Lightspeed from Pembroke Dock
Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff
Wed 4 – Sat 7 Apr (Touring Wales until May)
Who knew Wales has its very own claim to fame on the Star Wars franchise? Pembrokeshire playwright Mark Williams, along with theatre company Dirty Protest, has now created a new play telling us all about it. Lightspeed From Pembroke Dock is the story of young Star Wars fan Sam, who in 1979 finds out that the Millennium Falcon is being built in his hometown as part of The Empire Strikes Back – with his stepfather helping to build it.
Fast forward to 2014 and Sam finds himself in his 40s, divorced, with a teenage daughter and a career that’s not quite where he wanted it to be. Production of The Force Awakens has just started and the Millennium Falcon is being rebuilt in the same docks; young and idealistic daughter Lizzie takes it upon herself to get her dad a job on the set.
“In 1979, I was too young to be aware of the rumours that the Millennium Falcon was being built on my doorstep,” says Williams of the inspiration behind the play. “Learning about it later, it felt almost too amazing to be true. The thought of actually getting to see it – what that would mean to someone of Sam’s age, and how that might shape his life – was what first inspired Lightspeed.”
Williams also drew inspiration for the play from the Star Wars characters and themes themselves. “It’s two generations of parents and children and both of them being unconventional family units. It’s a theme that I really like, which is also strong in the Star Wars films themselves, different people coming together with a common cause.
“We absolutely want it to appeal to as wide an audience as possible because hopefully, it’s a story that will resonate with people, whether or not they are Star Wars fans. I think it’s important it connects with people: the ultimate aim is that it connects with people across generations and that it’s something parents, children and families of all ages feel that they can go and see together.”
Tickets: £10-£12. Info: 029 2030 4400 / https://www.chapter.org/
words SOPHIE ARCHER