CityLife

The War Of The Worlds

Jason Donovan as the Artilleryman

War Of The Worlds
MEN Arena
December 5, 2010

The Martians are back in Manchester. More than three decades after first scorching the planet with his rousing musical masterpiece, the live stage show of Jeff Wayne’s seminal album, The War Of The Worlds, blasted back into town for a sell-out performance.

Wayne’s inspired musical version of HG Wells’s classic tale of alien invasion has been packing stadiums ever since he decided to take his multi-platinum album out on the road four years ago.

And in truth how could it fail?After all, at the heart of this show is Wayne’s stirring score – directed by the composer himself – which remains as fresh, exciting and as staggeringly powerful as it was when it was first released in 1978.

Album originals Justin Hayward, in spell-bindingly melodic form, is back reviving Forever Autumn and Eve of the War while Manfred Mann’s Earth Band’s Chris Thompson as the voice of humanity certainly endures in his rock operatic role.

But can newcomers to the show be trusted with the family silver? Well, Jason Donovan, now an old hand at musical theatre delivers an impressive vocal as the artillery man, and he certainly acts his socks off, though a little more vulnerability would really empower his performance.

The real star of the show is X-Factor finalist Rhydian Roberts whose magnificent voice and penchant for the dramatic conspire to produce a haunting turn as the Parson.

The only cast member to let the side down was former Atomic Kitten, Liz McLarnon , whose uneven vocals and wooden stage presence fall far short of the passion and sweetness demanded of her part as the Parson’s wife.

But these strolling players are only half the story. War Of The Worlds is a show which fuses its magnificent score with  astonishing visual effects.  There’s an 11-foot high 3D floating hologram of Richard Burton, posthumously reviving his narrative as the Journalist. Meanwhile, over head, a 35-foot Martian fighting machine scans the audience with huge bug eyes before belching flame like heatrays at the spectators.

War Of The Worlds remains a triumphant achievement. The chances of anything coming from Mars or anywhere else to match such gold standard entertainment? A million to one.