The Hobbit

Went to see the theatrical version of the Hobbit last night and I found that I have been spoiled by the quality of other productions. This was about half the cost of a normal performance in Norwich and a third the price of London and frankly it showed. The show was perfectly serviceable and had a few loud bangs but it lacked a bit of sparkle. Gandalf was good but not as imposing as I would like, the goblin were good but could be a bit more goblin and the acting could have been better. The actor playing Thorin stood out but too often complex dialogue was rushed and the emphasis was in the wrong part of the sentence. The best bit however was the dialogue between Smaug the dragon and Bilbo. In the book they have a number of conversations but this was reduced to two in the play and I wonder about the storytelling. Meeting the Trolls or Elrond could have been let out and more important parts of the story focused on. In someways it was too faithful to a complex book.