CityLife

Preview: The Hobbit - Palace Theatre

The Hobbit

Next week, the Palace Theatre stage will be transformed into Middle Earth, complete with hobbits, wizards, magic rings and a dragon’s treasure, for the return of The Hobbit.

Fans of  JRR Tolkien will know that The Lord of the Rings, turned into an Oscar-winning trilogy of films by director Peter Jackson, had its origins in The Hobbit. In fact a film version of The Hobbit is currently in development, but this stage version of the tale, adapted by Glyn Robbins, has played to packed theatres across the UK since 1999.

Throughout that time, its director has been Roy Marsden, probably most famous for his role of Inspector Adam Dalgleish in the televised adaptations of the PD James novels. He played the character for 15 years between 1983 and 1998.

“It was a great period in my life, it was wonderful,” he says of those TV cop days. “But I’ve  always worked as a director as well and I’ve been directing this show for nearly as long.

“I think the actors appreciate that there is someone out there trying to be a midwife to this show, because as an actor, I know what it feels like to be up there doing it.

“I’m very aware of all the physical problems they have, because it’s a very physically demanding show.”

In fact, very early on in the adaptation process, all concerned spent a day at the zoo because, as Roy observes, ‘There aren’t any human characters in The Hobbit’.

It’s the story of Bilbo Baggins, a quiet and contented hobbit who has his life turned upside down when he’s chosen by Gandalf the wizard to join Thorin Oakenshield, exiled King of the Dwarves, on his quest to reclaim their kingdom and treasure.

“We tried to stay within the bounds of the story as much as possible,” said Roy. “But obviously there are difficulties. How do you make the dragon work? How do you get the eagles on stage? In a way, though, because The Hobbit is a simpler story to The Lord of the Rings, it lends itself much more easily to drama.”

The Hobbit’s touring schedule was halted a while back by the producers of the film, who held the rights, and were just about to go into pre-production.

“Then out of the blue nine months ago, they just rang up and asked if we would like the rights back,” added Roy.

The Hobbit is at the Palace Theatre from Tuesday until May 30, 2010.