If you've ever wanted to have a drink with Han (he shot first, btw), snap a selfie with Yoda or run your fingers through Chewie's glorious locks, you're in luck. Madame Tussauds' Star Wars exhibit just opened this month in London, featuring 16 life-size wax figures of the most iconic characters from a galaxy far, far away. Interactive installations include the Mos Eisley bar and Yoda's swamp house on Dagobah.
WIRED joined photographer Peter Dench in checking out the exhibit, and caught all the action live on Periscope. It was rad, and more than 3,700 people saw it. Dench wandered around the exhibit, snapping pics, asking people about their favorite Star Wars memories and, of course, taking the Falcon to light speed.
It seemed like the perfect place to try out Periscope, so we asked Dench about his first time using the mobile app.
Have you ever used Periscope before?
"I've been familiarizing myself with it for the last week to prepare for the WIRED shoot. I'm always keen to try new sorts of social media apps and this seemed a good reason to test it out."
__As a professional photographer, how did it feel getting live feedback from the audience? __
"It was tremendous fun. It's what makes the app so engaging --- you point a camera at something and have instant commentary. Some of the comments were making me laugh out loud. You have to process very quickly and decide which comments to respond to. It was definitely audience-led. With Periscope you've got to be quite flexible and ready to adapt."
What was your favorite part of the exhibit?
"It's amazing how close you can get to the exhibits. These wax works take such a long time to make and are painstakingly recreated. Then you open up the exhibit and allow hundreds of people to climb all over the them. In a world of 'look, don't touch,' I think that was quite refreshing. So my favorite bit was getting up close and personal. And being able to run my fingers through Chewbacca's hair without him growling."
