It took three years, and many more millions, to bring this production to the stage.

After getting a lukewarm reception in its initial six-month run in Toronto, the producers shaved 45 minutes off the running time, recast key roles, beefed up the relationship between the hobbits Sam and Frodo, reorchestrated the music, rechoreographed the battle scenes and injected more spectacle into the climactic tussle for the Ring.

The result is the most expensive production in West End history. Promoters will be acutely aware that, at a cost of £12.5 million, they have to shift a lot of £15-£60 tickets over an extended run just to break even. The show needs 40 weeks of full houses to cover costs but more conservative estimates suggest that it will probably need to run for a year. It will face stiff competition from rival shows such as Billy Elliot, The Lion King and, not least, the new production of the Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which will open in London at the Adelphi Theatre next month.

It remains to be seen whether the £1 million revolving stage, weighing 40 tons, and its cast of hobbits, orcs, men, ents and elves, with 504 costumes, 227 pairs of shoes and 150 weapons, supported by 50 actors, 19 musicians, and a 60-strong backstage crew, will be enough to beat Joseph, which has already been heavily promoted on primetime television.

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