London Palladium, Sunday November 12, 2017

Themes from Westeros and Middle Earth were performed on a West End stage as two of the most popular fantasy franchises were given the full symphonic treatment.

Sunday Night at the London Palladium is the name synonymous with one-off variety shows at the eponymous theatre on the one evening that other theatres are dark. But while the Palladium has playbills showing historical performances by Fats Waller, the Three Stooges and Norman Wisdom, this is the first time that Howard Shore and Ramin Djawadi’s scores have graced the building.

A predominantly young audience settled down to the first half, which was dedicated to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Starting with Misty Mountains, The Hobbit trilogy garnered ten minutes of play time (including Feast of Starlight and Sons of Durin), while The Lord of the Rings was allowed half an hour. At just 45 minutes, the first half felt truncated, especially considering how much material is available, though a rousing The Prophecy theme lifted the crowd, as did The Bridge of Khazad-Dum and some beautiful vocals on Evenstar. A 16-minute sequence from The Return of the King let the artists prove their mettle (and metal?). At times the soloists in the choir struggled to be heard against the orchestra, but it was a solid performance of the popular main themes.

Less engaging was the time-lapse photography that accompanied the performance. Typically showing a misty mountain range from New Zealand, it’s easy to see what the producers were aiming for, but as we could see sped-up shots of cars driving on the roads or lights going on and off in the houses, we couldn’t even kid ourselves that this is Hobbiton or Rivendell – it’s New Zealand. There’s enough going on to watch with the orchestra and choir, so my suggestion is that if you aren’t showing authentic footage or stills, show nothing rather than a distraction.

The show returned for an hour of Game of Thrones, and the ensemble were a lot more accomplished and confident in this segment. After the opening titles, embellished and played at a slightly faster tempo, a selection of  tracks was plundered for across the show’s seven seasons. The sorrowful Winterfell theme was followed by the first of the many Rains of Castamere variations, beautifully played by the cello soloist and string section. Most of the Daenerys theme variants (Myhsa, Mother of Dragons, Kahleesi) were also on the set list, boosted by some strong choral chanting by the English Chamber Choir.

The best was saved for the last – the opening ten minutes of the Season Six finale, Light of the Seven. Starting with a simple piano melody, it ebbs and flows, building layer on layer until all sections of the orchestra and choir and engaged (including organ). It was a fine finale, and this second half (one hour long) was the stronger segment, all performers seeming to better engage with the material. Oh, and I finally got to see a cimbasso (vertical trombone) in action!

Verdict: Winter is not coming – it’s already here – so what better way to embrace the season than with some lively orchestral themes. Inevitably this can’t compare to the live touring versions by the respective composers, but the audience loved this three-in-one précis of some great music. 7/10

Nick Joy