BLOG Science fiction and fantasy on stage - UPDATED

Why aren't there more science fiction and fantasy themed plays in theatres? Blogger Steven Gaythorpe discusses the one medium where SF doesn't seem to have a decent foothold:

I know that many of Sir Terry’s novels have been adapted for the stage but I have only seen one performed and it put me off seeing the rest; it was diabolical, really put the amateur into amateur dramatics. I have always felt that the interpretations of Sir Terry’s work have never been able to capture the voice correctly, but this production took one of his best books and did things that would be illegal if that book were a person. The rest of the audience, though, loved it and the theatre was full - but then most of the audience were related to, or friends with, the cast, so you would expect that!

This article is by Steven Gaythorpe, one of our new bloggers . Read more about our volunteer contributors in issues 181 and 182 of SFX.

SFX has fond memories of The Lord Of The Rings musical, and of course there's Wicked. Does Rocky Horror count as SF theatre? Share your experiences of live SF in the thread below, or on our forum .

UPDATE
On a related note, the West Country's Miracle Theatre Company has been touring a version of Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle which is coming to Bath's Rondo Theatre on 19 March. As SFX is based in Bath, we thought, "Hell, why not pop along?" so we'll have a review here after we've seen it. Also, SFX's Other Dave has a short, five-minute SF play on at the Rondo as part of an evening of one-act plays on 6 and 8 May, if anyone's interested.

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