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Putting literally every other theatre show in the history of humankind to shame, the imminent West End run of the stage show of Jeff Wayne's prog rock odyssey 'The War of the Worlds' features a cast so utterly bizarre that we wonder if it's in fact some sort of coded message to watching extraterrestrials.
The least weird bit of it is in fact the hologram of Liam Neeson as the narrator (the Richard Burton role from the album). The man with the very particular set of skills recorded this a while ago and it's been in the touring incarnation of the show for five years or so.
It's the new additions, however, that have really made us wonder if this isn't some glorious cosmic wind-up. The mighty Jimmy Nail will play Parson Nathaniel and he'll be joined by oddball '00s pop star Daniel Bedingfield as The Artilleryman and Heidi Range – the most famous of the non-famous members of the Sugababes – as Beth. Oh, and David Essex will be playing something called The Voice of Humanity.
Note to any aliens thinking of invading the planet before press night: stop us watching this and we will fuck you up, 'Independence Day' style.
'The War of the Worlds' is at the Dominion Theatre, Feb 8-Apr 9