Review: The Hobbit, Festival Theatre

Published on Thursday 25 March 2010 09:05

The Hobbit ** Festival Theatre

THE Lord of the Rings movie trilogy no doubt introduced the wonderful world of JRR Tolkien's creation to the masses. You might therefore argue it's about time The Hobbit was given a bit more recognition as the prequel to this much-loved adventure into Middle Earth.

Barely are you able to catch your breath before being thrust into the world of Bilbo Baggins. At the hands of Gandalf, the simple-minded home-loving hobbit quickly finds himself on a quest to reclaim Lonely Mountain and its vast treasure alongside king-in-exile, Thorin Oakenshield, and his company of displaced dwarves.

Swept away on a wave of enthusiasm, the gang quickly realise their vulnerability as they find themselves thwarted by goblins, trolls and other bizarre creatures on their way to recover these riches from the much-feared fire-breathing dragon Smaug.

At the heart of Tolkien's fantasy is a great story, but regretfully for a show lasting nearly three hours this barely comes across in Glyn Robbins' adaptation. Subtle development of this otherworldly fictional realm is traded in for what feels like a disjointed, protracted medley of swashbuckling battle scenes. While these at times impress, they tend to rely heavily on the accompanying mesmerising audio-visual onslaught to justify their worth to the developing story.

There are nonetheless a few notable scenes which deliver on the action front. Bilbo's encounter with a giant spider and a well choreographed sword fight raise the tempo just enough. Two giant, gothic podiums also provide a versatile means of differentiating between scenes, and are used to best effect to create a diverse array of scenery without affecting the continuity of the performance.

However, these well crafted highlights are few and far between. A couple of opening night technical hitches and overwhelming sound effects clashing with dialogue are two obvious problems which desperately need addressing.

Peter Howe puts in a decent performance as the animated, highly-strung Bilbo Baggins but Christopher Robbie as Gandalf is the pick of the bunch, portraying the formidable wizard with austerity and confidence throughout, setting him apart from the mostly underwhelming ensemble cast.

As a spectacle, this production does try its hardest to impress with elaborate props and lighting, but what lets it down is writing which lacks the imagination and invention to fully immerse us in JRR Tolkien's magical world.

Run ends Sunday