Originally published by L. S Media. June 19th 2012
L.S. Media Rating *****
Cast: Simon Jones, Geoff McGivern, Susan Sheridan, Mark Wing-Davy, Stephen Moore, Toby Longworth, Andrew Secombe, Philip Pope, Samantha Beart, Roger McGough.
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, so good that they returned to the format that broke all conventions and established rules of sci-fi comedy on the radio and turned into a live radio show.
With dedicated fans of Douglas Adams seminal and perhaps best known work in attendance at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool and with those that have grown up with the memories of hallowed, reverential whispers heard from parents and grandparents alike, not just of how good the radio play, television series and books actually were but how they influenced the following generations to take risks, to be bold in their writing and most of all, to make people believe.
The show, even after the best part of over 30 years since the original broadcast, was able to bring together the original cast that made it a joy to listen to all those years ago. With Simon Jones reprising the role of the hapless hero Arthur Dent, the world, although in imminent danger of being destroyed by a Varlon battle cruiser, was alright again. This was a man who single handed saw off the threat of rather bad poetry and a wardrobe department consisting of one rather tidy looking dressing gown to gain the adoration of every single listener, then as now.
Each and every member of the cast strode across the stage as if giants had come to reclaim their natural and rightful place at the highest pantheons of amusement, and with the aid of Babel fish were able to get Liverpool poetry legend Roger McGough to take on the voice of the Guide itself.
With tremendous work the show succeeded where other radio-theatre crossovers in the past may have fallen flat. From the use of the amazing props, superb sound effects to the music by the house band, including some fancy work reproducing Pink Floyd’s One of These Days, a quick stab of the music of Doctor Who and of course the iconic and dreamlike intro music of Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy itself. For everyone who made up the very strong audience, this was pure and unadulterated sci-fi heaven.
The last shot of the show was perhaps the most poignant. On screen above the actor’s heads, the projection showed the late great Douglas Adams. A moment of real without whom…
Consult the Hitchhikers Guide Book; it only has one entry for this show…a real and defining treat. It only remains to say so long and thanks for all the love.
Ian D. Hall