They're right behind you Daryl...

Slipping into Soho to succeed Daryl Hannah in The Seven Year Itch at the Queen's Theatre next month are some strange, mythical creatures who have also proved a big draw for men.

They are appearing in a new stage version of JRR Tolkein's The Hobbit, which is making its debut in the West End after two successful tours round Britain. "So far, over 40 per cent of our audience have been male adults who came by themselves," says director Roy Marsden, best known as television's Inspector Dalgleish.

The production includes all the main characters, and stars Toby Gafney as The Great Goblin, James Adair as Gandalf, Clive Kneller as Gollum and Michael Geary as Bilbo.

Marsden rates the all-male show as the most successful he has ever been involved in: "It is the first time I have ever had audiences standing to clap at the interval. Watching the journey is fascinating. You can see the audiences come in thinking this is just fun and fantasy and finding themselves totally caught up in the story. It's just magic."