Social media is great for some things, and I stress the word SOME. It can also be a toxic cesspit of negativity and doom. Perhaps you were happily enjoying a recent Star Wars project and logged onto an app only to discover that it seems everyone else in the world hates it. Of course, the algorithm is very clever here. It knows that negative posts will get far more people engaged than anything positive. The media is shrewd like this too. Good news does not sell newspapers. There have been extensive studies on this over the years.
Now, this brings us to Star Wars. All you might see on YouTube or the social media apps are cries of the end of days for a galaxy far, far away. “It’s over!”, “No one cares about Star Wars!” and, of course, “Star Wars is dead!”. Could it be true? Well, its true there have been no new movies since 2019’s much maligned The Rise of Skywalker. TV shows have been hit and miss in terms of how they were received and go into your local toy shop, and you’ll find a few discounted toys from years ago where there was once shelves filled with goodies galore.
So, surely all the harbingers of doom are correct? Well, in short, no. Absolutely not. The passion of Star Wars is alive in the hearts of the young, and the young at heart. I saw it.
This past summer I once again made the trek to Edinburgh to perform at the Festival. I took my hour of stand-up and I also took a new project that I’d been cooking up called ‘A Star Wars Improv Show: The One-Man Made-Up Movie.’ The pitch was simple. I would improvise a brand-new Star Wars film every day in an hour of comedy. I was nervous before we kicked off wondering if I’d bitten off more than I could chew but I’m happy to report that the show took off and sold out for more than half its run.
Now, I’m not here to tell you of my delusions of grandeur. What struck me day after day was that I didn’t need to advertise the show. The masses kept turning up. The young and the young at heart were there at every single show. I was worried that no one would want to come and see this show. It was, after all, a complete passion project. My stand-up is my bread and butter, but I devised this show as something that I would want to see as fan and no one else was doing. Each show only worked if the crowd got behind the truly bonkers concept and got involved.
A big stand out point for the show was that I was confident I could improvise clean. This means no swearing or filth. I’ve always been a big believer that Star Wars doesn’t need it and I wanted families to be able to come to the show. The gamble paid off in a big way. I saw the passion of Star Wars alive in the little ones. I had suggestions for scenes from the younglings that featured some deep cut references to The Clone Wars and Rebels. I saw teenagers throwing out suggestions based off The Phantom Menace and they were proud to announce that Episode I was their favourite film. I found elder statesmen Star Wars fans giving me suggestions for scenes based off everything from the original trilogy to new Disney Plus shows and even The Holiday Special.
It was a joy every day. Another highlight came from the final day. Once again, a sold-out show and I noticed a group eight lads in the crowd all with Oasis t-shirts. Side note, the band were playing three nights at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium during the fringe festival and many comics and performers were concerned that this either might take punters away from shows or even have shows filled with dozens of drunken lads who might escalate things.
Before showtime I asked one of the group – somewhat apprehensive; “You guys Star Wars fans?”
“Huge,” one replied. “We wanted to see this before we head to the concert tonight.”
Okay, I thought. Here goes nothing. They weren’t lying. The lads made it a terrific show (as it was my last, I told the audience to really test me) and it was a real rush of joy to see all ages and diversity of fandom interacting with each other. The lads even came to my solo stand-up hour later that evening to make that one a sell-out too!
Halfway through the run I was congratulated by some peers on the success so far. It is, being brutally honest, a difficult slog at the Edinburgh Festival and to have shows sell-out is quite something. “Well done, Hipkiss,” they said. “You’ve done well.”
I couldn’t accept that. I wouldn’t accept it. The reviews of the show were certainly helping word-of-mouth, but my comedy colleagues had missed the point. What was selling the show was Star Wars. The Force was alive in everyone. Fathers and sons were coming to the show. Groups of friends were coming to the show. Heck – star-crossed lovers were coming to the show and it was all down to Star Wars. It wasn’t dead. People felt comfortable being around like-minded folks. By the end of the run, people were coming in Star Wars t-shirts and showing me their Star Wars badge collection proudly on their backpack.
By the end of the run, I was thrilled but knackered. It had been a success, but what I found myself telling people about after was that the fandom was alive and well. Even better – it was alive and well in real life. No phones or social media needed. I had connected with people all over the world with this show through laughter and Star Wars. My two favourite things.
Star Wars, it seemed, was burning brighter than ever in the hearts of fans. One just has to stop and look around once-in-a-while so that we don’t miss it.
Do Star Wars your way and don’t let anybody tell you any different. That’s what I’ve done, and I couldn’t be happier.
