Return to the Forbidden Planet

Last night saw our debut visit to Colchester's Mercury Theatre to watch sci-fi meet Shakespeare in the rock 'n' roll musical Return to the Forbidden Planet. We went with our friends Joe and Jo Cassels - Joe is a fellow freelancer who now has the misfortune of living an hour's train ride away in Suffolk. Anyway... it was very entertaining, enjoyed by a full house and the theatre itself is very modern, but the seats are comfortable (no more cramped leg room) and the layout very effective with decent views for all.

Unlike past trips to the Theatre Royal in Bath, there is no name dropping to be had, unless you count the guest appearance of Brian May (yes, the Brian May!) as the Narrator via the big screen. It was Mr May's blog (see opposite) that alerted us to this production, and I'd like to thank him for doing so.

What about the production? A good set, racuous interpretation of various rock 'n' roll classics and - once you get over the shock of listening to Shakespeare in a sci-fi setting - the plot wasn't too bad either... For Shakespeare, at any rate.

[Listening to: Sometimes - Erasure]