Ben Hur Gets Ready for O2 Debut

Published on 25 August 2009 by Nathan Brooker

The live action version of Ben Hur is in its final rehearsal stages in Dusseldorf.

Dubbed by its director as "the biggest arena show ever", Ben Hur is just three weeks from its world premiere at London's O2 Arena. The production, which after London will embark on a 17-city tour, requires 500 tons of sand, 400 cast and crew and 46 horses for every performance.

Director Franz Abraham has been planning this monumental show for 15 years. He told The Times: "Now we are almost through to London and with all seriousness... this can be the most successful show on Earth." Confident of the show's credentials, he added: "It can run for 50 years”.

Whether or not Abraham is correct, the big-budget Ben Hur will play in the capital for just four days; after that it takes off on its European tour.

The dialogue of Ben Hur is completely in Latin and Aramaic, with the narrator describing all the action in English. Though, with the dangerous excitement of the Roman galleys and the prospect of a full-speed chariot race, the intricacies of the plot might not be the most memorable facet of the show.

Detailing the turbulent life of Judah Ben Hur, a Jew who is wrongly convicted of murdering a Roman governor, the story is an epic tale of friendship, treachery and redemption. With music by the former Police drummer Stewart Copeland, every aspect of Ben Hur looks set to ensure Abraham's prediction of it being the biggest show in history.

Ben Hur will play at the O2 from 17-20 September, 2009.