Critics divided on Lord Of The Rings show

The stage version of J R R Tolkien’s The Lord Of The Rings finally opened in London last night with a standing ovation for its cast of singing orcs and dancing hobbits but mixed reviews from the critics.

The £25m (€37m) production is the most expensive in West End history.

The show debuted in Toronto last year and received a critical mauling.

After a major re-write, a shortened running time and six weeks of previews to fine-tune the performances, it opened officially at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

The production boasts pyrotechnics, acrobatics and myriad special effects to recreate Middle Earth.

It features a £1m (€1.48m) revolving stage which conceals a series of hydraulic lifts.

Such features impressed some critics, such as Sam Marlowe of the Times, who described it as a “wonder”, and Michael Billington, of the Guardian, who said he “couldn’t see how it could be better done”.

But others were ferocious in their criticism.

Charles Spencer in the Daily Telegraph said despite the producer and director’s efforts to overhaul the Toronto effort, the show was a “thumping great flop”, hated more by his 14-year-old son – a fan of the Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings films – than by him.

Paul Taylor, of the Independent, criticised the interplay of the score with the drama and said the story-telling was “rushed”, while Quentin Letts of the Daily Mail slated the production as “corny”.

But a host of celebrities, including Andrew Lloyd Webber, Dame Judi Dench, Kevin Spacey, Richard E Grant and Brian May, were kinder.

Dame Judi said: “For anyone who is a Tolkien fan, it is just a terrific treat.

“I have never seen the films but I am a great fan of Tolkien’s writing.

“It has wonderful choreography and the cast worked so hard. ”

The show stars Laura Michelle Kelly, best known to West End audiences as Mary Poppins, as the Elvish queen Galadriel.

Newcomer James Loye plays the hero, Frodo Baggins.

The production played for six months in Canada and left critics there unimpressed.

The Toronto Star renamed it “Bored Of The Rings” while Variety called it: “A saga of short people burdened by power jewellery.”

For its West End incarnation, the running time has been cut by 40 minutes but it’s still a lengthy three hours.

The London production has not been without its mishaps

Actor Adam Salter, who plays a ranger, was taken to hospital after his leg became trapped in the set machinery during a preview performance.

Audiences at first believed his screams for help were part of the show.