one4review | On 23, Aug 2025

Frank Herbert’s series of epic sci-fi space opera novels, the Dune series, could graciously be called Lord of the Rings for the type of nerd who prefers Star Trek to Dungeons and Dragons. Most recently, of course, they have been adapted into films starring no-ones favourite Willy Wonka Timothée Chalamet, but they’ve had a cult following since their publication in the 60s. It’s perhaps not surprising that some of those fans have been moved to song…

A work of genius or madness, Dan Collins’ one man production of Dune! The Musical has absolutely no right being this good. A medley of ballads, requiems, folk songs and silly ditties covering the events of the first novel, played expertly on a 12 string guitar it’s genuinely a masterclass of how to storytelling through song. Collins plays bard and warrior Gurney Halleck who recounts the epic story that unfolded before him of the rise of Paul Atreides to the throne of the desert planet Dune.

If you haven’t read Dune, then my attempt to summarise it would be a near unending list of proper nouns of space people, most of whom are killed off almost as soon as you get used to them, so I won’t do so here. That said, if you haven’t read the books, this is not the show for you as while Collins summarises the story of the first Dune novel perhaps even better than Herbert did, he doesn’t have the time to explain the in-depth world building of the setting. You might be on better footing if you’ve seen the films, but even those would only take you so far.

My main question on hearing about the show was how seriously it would take its subject, whether it would be a loving tongue-in-cheek retelling or an actual serious attempt to adapt something so out there that at one time David Lynch was genuinely thought to be the best choice for director to turn it into a film. Somewhat unexpectedly to me, it’s much more the latter than the former. While there is the odd wink to the audience, especially those in the know about how bonkers the series eventually becomes, most of the story is presented with seriousness and I think that might be the best way to make it work.

This show is really the epitome of how you can make something great by taking a silly idea seriously. Collins has clearly put his heart and soul into the production and it pays off with something truly interstellar.

*****
Tom M
Speakeasy at PBH’s Free Fringe @ Voodoo Rooms
12:35
24th