kelly Coughlin (Avenue 5) as ensemble, Geraint Downing (A Christmas Carol) as Merry, Peter Dukes (Brief Encounter) as Boromir, Amelia Gabriel (Ride) as Pippin, Tom Giles (Miss Littlewood) as Elrond/Saruman, Charlotte Grayson (Whistle Down The Wind) as Rosie, Nuwan Hugh Perera (Life of Pi) as Sam, Bridget Lappin (The Rhinegold) as ensemble/dance captain, Georgia Louise (Tammy Faye) as Galadriel, Elliot Mackenzie (Whistle Down The Wind) as ensemble, Peter Marinker (Labyrinth) as Gandalf, Louis Maskell (The Grinning Man) as Frodo, Aoife O’Dea (Innocence) as Arwen, John O’Mahony (Fisherman’s Friends the Musical) as Bilbo, Yazdan Qafouri (The Band) as Legolas, Sioned Saunders (Amélie) as ensemble/onstage musical director and Aaron Sidwell (EastEnders) as Aragorn.

The production is directed by Paul Hart and designed by Simon Kenny, with musical supervision and orchestrations by Mark Aspinall, choreography by Anjali Mehra, lighting design by Rory Beaton, sound design by Adam Fisher, projection design by George Reeve, associate direction by Sibylla Archdale Kalid, puppet design by Charlie Tymms, and puppetry direction by Ashleigh Cheadle. The stage management team are Cat Pewsey (CSM), Katie Newton (DSM), Natalie Toney and Fern Bamber (ASMs) with Leila Stephenson (ASM Placement).

The Lord of the Rings is set to run at Newbury’s Watermill Theatre until 15 October 2023.

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