RETURN TO THE FORBIDDEN PLANET FEATURE
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‘Just your stereotypical 19505 B-movle spaceship crew’.
Carlton’s parodies of Shakespeare. ‘But soft Moore provides the prologue and epilogue. what light from yonder airlock breaks’ and that courtesy of a huge video screen.
sort of thing. And rather than have the While acknowledging such expert understudies sitting backstage smoking he’s assistance. Bobis dismissive ofany x-factor decided to have them on stage contributing type ingredients. ‘lt’s just your some interesting new characters to the stereotypical l950s B-movie spaceship Shakespearian canon. including Ensign Kurt crew flung into outer space and coping Enupp. the ship‘s entertainments officer. and with monsters and crash landings and
/, _.
Ensign Nora Carrott. the ship’s dietician. asteroid storms. The sort of stuff you So how does Carlton set about creating a show normally see on stage.’ Which starts to . with such an infectious cult appeal? make you wonder exactly which i "
‘lfl knew. I‘d be writing one this minute. In planet he’s from. You have the 80s we’d got into spectacle. with millions been warned.
being spent on sets which did wonderful things. Return To The Forbidden ’ This is a one-set show and relies on twelve Planet is at the King '3 f fi‘. actor-musicians who are on stage all the time. 1 Theatre Edinburgh from I think the rawness of that infected eo le.’ 7—12 June and Glas 0w x ’ c p p g fl . «a, 'f 1
One of the secrets Carlton does let slip is his King '5 Theatre from commitment to the kind of tackiness which 21—26 June. marked a thousand B-movies. When the show , was initially launched on its West End run. one
of its producers insisted that the cardboard spaceship and burning sparkler which traverses the backdrop be replaced by something more glamorous. The ensemble opposed the change and still try and prevent over-enthusiastic flymen making the ship’s trajectory too smooth. The sacred text for such decisions appears to be the first series of Star Trek. " which originally us d canteen salt cellars / as communicators. his has given rise to some splendidly low grade high tech. with space ship control levers marked up/down and on/off. So simple it’s _ brilliant. “ Of course. he also has some of the world’s finest scientific minds assisting him in the creation of Return to The Forbidden Planet, Gerry Anderson of Thunderbirds fame designed the set and Patrick
The List 4—47 June 1993 9