Rampaging Orcs send theatregoers running at Lord of the Rings musical

The Lord Of The Rings musical cost £25million to bring to the West End and has arrived for its British premiere featuring a hi-tech set which helps recreate Middle-earth.

But it is likely to be the orcs who will prove the biggest part of its appeal.

The enemies of the hobbits proved terrifying when they left the stage during the interval to get up close to the audience at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

Several women ran for the exits screaming as the black-clad creatures ran through the building.

Yet the £1million rotating floor captured the imagination before an arrow had been fired or an orc slain.

There were audible gasps from theatregoers as the revolutionary automated engineering, with three wheels and 17 lifts all moving independently, raised mountains and created battlefields - without the actors having to leave the stage.

Scroll down for more

Rampaging Orcs: The Lord of the Rings musical preview had theatregoers running in fear at the scary Orcs

It came into its own for the battle of Helm's Deep as the orcs prepared to storm the citadel.

Producer Kevin Wallace said: "It's like a landscape changing as the actors move through it and over it. It's like you're watching something which is almost cinematic visually - but it's three-dimensional."

The audience were warned as they took their seats that there might still be a few gremlins (or should that be Gollums?) in the system.

And so it proved when the stage jammed and sound cut out with Aragorn, played by Jerome Pradon, mid-battle cry.

The curtain was hurriedly drawn and an apology came over the PA before normal service was restored.

But it did not seem to bother most of the crowd, who greeted every major battle and song with cheers and applause.

It seemed nothing was going to spoil the night for many ardent fans of JRR Tolkien's fantasy epic.

Even at three hours, this was a slimmed-down production - around an hour shorter than the version which was panned, when it had its premiere in Toronto, as too long and confusing.

Director Matthew Warchus - an Evening Standard Theatre award winner for his direction of Volpone and Henry V in 1995 - and writing partner Shaun McKenna have re-vamped it for London.

The musical, which begins its run on 19 June, was the brainchild of producer Kevin Wallace, formerly a Royal Shakespeare Company actor.

The musical score is an unusual collaboration between contemporary Indian composer AR Rahman - who wrote the music for Andrew Lloyd Webber's Bombay Dreams - and Finnish folk music group Varttina.

James Loye carried off the role of Frodo Baggins well and Malcolm Storry put in a powerful performance as Gandalf.

But Michael Therriault as Gollum stole the show, throwing himself about the stage to recreate the tortured creature without the aid of special effects.