The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Live review: a recipriversexclusion of a plot
Aesthetically pleasing and totally unconcerned with telling a story. Needs some Deep Thought.
Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of West London lies Hammersmith. Within this is Riverside Studios, where the observant may notice that an immersive theatre adaptation of Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has been running since November. Despite being both a pretty big fan of H2G2 (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) and an immersive theatre actor myself, I only stumbled across it by improbable chance. Having been re-listening to the original radio show at the time, I was searching up a quote I had heard, and the experience happened to pop up.
Advertised on the website as a ‘cosmic adventure’, in which the audience must ‘escape the destruction of Earth…and set out on a quest to uncover the mysteries of Life, the Universe and Everything’, it seemed like the perfect experience, considering I’d just spent an hour sat listening to the Tertiary Phase.
Ok, I’ll stop with the tension-building. If you understood the title of this review, you can guess how my experience went, and if you didn’t understand it, you’re probably gathering from this sentence that it didn’t go well. Or from the underwhelming two-out-of-five stars. That might’ve given it away. So, in the words of Arthur Dent: How did we get here?
Minor spoilers from here on out, but Don’t Panic! I’ll warn you before we get to major spoiler territory. Share and Enjoy!
Almost, but not quite, entirely unlike the original series
The formatting itself provides a linear experience. You arrive with other guests, and after a bit are taken into the first of three rooms, very nicely set-dressed as a pub. You have a little time there taking the atmosphere in, (potentially) getting to chat to one of the three characters present, or buying one of the themed cocktails. I did all of the above, and I can confirm that the cocktail was alright, if a bit expensive. It was only a pan galactic gargle blaster in name, not in spirit (pun not intended): I could’ve had at least three more if my bank account wouldn’t have gotten frozen first. But to be fair, I am still trying to adjust to London prices.
Soon enough, the scripted show kicks off, as Ford Prefect (played by Oliver Britten on my visit) hosts a leaving party for Arthur Dent. Fenchurch (played by the charismatic Tamara Saffir, she was the only main character I was able to speak with) steps up to question the festivities and talk about a ‘revelation’ she’s on the cusp of. When Arthur Dent (Robert Thompson) himself arrives, a karaoke battle ensues, during which, similarly to Fenchurch, you experience your own revelation: You’re actually watching a jukebox musical. The Vogons must have realised this too, as they interrupt to declare the imminent destruction of Earth. As Ford flees onto the Heart of Gold with the audience in tow, Fenchurch leaves the pub whilst Arthur stays behind to negotiate with the Vogons.
The audience, having been shuffled into the second room (unexpectedly walking past Marvin the paranoid android in the corridor), now has a short time sat in the spaceship, most of it spent watching an animated excerpt taken straight from the books. It was projected straight onto the ceiling, so it wasn’t just the fourth wall that was broken, but my neck too.
Then, the final room’s experience begins with another period of cast interaction. New, supporting characters are present, mostly to fill the space and time, if I had to guess. I managed to explore 80% of the room, give or take, and was guided through some sort of vaguely-yoga exercise by three spiritual characters (listed as acolytes on the website), spoke a few words to Ford, and found the Alpha Centauri planning office complaints department (we weren’t able to write anything there, disappointingly)! The space was fun to wander around in, but when the next scripted section started I was a bit confused from the get-go, and so I am convinced (without much evidence, admittedly) that something slightly more interesting had been going on in my unexplored 20%.
Eventually, through a series of strange shenanigans, we end up crash-landing on the planet of Magrathea, fifteen minutes before the end of the show. I’ll spare the details, not for the sake of spoilers and certainly not to shorten the length of this review, but because I probably couldn’t explain it all if I tried.
A few more pop songs, an interaction with the “total perspective vortex” (in quotations because their machine is different to the one from the original series in all but name), some seriously rom-com lines, and a dance number later, the show ended abruptly. I went home on the tube the same way I had come, but feeling significantly more silly for being dressed in my half-hearted and last-minute attempt at an alien outfit than I had been before.
Whilst the experience was disappointing overall, there were certainly positives. In this rant-disguised-as-an-article, I’ll go over my main praises and criticisms in sections. Major spoilers ahead!
Oh no, there’s only one section for all of the positives
Firstly, I want to emphasise how well the actors did with the material they were given. They all gave great performances, and all the dancers were really coordinated. Characterisation was pretty good on the whole too, in my opinion, and I’ll mostly attribute that to the actors too.
There were a number of standout performances. Robert Thompson as Arthur Dent did a shockingly accurate vocal impression of a young Simon Jones (the original voice actor), and yes of course Arthur Dent shops at Sainsbury’s; that gag is somehow the most canon line in the whole play. Richard Costello was an amazing Slartibartfast, who I think really stole the show in its third act, and Tamara Saffir (Fenchurch) was fun to talk to at the start of the show. Andrew Evans demonstrated spectacular puppetry skills when handling Marvin the paranoid android. The voice was great too, although I personally found his characterisation to be, surprisingly, a touch too cheerful compared to his book and radio counterparts. Maybe that was just my experience, however, as Evans seems to be the only element of this show to get stellar reviews across the board, including in H2G2 fan forums. I sometimes just found that when the show aimed for cynicism, it usually missed and landed on either cheeriness-in-a-vaguely-sarcastic-tone, or just kind of mean. Vague nit-picks aside, all the performers had strong presence, and bounced off one another well too. Of course, they were also strong dancers and singers, which helped the musical numbers land a bit better.
Importantly, I want to praise the team of backstage creatives. The set design and dressing went above my expectations, with most rooms getting plenty of creative details; a great job was done balancing functionality with theme. Costumes were also out-of-this-world, featuring alien LEDs, sequins, fabulous colours, and Arthur’s recognisable dressing gown. Maybe being a (very) amateur costumier, I just go starry-eyed when anyone incorporates electronics into their designs, but I was impressed either way. Zaphod Beeblebrox (Lee V G) had the most impressive costumes of all with various incorporated props to not-so-subtly hide what we can infer is his second head. I question why he was given so much costume attention, when his cameos are so brief that they become unmemorable, but I admire the wardrobe team’s strong attention to detail.
One of the best parts of the whole experience was the lighting. The technicians and designers did a stellar job creating atmosphere in each of the rooms, and I suspect they were why I was able to appreciate the set as much as I did, discreetly drawing the audience’s attention to the best elements of the environment (although in that case, that projection has unfortunate implications for the second room). Whatever members of the lighting crew were there on the day I attended were also excellent with their timing and attentiveness, executing hilariously dramatic and responsive lighting cues (Fenchurch’s sudden, dramatic spotlight comes to mind) as well as using Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz’s (Sanjeev Bhaskar) prerecorded video clips to interact with Arthur and the audience via projection. Speaking of projections, there were a lot, and by the end it was perhaps a little tedious, but I suspect that the script itself may have called for them. Besides, the projections were all of good quality. All in all, I think the lighting designers got creative with this one, and it really paid off; the tech was impressive enough that it caught my attention, despite the added challenge of designing, rigging, and operating for an immersive promenade show.
Now for what I didn’t like so much. Additional content warning ahead for bad puns. Well, more than there already have been, anyway.
What can you a-Ford?
In my opinion, both the spectacle of it all, and the chance to engage with The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy as a theatre production made the experience worth the visit. But, then again, I did buy my ticket for nearly half price in a Black Friday sale. With the amount of merchandise available and the persistence with which they were trying to sell refreshments throughout the whole show, it felt like something the original series would have made fun of.
Did they forget the shoe event horizon? There were no anti-capitalist themes present at all: and why would there be? They are trying to upsell you supermarket pork pies, after all.
The cheapest non-VIP ticket is £42. Haha. Funny. But that price is nearly four hours at work for me. Although, perhaps you have a better job! In that case, you might want to go on the weekend, which will cost you £57, and if you were fooled into believing the VIP tickets were worth it, that could run you up to £92 per ticket. Ouch. Listen, in this nation of cultural subsidy cuts, charge however much you need to for your show. But the experience should be worth the cost for the average guest. If you’re in my income bracket, or age group, you probably can’t afford to be a patron of the arts. It definitely was worth what I paid (£23), but with the absence of any more upcoming sales being advertised, bear the original cost in mind. And speaking of unadvertised…
Don’t Panic! at the disco
Yep, so the show is a jukebox musical. I usually have nothing against this: I love a panto! But it was a strange choice to make for an adaptation of H2G2. The karaoke battle between Fenchurch and Ford in the first room was fun, if a bit long, but later songs only really served to give me second-hand embarrassment. Arthur’s surprise rendition of Lord Huron’s The Night We Met was particularly painful, in all the wrong ways. The karaoke worked fine, so I think the problem was just with the sudden introduction of non-diagetic songs. By the end, despite being a passionate, slightly tipsy fan who is of the firm belief that ‘cringe culture’ is dead, I was admittedly recoiling. The last note I wrote before leaving was ‘What the Disney?’’, which summed up my final thoughts pretty well.
My final note was also in reference to the parts of the show that were far too cliché for a satirical IP. I mean, the show ends with what is the most literal example of deus-ex-machina I have ever seen: Arthur’s love, Fenchurch, who has realised the secret to life, the universe, and everything, is resurrected by the total perspective vortex machine and shares her revelation. And the ultimate question to life, the universe and everything is to… live your life and ‘keep asking questions’. Ok, here’s my first one: ‘Huh?’
It could be that it was phrased slightly better than in my recollection, but the line was so rushed that I couldn’t tell you; as though the actress knew that it was a cop-out of something that has been hyped up not only throughout the experience, but since 1978. For goodness’ sake, if you’re adapting The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Leave the Ultimate Question Alone.
When, in the aftermath of this, even Marvin got up to announce that he was ‘feeling happy’ (which would be for the first time in any adaptation of H2G2), I was waiting for the other, much more cynical, shoe to drop with some absurdist ending, but it never did. Well, good for Marvin if watching two strangers’ confusing love story was the thing that finally cured his chronic depression. If only it were so easy for the rest of us, Love Actually would have saved me nine times over last month!
Time is an illusion, this runtime doubly so
Another issue for me was the pacing. The experience of the first two rooms was a little on the slow side, in part due to that slightly gratuitous karaoke battle; time which could have been used to strengthen Arthur and Fenchurch’s relationship. The second room of the experience was pretty much obsolete, and only felt like an excuse to play a video of dialogue taken verbatim from the original series.
In the third and final room, the pacing goes haywire. New stakes are introduced and dismissed, random characters you never get to hear speak in scripted sections appear in your periphery constantly. Arthur was certainly not the only one experiencing time anomalies. The 1hr 30mins could have been used so much better. Scrap the songs and the projection video clips, and focus on developing stakes and character relationships.
What felt like 90% of the show’s plot was crammed into the last 20 minutes, not that you’d have a chance of staying on top of it unless you were both a big fan of the books and lucky enough to have interacted with the right characters when you entered the room. Although, there’s not time for much interaction, all in all, so don’t bother coming prepared with anything: you’ll probably just get talked at for a minute. Great for the majority of awkward Brits, assumedly, but as an over-eager immersive actor myself, I was hoping for more space to talk to the core characters.
Timing was, ironically, all over the place, and this only served to add confusion, which brings me to my last main issue.
“Anything that happens, happens”
The second half of the show put a spotlight on what I considered to be the weakest aspect of the whole experience: the lack of a consistent tone and narrative. Aside from musical elements, it doesn’t go out of its way to appeal to younger audiences; the whole thing is so unhip, it’s a wonder its bum doesn’t fall off. The cliché messaging and its forced delivery would only serve to give most people my age second-hand embarrassment. But its kitchy, awkwardly-placed pop numbers also don’t try to appeal to older fans of the series, and could be interpreted as the show striving for a more camp feel to appeal to Gen Z, only to fall flatter than a whale hitting the ground at terminal velocity.
As a big fan of the original radio show, I appreciated the similarities and references, but was disappointed by the patchwork narrative they formed. Other big H2G2 fans seem to share this opinion, with the majority of comments on the subreddit (r/HitchHikersGuide) harbouring negative sentiments towards the plot and the songs, and drawing conclusions similar to my own. Unfortunately, though, you’re no more likely to get a better experience as someone unfamiliar with the source material. I met another audience member whilst there who wasn’t as big a fan of the IP, and told me she had been feeling a bit lost as the story progressed and fractured. I get this same impression from most review articles, too.
What had started as an immersive re-telling of a modern classic had ended as a rom-com, vaudeville, jukebox musical, which felt, despite the gorgeous polish applied by the cast and creative designers, like a scatter diagram of kinda cool ideas.
The show’s writer is Arvind Ethan David, who has worked on a lot of previous adaptations of Adams’ work. He’s probably more familiar with the guy’s work than any of us, so it baffles me a little the extent to which he missed the mark with tone and themes. In an interview he gave to Exciting Stuff last year, he said:
“I can tell you we’ll absolutely have a narrative and an emotional core. Part of my issue with a lot of… immersive… theatre is that it looks great… but you walk out and you can’t tell anybody what happened or what it’s about. This will not be that. There will absolutely be a very strong emotional story that runs through it… it will be Arthur’s story…”
It certainly was not Arthur’s story. Arthur was there at the start, yes, but then we missed all of his actual story, and he reappears first as a vaguely suave 1940s guy (don’t even ask), and then as a pitiful time traveller in a wig, singing sad, indie music. I can see that the show was aiming to tell the audience’s story too, but instead of successfully meshing it with Arthur’s by having us join him, or at least creating parallel narratives, we spent the first half of the show as a centre focus, replacing Arthur as we escaped Earth’s destruction, and the second half as neutral observers to the chaos that comes with being dropped halfway through a story we had no idea was happening.
Weirdly, throughout the whole interview, A.E.D. stressed the importance of elements of the adaptation that ended up, in my opinion, being the weakest in the final product. Such as, maintaining the ‘spirit of the Adams-verse’ or having a plot that you can’t ‘just get lost in and not know what’s happening’.
He even mentions that he initially wanted to make the show because of how relevant H2G2 still is in our world’s current political climate, but outside of a Trump joke lifted straight out of 2016, nothing in the performance even hints at current affairs. H2G2 is pretty much known for its cynicism, but like I said earlier, this adaptation quite frequently missed the mark on that tone. These discrepancies, along with a few promises mentioned that never made it to the final version, makes me wonder if there were some issues in development.
The only part of the book series that I have no doubt inspired the plot of the show is:
“Anything that happens, happens. Anything that, in happening, causes something else to happen, causes something else to happen. Anything that, in happening, causes itself to happen again, happens again. It doesn’t necessarily do it in chronological order, though.”–Douglas Adams, ‘Mostly Harmless’
So long, and thanks for all the cash
Throughout the performance, the lighting and actors built up my rapport, only for it to wilt again in scripted moments. I left the theatre feeling like I’d also just had a dip in the total perspective vortex, and not the new one that reads minds and projects dead wife montages. I think that this show, as unfortunate as it is, has earned the description of ‘mostly harmless’. Even more awkwardly, the areas for improvement are some of the most foundational (although no doubt small changes would help: maybe changing the refreshments’ costs, or adding more interactive elements (e.g. allowing guests to submit papers to the currently-only-decorative Alpha Centauri Planning Department)). The incredible technical work and the cast performances tried their hardest against a structure that worked against them, and the whole thing would have been decent, or at least entirely harmless, were it not for the harm done to guests’ wallets. The writer and co-creator is such a huge fan of Adams’ that I know it can’t be– but the whole thing feels like a misguided and under-advertised cash grab.
With less than a month left of this show’s run left, if you want to go because you’re a huge Douglas Adams fan, it’s probably worth a standard ticket, even if it’s just to say you did it. If you want to go because you like immersive theatre, don’t bother. Perhaps it’s conceited to say, but on the tube home I came up with about 3 premises I thought would work better for a H2G2 immersive show than what I’d seen. It’s a shame that this show will probably be the last of its kind, at least for a long time.
‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ plays at Riverside Studios until the 16th February; please let me know your thoughts if you do go to see it. Or if you don’t. But kindly submit any and all formal complaints about my review to your local planning office’s recycling bin— and beware of the leopard!
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