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It’s one of the most famous films in cinema history but, unknown to many, it has its roots in a west Wales town.

Now a Welsh theatre company is taking the little-known story of how the Star Wars Millennium Falcon was built in Pembroke Dock as inspiration for its new production.

In 1979 the Royal Dockyard town proved to have the most suitable space and the most skilled and capable workforce in the country to construct the only full-size replica of Han Solo’s famous spaceship ever made to feature in the second Star Wars film The Empire Strikes Back.

While the Millennium Falcon was being built it was kept hidden from the public to prevent news leaking.

Workers referred to the project as the ‘The Magic Roundabout’ to keep the truth about what they were building in the giant Western Hangar building under wraps.

After completion the enormous full-scale model was deconstructed and transported to Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire where the film was being shot.

Taking this impropbable tale as its inspiration, Welsh theatre company Dirty Protest has teamed up with Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff and Torch Theatre in Milford Haven for a co-production which brings the 1979 Pembroke Dock building of the full-scale Millennium Falcon to the stage.

The play, which will embark on a five-week tour around venues in Wales starting in April, was written by self-confessed Star Wars fan Mark Williams.

(Image: Publicity picture) (Image: Publicity picture)

(Image: photographs taken by John Clark in 1979)

“In 1979 I was too young to be aware of the rumours that the Millennium Falcon was being built on my doorstep in Pembrokeshire,” said the playwright. “Learning about it later it felt almost too amazing to be true.”

Set in Pembroke Dock in 1979 and 2014, the play’s lead character Sam is a Star Wars-obsessed kid in 1979 and a single father in 2014. His father is a redundant shipwright, employed to build the Millennium Falcon.

When 11-year-old Star Wars superfan Sam discovers the Millennium Falcon is being built in his home town his life is turned upside down.

Determined to get inside the cockpit, his only obstacle is his stepdad Mike, guardian of the secret hangar where the legendary ship is being built in Pembroke Dock. Fast forward to 2014 and Sam’s daughter Lizzie goes missing, forcing him into a desperate hunt to bring her back to safety before it’s too late.

Lightspeed from Pembroke Dock explores what happens when Hollywood’s best-loved spaceship lands on your doorstep.

When we all got excited about seeing the Millennium Falcon fly again in The Force Awakens:

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The production is billed as a story of hope, courage, and how to be a family when it seems the universe is against you.

“The thought of actually getting to see it – what that would mean to someone of Sam’s age, and how that might shape his life – was what first inspired Lightspeed,” added Mark.

“Some of my earliest memories are of seeing the Star Wars films for the first time. They continue to influence everything I write, in countless ways. For all their incredible effects and thrilling pace, at heart the Star Wars films have always been about underdogs and unlikely allies overcoming the odds stacked against them – stories of family, friendship, and hope.”

Launching in Chapter, Cardiff, on April 4, the tour concludes by taking the story back to its home in Pembrokeshire, with performances at Torch Theatre, Milford Haven on – fittingly enough – May 4.

For tickets and more visit www.dirtyprotesttheatre.co.uk