Review: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Live at Riverside Studios

With Earth due to be destroyed to make way for the construction of a Hyperspace Bypass, audiences have to hitch a ride to the outer reaches of the galaxy in this immersive staging of Douglas Adams' much-loved sci-fi series.

Photo: Jason Ardizzone-West

Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is one of the best-known and most-loved sci-fi series of all time. Starting life as a BBC radio series in 1978, it later spawned a series of novels, a television series, a feature film and a highly successful video game. Along the way, Adams' series gained a devoted following, became endlessly quoted online, and influenced a lot of the technological developments we've seen unfold over the last few decades (X's Grok is said to be directly inspired by The Hitchhiker's Guide, Google's AI research lab took its name from Adams' work, and Wikipedia is basically our modern-day version of The Guide, to name just a few examples).

Now, for the first time in several decades, a proper live stage version of The Hitchhiker's Guide has opened in London. Taking over Studio 2, Studio 3, and the connecting corridors of Hammersmith's Riverside Studios until 15th February 2026, this immersive promenade production, written by Adam's protégé, Arvind Ethan David, invites guests to join Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect as they hitch a ride off a soon-to-be destroyed Earth and begin their search for the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything.

While the Live Show's story largely follows the main beats of Adams' original novel, it plays around with its timeline, adds a number of musical numbers, and incorporates elements and characters from some of the later books in the series. Most notably, the character of Fenchurch, who is mentioned on the first page of the original Hitchhiker's novel as an unnamed character and doesn't return until the fourth book, is front and centre in this production as Arthur's love interest. Our condolences to those whose favourite character is Trillian...

Photo: Jason Ardizzone-West

For long-time fans of The Hitchhiker's Guide, this rather dramatic reworking of Adams' original series might seem sacrilege, but by Adams' own admission, it has been the norm for Hitchhiker's since its inception. In preparation for attending the Live Show, we re-read our copy of the original novel, which features a 'Guide to the Guide' from Douglas Adams as a foreword. In it, he explains, "The Guide has appeared in so many forms... each time with a different storyline that even its most acute followers have become baffled by at times". He then explains how all the different versions of the story contradict each other over the following page and a half, so take the Guide's advice and Don't Panic just yet...

The experience begins with guests gathering in The Horse and Groom for Arthur Dent's Surprise Farewell Party. Arthur's best friend, Ford Prefect, is a ball of energy, frantically running around, welcoming guests and putting together the finishing touches. Behind the bar, everything from warm lager to Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters are being served.

For Arthur, who's already had quite the morning dealing with a bulldozer trying to knock down his house, this party is surprising for two reasons - the audience all scream 'Surprise!' as he enters the room, and he's not planning on going away anytime soon. For Fenchurch, who's also at The Horse and Groom to meet Arthur for a date, their mind is elsewhere, as they were on the cusp of having a world-changing revelation, which has seemingly slipped their mind entirely.

An announcement on the pub's TV screens from the Vogons (voiced by Sanjeev Bhaskar) - an alien race employed as the galaxy's bureaucrats - decrees that Earth is due to be destroyed to make way for the construction of a Hyperspace Bypass. With the clock ticking, Prefect sticks out his thumb, and the farewell party, along with Dent (but notably not Fenchurch), hitch a ride on a passing ship and begin an adventure across space that ultimately leads them to Magrathea, an ancient planet long thought destroyed. Along the way, there are encounters with two-headed President Zaphod Beeblebrox, the much-loved Eccentrica Gallumbits, designer of planets Slartibartfast, and the depressed robot, Marvin the Paranoid Android, amongst numerous other intergalactic characters.

Photo: Jason Ardizzone-West

While admittedly, it's a pretty unenviable task trying to condense the essence of 700+ pages, a feature-length film and 30+ radio episodes down into a 90-minute live show that mirrors Adams' voice and humour while remaining accessible to newcomers, on the whole, Arvind Ethan David has done an admirable job of trying to distill all of that source material down into something that works, even if it glosses over a lot of the novel's finer points. Many of the ideas fans would expect to be included, including babblefish, the exodus of the world's dolphin population and Arthur's endless hunt for a good cup of tea, have been omitted for the sake of time and barely get a mention.

Superfans will be glad to hear that the show's use of The Guide, which is voiced by Tamsin Greig, is skilfully deployed throughout. After Prefect leaves his bag with a guest aboard the Heart of Gold, a voice cries out from inside asking to be charged up. When pulled from the bag, it flashes with a low battery warning and begs to be plugged into a charging station, which causes its catalogue of endless knowledge to be projected onto the ceiling of the space, delivering some rapid-fire context on the now-destroyed planet guests have just left behind.

Photo: Jason Ardizzone-West

It's worth mentioning that throughout the show, there are a number of musical moments, none of which give thanks for the endless supply of fresh fish. Starting in The Horse and Groom with a duelling performance between Prefect and Fenchurch that uses 4 Non Blondes' 'What's Going On?' and Gnarls Barkley's 'Crazy', right the way through to 'Amazing Grace' and Kenny Rogers’ 'Just Dropped In' later in the show, Hitchhiker's musical selections are wide-ranging. All of these songs are performed live by the show's cast, who give it their all, but their inclusion is, at least at first, slightly baffling.

Whether it's down to the Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters or our increased investment in the show's characters by its conclusion, we found ourselves won over by the show's musical moments and walked away from the experience feeling like they worked, even if they're a left-field addition to a story that's already struggling to fit everything in. Of course, your mileage on this will vary depending on your feelings towards musical performances in theatre.

Photo: Jason Ardizzone-West

Benjamin Durham's portrayal of Arthur Dent, who acts as the audience surrogate in the opening scenes, is wonderfully charming and throughout, he has the energy of a lovesick puppy as he shows far more concern for kindling a relationship with Fenchurch than for the impending destruction of Earth. Tamara Saffir's interpretation of Fenchurch effectively sells the blossoming relationship between her and Dent, even if Fenchurch's role in the story is pushed to the sidelines in the second act.

Lee V G's dual-headed Zaphod Beeblebrox, who appears both in person and through pre-recorded video content, balances having all the bravado and bluntness you'd expect for the President of the Galaxy with a far softer and more approachable side, depending on which head is awake in any given scene.

Of all the main cast, Matt Colyer's performance as Ford Prefect stands out as the strongest. With years of experience improvising with guests as Halloway in Phantom Peak, it’s no surprise that they’re right at home in the most interactive moment of Hitchhiker’s Guide, weaving through the audience and striking up conversations at every turn. Throughout the show, Colyer's Prefect regularly reference previous conversations and calls on guests by name, on top of delivering an energetic performance as one of the most extraverted aliens this side of the Hyperspace Bypass.

Andrew Evans's puppetry and voicing of Marvin the Paranoid Android also shine through as a particular highlight, with large crowds forming around Marvin in the hope of speaking to them one-on-one. Their repeated asking of people's names, only to dismiss their answers as unimportant, and go-to party trick of claiming to know every song in the known universe, then completely butcher its delivery, drew some big laughs from the audience. As a piece of puppetry design, Martin's mix of exposed wires and rusted exterior is a far cry from their sleek, spherical portrayal in the 2005 Touchstone Pictures film, but they contain just as much contempt and self-loathing, regularly sharing their self-diagnoses with guests.

Photo: Jason Ardizzone-West

The show's supporting cast, whom guests encounter upon arriving in the cargo bay of the Vogon Construction Fleet, also provides further chances for one-on-one interactions. Set across several bays, there’s the snot-worshipping Jatravartids, stirring up a bowl of the green stuff and asking for further contributions, the three-breasted Eccentrica Gallumbits (Briony Scarlett), who roams the space striking up conversations with potential customers, and the Vogon Complaints Department, where guests can take a queue number and explore their desks and endless bureaucratic documents.

Guests have between 10-15 minutes to explore this open space at their own leisure, which also contains a merchandise stall decorated to be a campaign stall for Zaphod, and grab themselves a drink at the in-world bar.

One of Hitchhiker's Live's weaker elements is the set design, which sadly feels pretty barebones throughout. Large black curtains cover some of Riverside Studio's studio walls, which goes some way to contain the show's world, but at times, the guts of the studios are still on display with next to no dressing covering them. Moving between the show's main spaces (particularly from The Horse and Groom into The Heart of Gold) feels like walking down a nondescript TV studio corridor, and the later transition into the Vogon Construction Fleet ship has guests walking past numerous studio wall boxes.

While most shows don't have the kind of budget Secret Cinema has, comparing the off-world portions of Hitchhiker's Live to Secret Cinema's past sci-fi offerings, such as Guardians of the Galaxy, feels like night and day. At no point does it feel like the audience has actually left Riverside Studios, let alone Earth, which is disappointing given the size of the spaces Hitchhiker's Guide has taken over, and its potential to be completely transformed.

Photo: Jason Ardizzone-West

While long-time fans of the series will likely have issues with the live show's omissions and changes, for us, The Hitchhiker's Guide Live is an enjoyable and entertaining romp that (mostly) succeeds at adapting Adams' source material into a 90-minute show. Even if we didn't feel like we ever truly left Earth behind, the show's strong performances, fun interactions and hugely likeable cast make this an experience that's worth jumping on board a stranger's ship for.

★★★½

Interview: Arvind Ethan David on The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Live

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The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy Live runs until 15th February 2026 at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith. Standard tickets are priced from £42.00, and VIP tickets are priced from £72.00. For more information and to book tickets, visit hitchhikerslive.com

For more reviews of immersive experiences like The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Live, check out our recent Reviews.