'The Lord of the Rings' musical to close

'The Lord of the Rings' musical will close after a run of little more than a year into its run, it was announced today.

The curtain went up on the £25m (€32.5m) musical, the most expensive in West End history, to scathing reviews in June last year.

The show was given a major re-write, a shortened running time and six weeks of previews to fine-tune performances after a world debut in Toronto.

Critics feared its run would be "nasty, brutish and short" and wondered "what the Elvish word is for 'no'" in answer to the question: "Is it now the one show to rule them all?"

The London production boasts pyrotechnics, acrobatics and myriad special effects to recreate Middle Earth, and features a £1m (€1.3m) revolving stage which conceals a series of hydraulic lifts.

The stage version of JRR Tolkien's 'The Lord of the Rings' will now close on July 19 at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, after 492 performances.

In comparison, 'The Producers', the Mel Smith musical, ran at the same West End theatre for more than two years until January 2007, while a stage adaptation of Mary Poppins was in London for three years.

Producers said that talks have begun to re-open the show in Germany with a German-speaking cast, due to the musical's popularity with international visitors.

A touring version of the production of singing orcs and dancing hobbits is also being developed to open in New Zealand next year before going to Australia and the Far East.

Producer Kevin Wallace said: "The show's creative team has proven just how enchanting, exhilarating and powerfully entertaining 'The Lord of the Rings' can be live on stage.

"We will continue to bring this incredible theatrical event to audiences in London until July 19, and we look forward to presenting the show to new audiences abroad from 2009."