Canada recreates Middle Earth

The Canadian city of Toronto is to host the world premiere of the stage adaptation of The Lord of The Rings on Thursday, launching what could be a global theatrical enterprise.

Tolkien's fantastical tale of elves and hobbits, made world famous by Peter Jackson's epic cinematic production, has now been brought to the stage using high tech equipment and special effects, in a show which was deemed too big for any available London theatre, according to the BBC.

The director Matthew Warchus said: "I think the sensibility, culturally here is closer to London, certainly it's less pressured, which is absolutely right when you need to create a new piece."

The cast is made up of both local and international actors, with Canadian actor Brent Carver playing the role of Gandalf and British talent Richard McMillan taking the part of evil wizard Saruman and James Loye as Frodo.

There have been numerous challenges facing the production, including avoiding the influence of the films and satisfying the Tolkien fans, as well as rewrites and technical difficulties which brought rehearsals to a standstill.

Producer, Kevin Wallace says he is confident that the problems have been dealt with and believes that Tolkein's story is strong enough to transcend the other issues.

The long-term plan is to develop a replica show by March 2007 for the West End in London and a production that could begin touring the US in 2008.

Posted by Just the Flight, 21 March 2006 18:23

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