A highly anticipated immersive theatre production of Douglas Adams's beloved sci-fi comedy The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has opened to scathing criticism at Hammersmith's Riverside Studios, where it will run until 15 February 2026.
A Wildly Misguided Adaptation
The creative vision behind this new staging baffles reviewers, leaving them uncertain whether the team possesses too much affection for the source material or none whatsoever. While the inclusion of elements from the less familiar novel So Long and Thanks for All the Fish suggests deep knowledge of Adams's series, the execution appears fundamentally misunderstanding of his distinctive humour and characterisation.
Writer and co-creator Arvind Ethan David, a former protégé of Adams, presumably approaches the material as a fan. However, this production fails to showcase his mentor's celebrated brilliance, instead creating what one critic describes as a meandering mess.
A Confusing Narrative Journey
The experience begins in the pub where hapless Englishman Arthur Dent is supposedly on a date with Fenchurch, his love interest from the later books. This immediately departs from the original story, where Arthur is dragged to the pub by Ford Prefect before Earth's destruction.
Audience interaction and novelty cocktails feature in this opening immersive section, with attendees vaguely incorporated into the narrative as fellow humans rescued from planetary annihilation. The production's coherence reportedly unravels after a peculiar karaoke battle between Ford and Fenchurch.
Instead of logically progressing to stowing away on a Vogon ship, the audience finds themselves aboard Zaphod Beeblebrox's Heart of Gold spacecraft briefly before inexplicably transitioning to the Vogon vessel anyway. A free-roaming section encourages interaction with tertiary characters from the series who appear on the Vogon ship without explanation.
Problematic Character Treatment
Arthur Dent, the unequivocal main character of Adams's work, becomes a distant presence despite having an actor physically present, apparently portraying a version of the character who has lost his memory. The production employs two actors per main role to facilitate three performances each night.
Marvin the Paranoid Android appears without introduction or meaningful purpose, despite being represented by a quality puppet. The romance between Arthur and Fenchurch receives treatment suggesting it was the central focus of the entire series rather than just one installment.
Notably, the production contains barely a single line of Adams's original dialogue, instead featuring numerous earnest singing interludes and a bizarre recreation of Arthur and Fenchurch's first meeting done in the style of Noël Coward's Brief Encounter.
Final Verdict
While occasional fan service appears through snippets of the original theme tune and animations reminiscent of the television adaptation, the overall effect fails to satisfy. Whether through insufficient faith in Adams's original material or excessive confidence in their ability to update the story, the creative team has delivered a production one critic considers more dire than a Vogon poetry recital.
The show continues at Riverside Studios on Crisp Road in Hammersmith with tickets priced between £42 and £87 for its 90-minute runtime.
