Dinosaur Planet

One-man science fiction rock opera Dinosaur Planet is, like its fearsome protagonists, a strange animal. With obvious musical talent and inspired by a genuine love for spectacular B-movies, M.J. Hibbett sets about telling the story of the unwelcome invasion of East Anglia through the eyes of heroic IT worker Terry, armed only with an acoustic guitar. Adults will spot the scattered references to popular fiction and crack a smile, whilst kids will enjoy (in the words of the performer) the "scenes of violent evisceration" between dinosaurs with bazookas and 300ft robots.

Undoubtedly, there is difficult territory to negotiate among the recent glut of musical comedy acts and at times the story feels like too much for one man to carry. The unused instruments stacked against the back wall from the previous show perhaps hint at what Hibbett could achieve with a backing band and a little more clout. However, gems like 'My Grandad is Nuts' and 'The Battle For Peterborough' are well-suited to the lone troubadour and maintain the air of lo-fi irreverence, while his enthusiastic finale is surprisingly easy to imagine as a showdown of Jerry Bruckheimer proportions.

According to Hibbett, Dinosaur Planet is like Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds “except with more dinosaurs, more jokes and a better ending”. He's right about the first two, and the reptilian invaders don’t catch swine flu, but you’ll have to go along yourself to learn of their fate.