One Man Star Wars Trilogy at Worthing's Pavilion Theatre 24th May 2011
I really didn't know what to expect from this as I'd never seen a One Man Show before that wasn't a stand up comedian. The reason I decided to see this particular show is that my cinema buddy (who is a HUGE Star Wars fan) won tickets to see the show and asked me to go. Mainly because I also like Star Wars and also because I knew how to get to the theatre.
It was touch and go at the start as the One Man (Charles Ross) does the music as well as acting out the scenes and I was a little uncertain at this point if he was just insane. But as he got into his routine the show picked up it's pace and started to flow. The laughs came thick and fast with his whiny impersonation of Luke (spot on), his cocksure version of Han (complete with swagger) and his continually unimpressed and annoyed Leia (complete with hands in place of hair buns).
Each film is over and done with in 20 minutes, which obviously means a lot is cut out, but the genius of it is that you don't really feel like anything's been missed. Empire's opening sequence with the Wampa is done so well, as is Luke's first meeting with Yoda. Han and Leia's first kiss is hilarious when played out by one person and even the lightsabre duels are sound, action and word perfect.
The most impressive part for me was the start of Return of the Jedi when Ross spoke using the exact language of Jabba and the Gamorrean Guard. His Jabba was honestly superb. I was also very impressed by the use of the Pavilion Theatre's mirror ball during the Death Star explosions. Considering this was a show with no props, this was put to fantastic effect.
I think my favourite moment came during Ross's re-enaction of Return of the Jedi, when Luke confirms to Leia that she's his sister on the planet Endor, and she kisses him goodbye. At this point Ross turns to the audience and says "if there's one thing we've learnt from Star Wars, it's 'don't kiss your sister like that'!'"
An excellent show which I would highly recommend to any Star Wars fan. Or to non Star Wars fans, as we had someone in our audience who'd never seen a Star Wars film! How one man can encompass all of these characters amazes me. I wish him every success and will happily pay to see him if he tours these parts again.
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