Fall back into these top time travelling shows
Posted on 28 October 2023
Spring foward, fall back. It’s that time of year again, for the next six months, the clock in your car will either be displaying the correct time or will be an hour ahead (not even Doc Brown has figured it out). Tomorrow we will gain an extra hour of sleep, and we'll be all the more confused...and well-rested!
It’s amazing what a difference an extra hour can make to our days, but, adjusting the clocks and resetting the time can be trippy. Can you imagine what it would be like if you lived in one of those time-bending shows...well imagine no more as if you want to journey through the space-time continuum, we've got just the list of time-travelling shows for you. Stop the clock!
1. The Time Traveller’s Wife
Henry can travel through time; however, he doesn’t have the ability to control it. He is pulled through time in a random fashion, experiencing life events in a strange sequence (think blowing out the candles on your 30th birthday cake before you've turned 6, attending funerals before you’ve met the deceased). Having and maintaining, a loving, steady, relationship in Henrys situation feels almost impossible...but then he meets Clare.
Clare and Henry fall in love and get married, but not in that order. Caught in a relationship that appears doomed by Henry’s extraordinary disorder, the pair search for a cure. However, Henry can be ripped from the present, and out of Clare’s loving embrace, at any moment. She can only wait, taking the long way to the future where she might someday meet him again. Can the couple endure the time shifting turmoil, or will their time together cease to exist? Time is running out...
2. Back to the Future
The multi award winning stage adaption of the cult classic 80s film, is the ultimate time travel trip. Strapped in a souped-up DeLorean, Matty McFly hurtles through time, leaving the 1980s behind him as he crash lands into 1955.
As the teenage time traveller explores the historical Hill Valley, he comes face to face with some familiar faces. Unbeknownst to Marty, his (premature) relationship with his mum and dad has devastating consequences, and it’s now up to him to save the space time continuum. In order to ensure he has a future to return to, he must return time back to normal. However, it’s hard to get your parent to fall back in love, when you’re the reason your mum no longer has eyes for your dad.
The Olivier and WhatsOnStage award winning musical has been delighting audiences for the last two years. This hilarious sci-fi romp is a must see for families (if only to remind yourselves that your relationships could be a lot more complicated.)
3. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
The latest instalment in the Harry Potter universe see’s Harry all grown up. Nineteen years after the legendary Battle of Hogwarts, Harry is facing his biggest challenge yet – raising three children whilst being over worked at the ever-demanding Ministry of Magic.
While Hogwarts most notable alumni grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus is being crushed with expectations and weight of a family legacy. In order to make his present more bearable, Harry's son, Albus Potter, and his best friend, Scorpius Malfoy, (yes, son of THAT Malfoy) use a Time-Turner to travel back in time. Here the two best friends attempt to save a life, and in doing so, change their future. As past and present ominously fuse, both father and son must learn an uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.
First published 26 years ago, the Harry Potter franchise has spanned generations. Whether you were one of the dedicated fans who queued up in WH Smiths for the midnight release of the latest hardback, or stumbled across the films when scrolling through Netflix. This magical show will cast a spell over the entire family.
4. A Christmas Carol – A Ghost Story
Ebenezer Scrooge is taken on an unwanted trip down memory lane in this Christmas classic.
Christmas Eve in Victorian London; the smell of roasted chestnuts circle in the night, the cobbled streets are covered in a blanket of snow and the sounds of choirs’ float in the air. What’s not to love? If you are Ebeneezer that’s an easy question to answer. Lots. The children should be in the workhouse, not singing, his workers should be working and making him money, not eating seasonal treats, and the snow makes it harder for potential customers to reach the shop door. Bah Humbug!
The spirits do not find the sleet troublesome though and are soon appearing at Ebenezer’s bedside. The first to arrive is his old business partner, Marley. Plagued with chains as a punishment for his greed when he was living, Marley warns his old friend to change his ways to avoid the same fate. When that doesn’t work, he employees three ghosts to transport him to his past, present and future, forcing Ebeneezer to see himself how others do: a sad, lonely, mean old man. Each of the spirits implore him that there is still time to change his ways, but will the stubborn septuagenarian do so?
This darker take on the holiday staple puts the supernatural elements of the Dickens tale front and centre and saw rave reviews when it was first premiered last year. Don’t miss your chance to see this seasonal, yet spooky, show.
5. The Time Machine – A Comedy
If The Play That Goes Wrong did sci-fi, this would be it! H.G Wells literary masterpiece gets a seriously silly makeover in this latest adaptation.
A trio of hapless actors attempt to stage a time bending theatrical feast, however their budget is more Costcutter than blockbuster… Dave, Amy, and Michael gear up to time travel on the journey of a lifetime, but it seems as if someone has left it in reverse. Nothing is going right for the theatre troupe and time is running out until opening night!
Dave is desperately trying to convince the others to stick to the script he has laboured over, whilst Michael continues to explain the intricacies of time travel (without having to rely upon a multitude of props.) Will audience be transported through time and space (or even stay until the second half of the show?) only time will tell.
