The original cast of the surreal science fiction comedy classic The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy are returning to the theatre where they created the show more than 30 years ago for a one-off performance.

Simon Jones, who played Arthur Dent in both the radio and TV versions of the space travel adventure, even slipped on the dressing gown worn by his character during his adventures.

The show, which started on Radio 4 in 1978, inspired a hit TV programme, a series of books, a computer game and a film with Martin Freeman as Dent.

Also at the microphone were Mark Wing-Davey, who played the two-headed Zaphod Beeblebrox, Geoff McGivern, who was undercover alien Ford Prefect, Stephen Moore, who returned as Marvin the Paranoid Android, and Susan Sheridan as Trillian. Thousands of fans applied for tickets for the reunion and subsequent live performance, which is part of Radio 4's Character Invasion season.

Douglas Adams, who also wrote for Doctor Who and Monty Python's Flying Circus, died in 2001 – four years before his creation, which has been described as a "trilogy in five parts", was made into the film starring Freeman, Sam Rockwell and Bill Nighy.

In 2004, Radio 4's online serialisation of the final three books attracted a larger audience than either the Archers or the Today programme. The first book sold 250,000 copies in the first three months. Adams's work introduced characters such as Marvin, the computer Deep Thought and the space guitarist Hotblack Desiato, who was named after an estate agent near where Adams lived.

The show will be broadcast live on Radio 4 at 10am on Saturday.