THE WAR OF THE WORLDS:

a work-in-progress by Cambridge Experimental Theatre

The Book:

All texts used in this performance are from The War of the Worlds, H.G. Wells’ famous novel
about the Martian invasion of the Earth. Written in 1898, the novel chronicles the catastrophe
that ensues when the industrial West is faced with a technologically vastly superior and
extremely ruthless adversary. In describing the violence and horror of these events, Wells
predicts with uncanny accuracy what many people have experienced in the 20th century, and
continue to experience in the 21st, not at the hands of Martians, but at the hands of other people.

The Performers:

Leon Coleman
Maxine Fay
Brandon High
David Monksfield
Steve Adams
Christine Cellier
Geoffrey Robertson

directed by: Richard Spaul

The Performance:

What you are about to see is a work-in-progress, in other words a presentation of the
performance material at a stage well before the piece is ready for the general public. For us, it is
an extremely valuable staging-post, in that it compels us to organise the work we have done so
far into a reasonably coherent form, so we can see what real progress we’ve made. We hope that
for you it will be interesting to see a performance at an early stage, when everything is still in a
state of flux, and that this will provide some sort of insight into how our performances get
created. This is not always clear from seeing a finished performance. Please feel free to stay
and talk to us and give us your impressions afterwards.

The performance lasts approximately 55 minutes. There is no interval.

Smoking and the consumption of alcohol is not allowed anywhere in the premises.

For more information about Cambridge Experimental Theatre courses and performances, please
phone 01223 211451.

Thanks to: Edmund Linfield and all at Sturton Street Methodist Church.