Ingenious high energy performance hits the right note for Tolkien enthusiasts.

Jacob Aldroft and Alexandra Ricou. Image courtesy of the artists.

Parody of the Rings at The Cidermill Theatre, Chipping Camden, Saturday 5 September 2026.

Review by Charles Essex

A small local theatre is staging an all-night playing trilogy of Lord of the Rings films as a fund raiser to repair the theatre’s roof.  Unfortunately, it goes wrong before the first reel when the projector and discs catch fire.  The ushers Peter (Jacob Aldroft) and Jackson (Alexandra Ricou), a nod to the director of the said trilogy, have to recreate the films by improvising, using various props they find at the cinema, and helped by the audience. 

Once the action starts, the energy level never drops in a high-octane performance by this dynamic duo.  In a single act with no interval, Jacob and Alex take numerous roles, too many to count, ranging in size from giants to dwarves.  The majority of the rehearsed improv is of The Fellowship of the Ring, with Twin Towers and Return of the King quickly covered at the end, but this does not diminish the terrific fun and enjoyment of both the actors and the audience. 

In a little over an hour, the heroes go from the Shires to The Mountain of Doom to Middle Earth and Mordor.  Peter’s (Jacob Aldroft) rendition of Ian McKellan as Gandalf is hilarious both in terms of his voice and unintelligible vocalisations, and the use of a mop to imitate Gandalf’s shaggy beard.  A three-way conversation between Alex as Frodo and hand puppets representing Pippin and Merry was comical.  The volcano of the Mountain of Doom was recreated with the schoolboy trick of sugar in a bottle of Coca Cola.  The sound effects were excellent, including a laugh out loud recording of Ian McKellan taken from one of his films which fitted superbly with Jackson’s (Alexandra Ricou), conversation with him on speakerphone.

Peter cleverly recreated Samwise Gamgee almost drowning by repeatedly putting his head in a bucket of water.  Jackson became Gollum by donning a yellow swimming cap and goggles, and American football helmet and large shoulder pads to be an orc.  By the end the stage was littered with props large and small. 

The audience was both terrifically enthusiastic and knowledgeable, and many of them were clearly devotees who could probably have answered questions on the films as their specialist subject on Mastermind.  They knew the in-jokes such as a reference to Viggo Mortensen breaking his toe in the filming of Twin Towers and clearly got full value for their money.  Three very willing members of the audience were brought onto stage to assist and fully embraced their few minutes of fame. 

It was clearly appreciated more by the aficionados in the audience than those with only a little knowledge of the trilogy but there was much to enjoy from this production and Jacob and Alex deserve full marks for their full-on commitment in this cleverly written play.

See what’s coming next at The Cidermill Theatre: https://cidermilltheatre.com/whats-on/