JEFF WAYNE BRINGS HG WELLS to LIFE for the WAR of the WORLDS FINAL ARENA TOUR Submitted By: FMG Friday, 26 September 2014

JEFF WAYNE BRINGS HG WELLS TO LIFE FOR THE WAR OF THE WORLDS FINAL ARENA TOUR Submitted by: FMG Friday, 26 September 2014

JEFF WAYNE’S MUSICAL VERSION OF THE WAR OF THE WORLDS THE FINAL ARENA TOUR! … with Callum O’Neill as HG WELLS – ALIVE ON STAGE! Jeff Wayne will bring author HG Wells to life on stage for the final arena tour of The War of The Worlds this November and December, using state of the art prosthetics, makeup and spectacular visual effects. Since 2006 triumphant UK and international arena tours have thrilled audiences with what has become recognised as one of the most ground-breaking arena tours of all time. Live Nation and SJM Concerts are delighted to announce Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of The Worlds – Alive on Stage! is to return to the UK for the sixth and final time in 2014, and MCD and MOJO for Dublin and Holland. Tickets for the UK are now on sale via The War of The Worlds (http://www.thewaroftheworlds.com/tickets) or at Live Nation (http://www.livenation.co.uk) priced from £38.50. For Dublin please visit: www.ticketmaster.ie and Holland: www.ticketmaster.nl Adding a new dimension and marking a spectacular finale, HG Wells, the author of The War of The Worlds, will be brought to life being seen and heard in three riveting scenes within the show – aged 33, 53 and 79 – spanning the end of the 19th century and two subsequent World Wars. HG Wells will be played by Scottish actor Callum O’Neill, who is best known for his role as 'Wee Dingwall' in Disney Pixar's 2012 Summer Blockbuster Brave. In 2013, Callum also played Angus in Jamie Lloyd's Olivier nominated Macbeth, at Trafalgar Studios in London's West End. To transform Callum into HG Wells, Jeff Wayne and his team have engaged the services of Oscar, BAFTA and Emmy Award winner Mark Coulier, creative director of one of Europe's leading make-up effects companies, Coulier Creatures FX. Mark’s work has included transforming Meryl Streep into Margaret Thatcher in 'The Iron Lady', projects such as 'Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Event Horizon, Alien III, Star Wars: Episode 1, The Mummy and The Fifth Element amongst others. He was the creator of Lord Voldemort on the Harry Potter movies, created prosthetics for Ralph Fienne's directorial debut 'Corialanus' and was the mastermind behind an army of Zombies in the Brad Pitt blockbuster WWZ. Coulier Creatures FX recreated the horrific burn injuries suffered by Niki Lauda in the Ron Howard movie 'RUSH' and recreated Nelson Mandela for the biopic 'Long Walk To Freedom'. Published in 1898, the prototype for all science fiction, HG Wells’ novel The War of The Worlds describes the invasion of Earth by ruthless Martians with superior intelligence, incredible machines and devastating weaponry. An invading alien race bent on conquering humanity.

Page 1 When HG Wells began his literary career he had no idea the impact his story would have - both shocking and thrilling the world by exposing the flaws and hypocrisy of Victorian society with his futuristic thinking and alternate views. His most popular work of all - The War of The Worlds – HG Wells opened a door into the future that took his readers on a unique adventure far away from the social constraints of 19th Century England, while challenging them to question the rights and wrongs of invasion into another man’s land; or whether faith is worth fighting for, even dying for. Wells’ story remains as relevant today, perhaps even more so, as to when he first wrote his dark Victorian tale. For the final tour, Jeff Wayne believed it important that The War of The Worlds creator was included in the show. Jeff commented; "For our final UK arena tour, I decided that "it was time to give TWOTW creator – HG Wells - a chance to ‘have his say’ ", about why he wrote what has become known as the first science fiction story ever written, and its broader meaning to the real world we live in. As a result, I’m most excited to announce that HG Wells will be seen and heard in 3 riveting scenes within our show – aged 33, 53 and 79 – spanning the end of the 19th century and two subsequent World Wars. While HG may have also authored The Time Machine – it’s TWOTW that’s bringing him back!”. Conducted by Jeff Wayne, this most ambitious production yet will also feature Oscar Winning actor Liam Neeson in 3D holography as George Herbert, The Journalist PLUS Live on stage - Jason Donovan as Parson Nathaniel, Westlife’s Brian McFadden as The Sung Thoughts of The Journalist, X Factor 2005 winner Shayne Ward as the Artilleryman, Les Miserables’ Carrie Hope Fletcher as Beth, Parson Nathaniel’s Wife, X Factor 2013’s Joseph Whelan, as The Voice of Humanity, the 36-piece ULLAdubULLA Strings and the 9-piece Black Smoke Band. The show, which is mixed live in Surround Sound, also features remarkable special effects, including the incredible 3-tonne 35-foot tall Martian Fighting Machine landing on stage while firing its real flame Heat Ray over the heads of the audience, a 100 foot wide ‘animation wall’ with 2 hours of enhanced cutting edge CGI, the incineration of a cast member in front of the audience’s eyes, a ground-breaking levitation effect PLUS the debut of the first new song since Jeff’s original recording was released. Jeff Wayne's double album was originally released by CBS Records in 1978. It has enjoyed huge success and critical acclaim across the globe with over 15 million records sold and spending over 330 weeks in the UK Album Charts (to date) plus achieving two International hit singles - 'Forever Autumn' and 'The Eve of The War'. The album has also been Number 1 in 11 countries around the world and Top 10 in 22. The War of The Worlds has also won two prestigious UK Ivor Novello Awards, the US Best Recording in Science Fiction and Fantasy (the judges included Alfred Hitchcock, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg), as well as winning for Jeff, Classic Rock's 'Showman of The Year' Award.

Page 2 CALLUM O'NEILL AS HG WELLS (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c_Bay2Tgs0&list=UUR352_mnpLXII3P0Ens5zag) Tour Dates: November 2014 Thurs 27th - Dublin O2 Arena, Eire Friday 28th - Liverpool Echo Arena, UK Saturday 29th - Glasgow Hydro Arena, UK Sunday 30th - Manchester MEN Arena, UK December 2014 Tuesday 2nd – Nottingham Arena, UK Wednesday 3rd - Newcastle Arena, UK Friday 5th – Birmingham LG Arena, UK Saturday 6th – Leeds Arena, UK Sunday 7th – Cardiff Motorpoint Arena, UK Monday 8th - Cardiff Motorpoint Arena, UK Wednesday 10th – Bournemouth BIC, UK Thursday 11th – Bournemouth BIC, UK Saturday 13th – London O2 Arena (matinee), UK Saturday 13th –London O2 Arena (evening), UK Sunday 14th – Brighton Centre, UK Monday 15th – Brighton Centre, UK Tuesday 16th – Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam, The Netherlands For further media information please contact Margaret Murray at FMG UK Ltd on 0121 262 3890 or email; [email protected]

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