Mini Live Review – Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version Of The War Of The Worlds

Last night I went to see Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of The Worlds live at the Manchester Arena; and it was pretty brilliant! Conducted by Jeff Wayne, and starring Justin Hayward, Kevin Clifton, and Duncan James (as well as holographic Liam Neeson); Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of The Worlds, is a stage musical based on the album of the same name by Jeff Wayne, and the book of the same name by H. G. Wells. It was a pretty cool show on the whole, featuring great effects such as dry ice, and innovative use of lights to make it more than just a live musical performance. It did though have a couple of issues. Firstly the screen which displayed graphics and videos, was rather small, and thanks to the appearance of the 30-foot Alien Tripod on the stage; blocked from view, with Liam Neeson’s face sometimes appearing directly behind the tripod. The sound was also an issue; in that it was very hard to directly hear the live performers. The sound generated some rumbling feedback, which meant that it drowned them out. When Liam Neeson’s audio track (as he wasn’t actually there in person) was played you could hear him fine. In this case, it makes you wonder if all of the performances should have been on video, at least then you could make out what they are saying; which is a real shame given that their stage presences captured their passion very well! But moving past the issues, it was a brilliant show, featuring all the classic tracks from Jeff Wayne’s album, such as The Eve of The War, and Forever Autumn. A really enjoyable and captivating show, which ends in a really nice way, and will have you humming the tracks for the next day!