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Phil Hopkins
Group Travel Editor & Theatre Correspondent
@philhopkinsuk
9:20 AM 4th November 2014
arts

War Of The Worlds On Tour

 
As preparations for the last ever arena tour of Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of The World's heat up, venues in both Sheffield and Leeds have now been included on the 17 date tour due to massive ticket demand.

This sixth tour will now open at Sheffield's Motorpoint Arena on Thursday 27th November 2014 in addition to playing Leeds Arena on Saturday December 6th.

The show, which is mixed live in Surround Sound, features remarkable special effects, including the incredible three tonne 35-foot tall Martian Fighting Machine firing real flames into the arena, a 100 foot wide "animation wall" with two hours of cutting edge CGI, a ground-breaking levitation effect and even the incineration of a cast member in front of the audience's eyes!

Conducted by Jeff Wayne it will include Liam Neeson in 3D holography,Jason Donovan as Parson Nathaniel, Westlife's Brian McFadden as The Sung Thoughts of The Journalist, X Factor 2005 winner Shayne Ward as the Artilleryman, Les Miserables' Carrie Hope Fletcher as Beth, Parson Nathaniel's Wife, X Factor 2013's, Joseph Whelan, as The Voice of Humanity, the 36-piece ULLAdubULLAStrings and the 9-piece Black Smoke Band.

Jeff Wayne said: "Bringing The War of The Worlds to life in many of the world's finest arenas has been the most amazing experience, both musically and technologically. However, the time is right to take The War of The Worlds in new directions after the (final) 2014 tour. All I can say for the future of TWOTW is watch this space!"

As part of a spectacular finale, HG Wells, author of The War of The Worlds, will be brought to life visually and audibly in three scenes within the show. It will be the job of Oscar, BAFTA and Emmy Award 'make-up' winner Mark Coulier, to transform Scottish actor Callum O'Neill into the famous author when he was aged 33, 53 and 79.

Jeff Wayne's double album was originally released by CBS Records in 1978. It has enjoyed huge success and critical acclaim across the globe with more than 15 million records sold. The album has also been Number 1 in 11 countries around the world and Top 10 in 22.

This tour plays 12 UK cities and tickets are on sale via thewaroftheworlds.com/tickets or at www.livenation.co.uk .


Tour Dates:

November 2014
Thurs 27th - Sheffield Motorpoint Arena, UK
Friday 28th - Liverpool Echo Arena, UK
Saturday 29th - Glasgow Hydro Arena, UK
Sunday 30th - Manchester MEN Arena, UK

December 2014
Tuesday 2nd - Nottingham Arena, UK
Wednesday 3rd - Newcastle Arena, UK
Friday 5th - Birmingham LG Arena, UK
Saturday 6th - Leeds Arena, UK
Sunday 7th - Cardiff Motorpoint Arena, UK
Monday 8th - Cardiff Motorpoint Arena, UK
Wednesday 10th - Bournemouth BIC, UK
Thursday 11th - Bournemouth BIC, UK
Saturday 13th - London O2 Arena (matinee), UK
Saturday 13th -London O2 Arena (evening), UK
Sunday 14th - Brighton Centre, UK
Monday 15th - Brighton Centre, UK
Tuesday 16th - Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam, The Netherlands