War of The Worlds

Pip Utton is the first man on earth to attempt a one-man The War of the Worlds performance. Using the original, unabridged script and a specially edited version of Jeff Wayne’s soundtrack, Utton offers an hour of high octane "caba-rama": half cabaret, half drama. Dressed in a dazzling two-tone velour waistcoat and equipped with little else but a hessian covered set of steps and sci-fi lighting design, Utton re-enacts H.G Wells’s Martian invasion with charisma and panache.

Utton works tirelessly through the gamut of emotions that the script offers: the loss of loved ones, alien conflict, the utopian promise of a new world. He provides a one-man panorama of extra-terrestrial experience that is let down slightly by poor acoustics and occasional speaker feedback.

Utton resembles a drunk uncle that takes to the stage during a Christmas karaoke session. Awkward? Yes. Loveable and oddly engrossing? Definitely. After the marvellous several minutes which comprise the instrumental opening, green and red alien invasion lights flashing, Utton bursts into song. His vocal quality is utterly unique; from soft crooning to a sheep-like vibrato on the top notes, the sporadic interjections of balladic angst only add to the naff brilliance of this show.

Utton treads a fine line between Ken Dodd and Kate Bush, and the results are strangely compelling and unexpectedly engrossing.