The War of the Worlds at the Mercury Theatre Colchester

The War of the Worlds

The bumf for the 2.30pm performance of ‘The War of the Worlds’, held this afternoon, at the Mercury Theatre Colchester reads….

Inspired by H.G. Wells’ sci-fi novel and Orson Welles’ classic radio play, this legendary science fiction thriller is playfully reimagined for our era of Fake News and ‘alternative facts’.

Originally commissioned by New Diorama Theatre. Co-produced by Brighton Festival and HOME. Supported using public funding by Arts Council England.

Presented by Rhum and Clay Theatre Company and written with Isley Lynn

A few seconds after the lights went up at the end of the first act, "It wasn't what I expected" said a gentleman two rows back from me in the audience of Colchester Mercury Theatre to his female companion. We had just finished that first mesmerising act of the theatre’s performance of the play ‘'The War of the Worlds'. 

Inwardly I agreed. No it wasn’t what I had expected either. It was so much more.

That's the thing about expectations. We formulate opinions based on scant knowledge and then are surprised when our expectations are not realised. Some people believe that expectations shape and bend our reality. They further believe that expectations can change our lives both emotionally and physically. On the other hand, some experiences turn out to be greater than our expectations, this was one of those. 

The Mercury's performance of this new production far exceeded all my expectations. We, the audience, expected to be entertained, yet we were much more than mere entertained, we were transported into the true magic of theatre, into make-believe where gestures from actors conjure illusions of reality. This afternoon we willingly suspended our disbelief. We handed our collective imagination over to that production team and the ambience they so skillfully created. That performance was not just the HG Wells story of ‘The War of the Worlds’, nor only the Orson Wells (ironically named) Mercury Theatre on the Air 1938 radio drama broadcast (which prompted more lies and fakery about that which was already fiction). The Mercury Theatre performance was so much more. I’ll not go into detail as I‘ve no wish to spoil either the plot or the ending.  

With few props and a limited cast, the audience became enraptured by the tale telling. It was as if we were sitting cross-legged by some glowing campfire, on an autumn night, listening to a shaman weave his (or her) magic. The Mercury Theatre's War of the Worlds was a triumph of engagement, of deft illusion and the sheer power of theatre and its unique brand of multi-layered storytelling. That show ended with a close-to-black silence echoing a silence which had been utilised (to great effect) in the original radio show.