One Man Lord of the Rings

It is, perhaps, a question reviewers ought to ask themselves more often. Namely, why does this show exist? Is it unreasonable to think the the whole of The Lord of the Rings, acted out by one man in a little over an hour might be considered somewhat decadent, maybe a little pointless?

I'm provided an answer before Charles Ross has uttered a syllable of Elvish: as the lights dim, the 400-strong Udderbelly audience explode in applause. Quite simply, for fans of the LOTR films—the narrative follows more closely Peter Jackson's blockbusters than Tolkien's trilogy—Charles Ross's single-hander is precious stuff.

As a work of mime, vocal acting and physical theatre, OMLOTR more than deserves the praise it has garnered from one Ian McKellan. Indeed, so energetic and engaging is the performer that he's able to win back an Edinburgh audience after professing his pleasure on arriving in England. One suspects ancient magic to be at work here.

There's even the odd ad lib thrown in. The formative Fellowship's pledges ("You have my sword; and my hair") are received riotously, as is Ross's recital of the Elvish written on the ring: "One for the money, two for the show..."

But there's also a great deal of indistinct soundtrack humming, explosion noises, and falling over – and non-afficionados will find themselves utterly lost. There's the rub: OMLOTR is a show which appeals to a very select—indeed, most probably a self-selecting—audience. But few performances truly offer "something for everyone", so perhaps this is a show that just happens to wear its exclusive credentials on its sleeve.