The immersive theatrical show The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, currently running at London’s Riverside Studios, is the latest in a long line of adaptations of Douglas Adams’ original 1978 BBC radio drama, which swiftly became a best-selling novel series. It’s been through many iterations and media formats since, each version being more different from the first. This new adaptation is both a loving homage to what has gone before and also its own glorious thing.
As the show begins, we walk into the first room, which is The Horse and Groom pub, Arthur Dent’s local. Arthur will turn out to be one of our galactic hitchhikers, and we will join him on his journey. It’s that sort of show; you’ll be walking around, taking in the sights and talking to the characters from the story and then eventually the plot will happen around you. It’s loud and flashy, so be prepared. It’s very clear from context which parts of the show are for you to explore and when to watch.
Pan-Galactic Gargle Blasters are available at the bar, as is Hitchhiker’s-branded lager. We meet the ‘perfectly normal’ Ford Prefect, and apparently, we’re all in the pub for a surprise party for Arthur Dent. Meanwhile, Arthur’s date, a woman called Fenchurch, seems rather bemused that so many people are here for something so routine. Other folk also hover around, some of whom may be two-headed aliens in a cunning disguise.
Arthur arrives, and there is a karaoke battle for his attention between Fenchurch and Ford. Then the Earth is destroyed by aliens called Vogons (via a pre-recorded performance from Sanjeev Bhaskar), which fits in seamlessly with the narrative. A countdown to doomsday begins, heartfelt confessions are made, and wackiness ensues, and we, the audience, find ourselves fleeing the Earth (moving to another room), becoming hitchhikers ourselves.
If you don’t know the story, we won’t spoil it, but if you’re a fan and very familiar with the material, then you’ll be delighted to learn that this is a blend of the first four books, with a focus on the first and fourth. It also makes some of the same narrative decisions as the 2005 movie, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, which is essentially a love story about finding meaning in the dark between the stars. 42 might be the big cosmic answer, but the question is for you to discover.
There’s plenty to take in, and the performances are mixed with props to interact with. Oliver Britten is incredible and bizarre as Ford Prefect, Kat Johns-Burke is mesmerising as Fenchurch, and Robert Thompson holds it all together as an earnest and perpetually bewildered Arthur Dent. Only Fools and Horses alumnus Lee VG is particularly sleazy as Zaphod Beeblebrox. The casting is excellent throughout. There are some pre-recorded parts, but the live cast really do stand-out and are superb.
Briony Scarlett is particularly strong as Eccentrica Gallumbits. The performer is incredible, even though the character itself really should have been left in the 1970s, though a modern take on the outmoded ‘sexy alien’ trope is always worth a shot.
It’s a messy show, and that’s the point. There are some amazing set-pieces, brilliantly handled character moments, and even at one point, the opportunity to buy merch. The show’s humour is also similarly tricky to pin down; it relies partially on some of the best jokes from the books, but also on the surprise of the bizarre. Relax, take it all in, and you will be smiling very soon.
Douglas Adams’ material shone when it was a stream of consciousness, and the show’s creators have fundamentally understood this. At times the show feels like it needs a little bit more time and space to truly shine, but at the same time the rush is part of the point; life happens whether you’re paying attention or not, and that is very much in the spirit of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
This is absolutely the sort of show that demands a level of buy-in from the audience. You can passively be led from scene to scene, taking in the musical numbers and pre-recorded performances that flash up on various parts of the set, or you can pick up mysterious telephones and get into an argument with a robot. It’s up to you, though we’d recommend the latter.
Unique, ambitious and absolutely worth making the journey to London, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a one-of-a-kind sci-fi jaunt. (Don’t hitchhike to get there, though; take the train.) An unmissable addition to the canon of Hitchhiker’s storytelling, and something that people will be talking about for the next forty-two years at least. Definitely a show for the sort of person who really knows where their towel is. Marvelous stuff. Recommended.
