The United Nations’ Philip Raven is taken on an extraordinary journey – one with repercussions for the future of the world.

H.G. Wells’ 1933 book The Shape of Things to Come is not exactly the most readable of his works. It purports to be an account of a dream had by a League of Nations representative in 1930 that paints a sometimes chilling picture of the world over the next century and a half. Some of his predictions were pretty accurate – he got the Second World War’s start out by a few months – but others were far offbeam (he predicted the fall of Islam around the time that the Ayatollahs actually took control in Iran).

Which presumably left scriptwriter Guy Adams with something of a problem – and his way round it is ingenious allowing him to relate Wells’ history without it feeling anywhere near as wrong as it does in pure textual form, looking back from 2017. Sam Troughton plays Philip Raven, involved with the spiritual successor to his literary forebear (UN rather than League of Nations) who’s confronted by a woman – Jane, played by Nicola Walker – on an aircraft as he goes to vital negotiations. She spins him what he believes initially to be a complete yarn… and then he thinks he’s dreaming… and then… well, that’s when things start to get very nicely ambiguous.

I don’t want to spoil the neat framing device that Adams has devised – there are elements of Doctor Who and The Librarians to it that you’ll smile when you recognise – but confine myself to noting that this allows a great discussion of the philosophy behind the book. Adams doesn’t just present Wells’ arguments, but also puts them to the test using his Everyman character, and although he shies away at times from some of the more controversial elements of Wells’ account, there’s plenty of food for thought here.

Troughton and Walker make an excellent pair, with the rest of the cast providing strong backing. There are some very powerful moments throughout the whole play, and director Lisa Bowerman allows the story the space it needs at times to punch home its points about today’s world.

Verdict: An object lesson in adapting the unadaptable – excellent work all round. 10/10

Paul Simpson