THE LORD OF THE RINGS - LORD OF THE RINGS DIRECTOR 'APOLOGISES' TO TOLKIEN

The director of the musical adaptation of THE LORD OF THE RINGS has apologised to late author J.R.R. TOLKIEN for the show's forthcoming run in London's West End. MATTHEW WARCHUS admits he visited the writer's grave in Wolvercote Cemetary, Oxfordshire, England to repent for his interpretation of the seminal text, which he has described as "Shakespeare meets Cirque du Soleil". He says, "I visited his grave a few months ago to kind of apologise and get his seal of approval. It was a magical moment. I apologised just in case he didn't like the idea of his novel becoming a stage show." The $48.75 million (GBP25 million) stage show was poorly received by critics when it first opened in Toronto, Canada, and as a result has been reworked for its UK debut on 19 June (07).

09/02/2007 17:20