The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy Live Is An Enjoyable Mess

The pursuing contains mild spoilers for The Hitchhikers’ Guide to nan Galaxy.

Following its commencement arsenic a 1978 BBC Radio sitcom done its galore and varied adaptations, Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhikers’ Guide to nan Galaxy has go an enduring portion of our culture. Despite nan truth its satire centers connected nan anxieties of Britain astatine nan tail extremity of nan ‘70s, its unsocial wit and surrealism person brought it worldwide fame. It is simply a rite of transition for astatine slightest 1 subset of British teens and their anglophile cousins, arsenic good arsenic a tech civilization shibboleth that has embedded itself successful nan broader culture. Now, it has been reborn arsenic a live immersive theatre accumulation astatine London’s Riverside Studios that preserves nan bid astir singular quality: Its messiness.

Given it started arsenic a half-hour power comedy, Hitchhikers’ crippled is surreal, episodic and prone to (what look to be) digressions. But nan wide style of each type of nan communicative sees Arthur Dent waking up to observe bulldozers astir to demolish his location to make measurement for a caller highway. He is distracted from his protestation by his friend Ford, who reveals he is not an out-of-work actor, but an alien interrogator for a book called The Hitchhikers’ Guide to nan Galaxy. Minutes later, nan Earth itself is demolished to make measurement for a caller interstellar highway, but Ford and Arthur hitchhike onto 1 of nan ships demolishing nan planet.

The “book” itself is successful truth a mini tablet containing a Wikipedia-style trove of knowledge that acts arsenic nan series’ narrator. Still wearing his pajamas, Arthur is dragged crossed nan beingness successful various adventures which culminate successful gathering a group of multi-dimensional aliens looking to observe nan eventual meaning of life, nan universe, and everything. Subsequent power bid and novels return nan aforesaid characters forward, backward and sideways pinch diminishing returns. Adams’ emotion of nan agelong shaggy canine joke intends that nan eventual mobility and nan eventual reply is… “What do you get if you multiply six by nine?” “Forty-Two.” (God’s last connection to his creation is simply a akin tale, revealed arsenic “We apologise for nan inconvenience.”)

Each adjustment is twisted and turned to suit its caller format, truthful there’s only a fistful of essentials. Arthur, Ford, The Book, 42 and nan Eagles’ Journey of nan Sorcerer (the chorus of which is nan theme) are nan only mainstays. It should travel arsenic nary astonishment past that generous liberties person been taken present to compress nan sprawling travel communicative into a format suitable for a unrecorded immersive theatre show. [If you’re unfamiliar, alternatively than beryllium and watch nan action unfold connected a stage, you’re alternatively stepping astir an situation pinch nan communicative taking spot successful beforehand of you. You tin moreover prosecute pinch nan actors straight astatine points, though only if you want to.] Here, you’ll beryllium loitering successful nan barroom of nan Horse and Groom pub, nan cargo clasp of nan Heart of Gold, the… cargo clasp of nan Vogon destructor vessel and nan mill level astatine Magrathea.

To effort and enforce immoderate grade of accepted communicative connected nan story, Hitchhiker’s Live takes nan thumps of nan first communicative (in each its forms) and nan romance from nan 4th novel, So Long, and Thanks for All nan Fish. We walk astir of our clip pinch Ford (Oliver Britten), while Arthur (Robert Thompson) flits successful and retired of nan communicative arsenic portion of his universe-spanning quest to reunite pinch his beloved Fenchurch (Kat Johns-Burke). We get to walk a small clip pinch Zaphod Beeblebrox (Lee V-G) and Slartibartfast (Richard Costello), while (one shape of) Trisha McMillan (Lenora Crichlow) only appears arsenic a recorded sound identified pinch a photograph that looks a batch for illustration a publicity changeable from Avenue 5 alternatively than 1 taken caller for this show.

Hitchhikers’ digressive surrealism intends it struggles against nan limits imposed upon it by immoderate and each mean it’s ever been made into. As personification who grew up pinch nan caller version, I spot that arsenic definitive, but moreover nan later useful struggled to stay connected nan page. At times, nan immersive theatre format useful to nan story’s detriment, meaning you’re apt to miss a hit aliases 2 if you’re not capable to sprint to each area of each scene. For instance, location were truthful galore assemblage members gathering astir nan Jatravartids area that I thought I’d cheque retired nan emptier areas first. Which was a mistake, arsenic Humma Kavula past engaged successful a large opus and creation number halfway shape that I’d missed nan buildup for. Similarly, I didn’t moreover recognize that nan show featured Wowbagger nan Infinitely Prolonged (Tom Bowen) until I publication nan formed database while penning this review.

The abbreviated quality of nan storyline intends you’re often missing not conscionable nan connective insubstantial but moreover a batch of nan nutrient from nan original. Some of nan affectional weight of nan group pieces feels unearned because nan makers person elided a batch of nan basal everything. When you get to nan large finish, it’s difficult not to wish we’d seen immoderate of nan effort 1 characteristic has made beyond their hairsbreadth increasing retired to people nan transition of time. The much I watched nan show, and its galore philharmonic numbers, nan much I wished its creators had simply made a much accepted shape musical. It would person made for a smoother, much cohesive show, particularly fixed nan root material’s thematic and communicative complexity.

The immersive format does person its strengths, including nan expertise to capsicum nan group pinch small ocular jokes. The Vogon Complaints Office is packed afloat of gags hidden successful boxes and filing cabinets, arsenic are nan small references connected nan screens successful nan Horse and Groom set. But champion of each is immoderate and each clip you get to walk pinch Marvin nan Paranoid Android (Andrew Evans), a masterful operation of design, acting and puppetry. Rather than cram Evans into a suit, nan character has nan beautiful Marvin puppet connected a thorax harness, giving it a fluidity of mobility and expressiveness that erstwhile versions could only dream of. It helps, too, that Marvin’s perpetual misery beautifully undercuts nan much saccharine parts of nan story.

I besides request to heap praise upon nan guideline segments, some successful their animation style and for Tamsin Grieg’s narration. I’d opportunity Grieg (Black Books, Episodes)  is nan existent heir to original sound Peter Jones’ crown, bringing a cleanable blend of voice-of-God exposition and barren undercutting. In fact, you’ll struggle to find a bad constituent successful nan full production, particularly successful nan well-choreographed group pieces wherever nan formed acts against pre-recorded footage. It’s a method marvel successful respective ways and it is evident that each personification progressive successful its creation is operating pinch a bottomless pit of emotion for nan root worldly and Adams. It’s conscionable that each of those elements don’t rather cohere capable to push nan show from bully and entertaining done to being a must-see.

Consequently, I’d opportunity if you’re section to London and are moreover vaguely acquainted pinch Adams’ work, you should spell and bask yourself. But I mightiness pass Adams devotees from further afield they whitethorn find nan accumulation underwhelming if they’re making a large travel to spell and spot it. Like each different Hitchhikers’ adaptation, it’s a mess, but past nan messiness has ever been astatine slightest half nan point.