Melbourne Fringe: One Show To Rule Them All

"I read The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings back in the '60s," Jordan begins, "when they were very new, and attended the launch in London in 1967 of a recording of some of the songs set to music by Donald Swann where I met Professor Tolkien. I've wanted to share these songs, in their lyrical and poetic settings, with audiences-and at last I've found a chance to."

The excerpts from the trilogy, comprised of songs and poems, are conveyed acoustically to enhance the simplicity and lucidity of words.

"I've heard settings by others that make the songs sound Irish, or swamp them in ethereal, synthesised sounds," explains Jordan, "There's none of that in our show — just people, brass instruments, my big gong, and two lovely singers [Robert Dora and Samantha Frazer."

Despite the unembellished nature of the performance, the creative process involved an abundance of planning, organising and, well, devouring a bucketload of Tolkien's books.

"I went through [them] and chose sections about Frodo, Sam and the other hobbits; Tom Bombadil and Goldberry; the Elves Galadriel and Legolas; Treebeard the Ent; King Theoden, the Rohirrim and Aragorn; and Sam's discovery of Frodo in Cirith Ungol. Then I wrote a script."

What: One Show To Rule Them All

When & Where: 1 - 3 Oct, St Stephen's Anglican Church