Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of the War of the Worlds - The New Generation
Published August 6, 2025
Film info
- Title Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of the War of the Worlds - The New Generation
- Director Nick Morris
- Year 2013
- Run time 1hrs 19m
- Genre Music
- Tagline Alive on stage!
In 1978 Jeff Wayne composed and produced one of the most ground-breaking and bestselling musical works of all time. In 2006 Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of The Worlds took to the stage with audiences and critics hailing it as one of the most innovative combinations of music, technology and live performance. Now in 2013 The New Generation production is launched . With an all-star cast including Liam Neeson, Marti Pellow, Jason Donovan, Kaiser Chiefs’ Ricky Wilson, Jetblack’s Will Stapleton and Wicked’s Kerry Ellis, plus stunning new 3D holography and a 3-ton 35ft Martian Fighting Machine, it’s truly a musical multi-media extravaganza. Filmed Live at London’s O2 Arena, Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of The Worlds is a show not to be missed!
Live blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 3:27 | So far there is always some lightning. |
| 6:34 | Interesting that the Martians are admitting to basically the same problem as Earth - we’ve ruined the planet, time to move on. |
| 8:16 | Oh I know this music! |
| 18:39 | Liam Neeson is a great narrator for something like this. Could listen to him for days. |
| 24:21 | “Hurried to the railway station to buy a paper.” Not your average destination for news these days. |
| 31:34 | That was clever, interacting with Neeson the Hologram. |
| 44:00 | Sort of get sucked in and then it’s a surprise when a human singer pops up. |
| 56:31 | It’s a good natural interval break, the invasion and then earth under the martians. Thanks HG! |
| 1:01:48 | Ooh the horrific red weed. |
| 1:07:39 | Kerry Ellis and Jason Donovan are a bit of a power couple here. |
| 1:17:43 | The Tom Cruise version quite similar to this scene in the basement with the winding claw/eye. |
| 1:34:26 | “And I suddenly had an inkling of the gulf between his dreams and his powers.” |
| 1:44:57 | Our microscopic allies. |
| 1:54:21 | “The problem is, of course, the humans.” |
Thoughts
After seeing I was on a bit of War of the Worlds kick, my dad mentioned this musical and it turns out I had a copy of it already, picked up in a musicals bundle on Apple. I was a bit nervous about it because the title is so long and what to expect from a musical adaptation of this tricky story? But it was really a pleasant surprise.
It’s not so much a musical in the traditional sense - there’s a lot more instrumental music, with the occasional singer popping out to do a song. And for a show, it’s an odd and unique staging, with a human cast playing independently and alongside the video as well as a hologram of Liam Neeson. They didn’t seem that comfortable with it at all times, but it does seem to work.
The music itself is great, rocky but other-worldly, good use of instruments and rhythms and really building the atmosphere and tension. I sort of could have listened to Liam Neeson narrating to the backdrop of the music and the video regardless of the rest! It was really good, and I’ll definitely be watching again.
Rating: 4 / 5
