A Day Out: London

Just over a month ago I spent a weekend in London for my birthday with my boyfriend.

One of my favourite parts was getting a chance to visit the Star Wars Identities exhibition at the O2 Academy. With over 200 props, costumers, and models from the Lucasfilm Archives it’s a great experience to find out more about what makes and shaped the saga.

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Not only is it a museum, it’s also an interactive experience that asks you ‘What Force Shape You’ by asking you questions about your own character and experience.

The collection itself is immense, featuring a mixture of objects from the first six films. There are costumes from Han, Luke, Leia, Chewie and Darth Vader. Not only does standing in front of them giving you a chance to physically see how tall Chewie is, but it also gives you a real sense of the characters.

The creation of the characters is explored in detail through various production sketches, paintings and designs. The exhibition shows you Yoda’s evolution from a common looking garden gnome to the green alien we meet on Dagobah. Many of the spaceship models used in the original trilogy are also there, including the Millennium Falcon. 

It’s a fantastic experience that you shouldn’t miss but there is still more than enough here to keep even those with a limited interest satisfied. The exhibition is running until September 2017 and tickets can be purchased here.

The interactive experience and theme across the exhibit explores how different characters and personalities are formed – and in turn how these characters form the universe we’ve all grown to know and love. This interactivity is a nice addition but it holds an important message about uniqueness and embracing differences. As part of the ticket price you also get an audio guide, which starts automatically as you go near an exhibit. It explains the backstory of some characters and audio from video screens.

The volume and variety of objects here is enough to attract any Star Wars fan and then some. You do get a lot for your money and there’s something special about being able to get a close look at the actual props and find out how they were created. The interactive aspects mean it’s fun for all ages and is effective in bringing across the theme of how people are shaped through nature vs nurture.