Monday, August 17, 2009

Review: One Man Lord of the Rings **

For the last two years, Charlie Ross has delighted Edinburgh audiences with his fast, frantic and inspired one-man blast through the Star Wars trilogy.

This year, he's back with his other show - One Man Lord of the Rings. Filled with the same ingenious impersonations, physical comedy, sound effects and asides which break the fourth wall, this show suffers only from its choice of subject matter.

Whilst nearly everyone in Ross' target audience group knows the Star Wars movies backwards, there are an ever-decreasing number who are as intimately familiar with each of the three LotR movies. So, whilst his Gollum is spot-on and his re-enactment of massive battle scenes is great fun to watch, most of the references are lost on an audience who maybe have only seen the first film in the trilogy.

It works best when he's spoofing the material - such as the references to Orlando Bloom's hair or the self-aware "insert the next DVD now" lines, but all too often you find yourself agreeing with the audience member who shouted out "do Star Wars!" half-way through.

One Man Lord of the Rings' run is now over.

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