10:59am Wednesday 27th January 2010
By Graham Moody
Some of the greatest space movies of all time will be merged together at Croydon Clocktower next Wednesday, and then made fun of.
Company Gavin Robertson's new tour, 2010: A Space Oddity, takes films like Star Wars, Aliens and Star Trek and has a good old laugh at them and the genre.
"It's very stupid and not at all serious," admits Robertson, who has written and directed the show and also stars in it alongside Jonathan Bex.
"Two people are playing lots of different parts, even aliens, and all the top spaceships are represented by different types of kitchen utensils floating around.
"The structure is an original storyline but it is very much along the same lines of most space-based movies.
"It's the first time Jonathan and I have created a show together and his background is more in the Royal Shakespeare Company so I have taken him out of him comfort zone a bit."
The idea for Space Oddity, in which two people are trapped in a kitchen in a HAL of their own devising, came from a joke in simple conversation between Robertson and Bex that soon spiralled and saw them have almost a dozen venues booked within a few weeks.
"It's a weird time as the arts have definitely been hit by the recession," says Robertson.
"A lot of venues I usually work at are either dark and being refurbished or have closed down.
"Venues want comedy that is well-received and are not looking for serious plays as much and they think comedies appeal to people more at the minute."
Robertson's biggest hit came with his two-man performance of Thunderbirds F.A.B that had six runs in the West End between 1989 and 2002.
"Looking back I am both proud and surprised at how well it did," he says.
"Back then it was the right thing for the right time.
"It started off being something small and simple and then grew into this big production but success can be a double-edged sword.
"People will forever want me to repeat it and do another one that will be that successful."
2010: A Space Oddity, Croydon Clocktower, Katharine Street, February 3, 7.30pm, £7.50. Call 020 8253 1030 or visit croydonclocktower.org.uk.
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