World premiere of play

Portsmouth’s Groundlings Theatre takes to the stage with the world premiere of The Boy Who Loved Star Wars, which opens at their venue, The Old Beneficial School, 42 Kent Street, on September 12.
By The Newsroom
Published 21st Sep 2011, 09:50 BST

Spokesman Ralph Corke said: “The brand-new play, written by Groundlings’ artistic director Richard Stride, explores the complicated relationship between a young starstruck boy called Luke and his father in the late 1970s.

“Finding himself alienated from the people around him and increasingly more distant from his father, Luke escapes from reality and his family into the Star Wars movies, encountering a wealth of familiar characters and references, along the way, that fans of the saga will immediately recognise.

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“But this is a story of human relationships, and even if you haven’t seen Star Wars this touching tale has plenty to offer, as most of us at some point can remember a time when we worshipped heroes and yearned for a different or more exciting life.”

Ralph added: “Richard Stride is taking on the role of the father and is uniquely placed to act in the piece - not only as its writer but, as a life-long Star Wars fan. Richard has fulfilled every fan boy’s dream of actually appearing in the films himself. In the prequel trilogy Richard was, amongst other things, the stunt double for Ewan McGregor, who played Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

The Boy Who Love Star Wars runs from September 12 to 24. Tickets on 023 92737370.

Related topics:Groundlings TheatrePortsmouthEwan McGregor