Star Wars show: from dark side to funny side

By Paul Majendie

EDINBURGH (Reuters) – Actor Charles Ross first went to a
galaxy far, far away on a remote farm in Canada.

With The Force with him, he ended up performing his one-man
Star Wars trilogy show to 30,000 fans at film conventions
across the United States.

Now the Canadian is flinging himself across the stage for
60 minutes every evening at the Edinburgh Fringe arts festival,
playing all the characters, singing the music, flying the ships
and fighting the battles.

Leaping around in a black jumpsuit like a hyperactive
schoolboy, Ross offers the perfect solution for fans who love
the first three Star Wars movies, know the plots inside out but
cannot face watching the video again.

“Before the age of 11, I was watching the film a stupid
amount of times,” Ross told Reuters before his show.

“We lived on a farm in British Columbia. We had no TV
reception. All I had were videos. Star Wars became like
background noise in my life. It got into your head like a radio
jingle. I got to know large chunks and could regurgitate them.”

Next came the second and third movies which he watched at
least 20 times each.

Now at 32, condensing movie classics into bite-size chunks
of mime and theatrical gymnastics has turned into a full-time
career for Ross, who has also done a “Lord of the Rings” show.

“I never thought this would happen when I got my theater
degree. Basically this was a 20-minute sketch that went wrong.
I never thought people would have the aptitude to keep up with
the plot,” he said.

George Lucas, creator of the saga, gave Ross the go-ahead
and liked the project so much he asked him to appear at Star
Wars conventions.

“There is something fascinating, sad and glorious about the
fans,” Ross said.

What is the fascination of the science fiction epic?

“These original three movies came out of nowhere, they were
diamonds in the rough,” he said.

“It is very much the Lord of the Rings type story. An
insignificant person discovers their significance. It deals
with absolutes, black and white, good and evil.”

Ross readily admits his career path is a surreal one.

“I do feel like the ultimate charlatan as I was never
involved in the making of the original films. The characters
are like caricatures but with each you find a grain of truth
and sink your teeth into it.”