Emperor Pal...I mean Ian McDiarmid is set to portray The Father in Six Characters In Search Of An Author from June 27 to August 23 at Chichester Festival Theatre in the UK. For tickets call 01243 781312.

Click here for the short article at worthingherald.co.uk.



UPDATE: A bit more on Ian's upcoming performances here at ThisIsHampshire.net.



UPDATE #2: Check out an interview with Ian right here at the Chichester Observer regarding his performance. See the Star Wars related excerpt below:

"For a dozen years Ian successfully ran the Alemeida Theatre with Jonathan Kent, having been told at first that they would probably last just three months.

It was during this time that he returned to Star Wars when the second trilogy was made.

After a minor part in the film Dragonslayer, Ian had been cast by Star Wars creator George Lucas in Return Of The Jedi as Emperor Palpatine, the principal villain.

Sixteen years later, he reprised the role as a younger Senator and Chancellor in the three prequel films, kicking off with The Phantom Menace.

Their success is relatively easy to explain, Ian believes: "It's a very good story and it is very cleverly told. It's an archetypal story which George had made his own. He would be the first to admit it.

"George thought that children would like it and that adults might like it. He had a feeling for it, but obviously didn't know that it would become a world phenomenon."

Films one, two and three (the more recent trilogy) were an enormous risk: "What he didn't know was whether it would appeal to the new generation of fans. He thought one or two things might happen. It might alienate the people that liked the first ones or that a new generation might like it."

In fact, response divided largely down age lines, older people preferring the earlier movies; younger people preferring the more recent ones.

As for Ian, he says it hasn't made a huge difference to his career: "It's a shorthand in a way. But in this country I think a lot of people would have known me before anyway, and there are many distinguished actors that have played villains."'