Definitely in my top three of the whole weekend was One Man Lord Of The Rings, which is exactly what it says in the title: all three films, acted out by one man in less than an hour.
Bear with me.
From the moment the actor strides on stage, pauses, and sings/hums the title of the film, you’re hooked. He does pretty much every voice pitch-perfect (save for Aragorn), and his Gandalf in particular is utterly fantastic. Likewise, he is able to capture Gollum’s movements as well as his voice.
It’s a whistle-stop tour through the three films, rather than the book, with the main plot points used but loads more discarded. In fact, the opening lines are a little tongue-in-cheek, refusing to go over the back story for anyone who doesn’t already know, and instead launching into Bilbo’s birthday party.
And there are these constant references/in-jokes which make the show a lot more entertaining than a mere run-through of the films. Every time Legolas says anything, reference is made to his looks: “You have my bow … and my hair!” There are jokes about Frodo and Sam’s relationship, which pretty much every LOTR fan has made at some point.
Yes, it’s self-indulgent for the audience, which was made up almost entirely of people who had seen the films and/or read the books. In the slight pause between films, the actor asked for a show of hands for who had not done either, and one solitary person raised their hand. They must’ve been utterly fucking confused.
The show never felt like it dragged, and the hour flew by. It was a miracle and masterpiece how he was able to condense it into this ultra-quick performance, but he made it work. I was utterly amazed and impressed, and I highly recommend it to anyone who can do so to check it out.
