War of the Worlds (On a Budget) by Lamphouse Theatre is a one-man, musical-comedy production that takes you through the classic novel War of the Worlds (a very brief and cost-effective performance at that). With a combination of loop pedals, DIY props and lots of costume changes, Lamphouse reimagines Jeff Wayne’s classic in the most brilliant and hilarious way.
When I first walked into the performance space, I was nervous. As any Fringe veteran will have experienced, you sometimes find yourself at very weird but maybe not so wonderful performances.
Simply put, I wasn’t expecting much.
How wrong I was. The show began with a fabulous musical number by our protagonist, antagonist and about 20 other characters Tom. Tom’s voice is absolutely amazing, and he immediately grabbed everyone’s attention. He was looping his voice on a pedal and belting out lyrics about Mars attacking Earth and tweeting Elon Musk (the oddest and most brilliant sentence I think I’ve ever written). The writing of the music and the script are hilarious and comedically timed perfectly. Tom is also very quick-witted, as he interacted with the audience throughout. The amount of running around and costume changes he went through was crazy, he deserves a good review for that alone.
The storyline was brilliant. Despite fitting the whole of War of the Worlds into one hour, Lamphouse were able to create a silly yet cohesive storyline that had us gripped whilst hysterically laughing. My favourite gag was their take on creating a layered-feminist character role model, which Jeff Wayne seemed to miss in his novel. By making her Prime Minster and using an audience member as a reference, they put a great twist on the story we know whilst making a dig at male writers of the past.
As for being on a budget, their homemade, DIY props and quick hat changes add to the charm of the show. When they said on a budget, they meant it. But I believe that’s what the Fringe is all about! It’s about creating shows with heart and a bit of super glue. From tripod aliens to planets, everything was made from papier-mâché or foam. The show still felt professional with loop pedals, voice-overs and music, but it had that homemade charisma that I love.
War of the Worlds (On a Budget) is quintessential Fringe; DIY everything, hilarious and musical numbers galore. If anyone is thinking of doing a show but has no money, War of the Worlds (On a Budget) proves all you need is a bit of super glue and a great imagination to create a five-star show. Lamphouse have created a fantastic show and I can’t wait to see what other classics they’ll cover next.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
War of the Worlds (On a Budget) plays at The Space @ Surgeons Hall Aug 8-13, 15-27. https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/war-of-the-worlds-on-a-budget
Theatre Scotland 
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