You’d have thought it was impossible, condensing the entire Lord Of The Rings trilogy into just one hour. This isn’t just putting the DVD on fast-forward and trying to figure out what on Earth is going on, but one man has taken it upon himself to re-enact the whole epic by himself.
Charles Ross is a self-proclaimed geek and has already toured his One Man Star Wars show – now his One Man Lord Of The Rings performance will be visiting Lincoln’s Theatre Royal on September 27th.
Without the use of props or costumes, Ross takes his audience on a unique journey from The Shire to Mordor in just 3,600 seconds.
Ross said: “My original one-person nerd-fest, One Man Star Wars, was the brainchild of TJ Dawe [director of the show] and myself. We came up with it (sort of) in 1994.
“The first permutation of the show was in January 2001. The One Man LOTR followed in 2004, just after the final film had been released. The LOTR has been on hiatus since 2005, so in many ways it’s still very fresh.”
Ross is still touring his One Man Star Wars show across the US and will be visiting the UK in Springtime next year to showcase it. But does Ross have any aspirations to tackle any other classics?
“It’s just a question of which classic to tackle. In some ways I have a hard time finding a ‘classic’ that stands up to Lord Of The Rings or Star Wars. I’m hoping to do a mini version of the Star Wars prequels to accompany the main show. Very little Jar Jar.”
Never one to shy away from a performance, Ross has performed in over 180 cities in four continents and at Lucasfilm’s own Star Wars conventions. He has just undertaken his fifth UK tour lasting a month and visiting various theatres around Britain.
“I love the theatres of every vintage, shape and size. The audiences are fantastic too, and usually quite savvy in the geek department. Lincoln, I believe, I’ve been to during my first ever tour. It’s my last city on my tour of England. I guess I’m saving the best for last.”
Catch One Man Lord Of The Rings on Monday, September 27th at Lincoln’s Theatre Royal. Tickets range from £12 to £16 and can be purchased via the Theatre Royal website.