Rhum and Clay will at last bring their critically acclaimed adaptation of HG Wells’ The War of  the Worlds to some of  the most prestigious mid-scale venues in  the UK,  touring  this Autumn.  This follows sold-out runs in London and in Edinburgh.   

“No one would have believed, in the last years of the 19th century, that human affairs were being  watched from the timeless worlds of space….” 

But we did believe. We believed that Martians landed in New Jersey. We believed a water tower  was  an  alien  war machine. We  believed  a man  walked  on  the moon.  Perhaps  we  will  believe  anything…everything … 

Inspired  by  Orson  Welles’  classic  radio  play    almost  80  years  to  the  day  since  the  original  broadcast was reported to have caused widespread panic in its listeners- this legendary icon of  science fiction is reimagined for our era of  deliberate disinformation, ‘fake news’ and ‘alternative  facts’. An era where mistrust and  fear are routinely stoked by  the purveyors of ‘news’ and  the  truth has become an ever-harder concept to identify. The War of the Worlds slips between 20th and 21st century lives and listeners as if moving the dial on a radio: atmospheric and disorienting. 

Rhum and Clay are renowned for the humour and physicality of their productions as well as their  ability to create beautiful, visually textured on-stage worlds.  They are joined here by Isley Lynn, writer of the extraordinary sexual odyssey Skin a Cat, currently being adapted for television. Her  powerful  contemporary  voice  offers  a welcome  counterpoint  to  a  story  that  originated in  the  male-dominated society of the 19th and early 20th centuries.  

The War of the Worlds explores our inability to separate fact from fiction and our active complicity  in the process of being hoodwinked: lies dressed as truth and truth presented as fiction. But even  fake events cause real reactions. With references ranging from H.G Wells and Orson Welles via  Jeff  Wayne  and  a  nod  to  Tom  Cruise,  this  intense,  unsettling  and  raucously  entertaining  reinvention of the original alien invasion myth shows that in the darkest of times, the truth is a  very precious commodity.  

Recent  Rhum  and  Clay  productions include  a  tour-de-force  one-man  adaptation  of  Dario  Fo’s  classic, Mistero Buffo which won the Stage Award  for Acting Excellence at the 2018 Edinburgh 

Fringe. Their previous show Testosterone – the true story of a trans man’s search for a new male  identity- is still touring worldwide, three years after its first performance.  

Listings 

Rhum and Clay present The War of the Worlds  

Written with Isley Lynn 

Rose Theatre Kingston  28 Juy – 1 August 

Mercury Theatre Colchester  7 -8 September 

Corn Exchange Newbury  10 – 11 September 

Derby Theatre   14 – 16 September 

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