Relive the remarkable story of Apollo 13 in unique online show

The dramatic story of the Apollo 13 lunar mission is the subject of a new online play streaming from next month.

Stranded 205,000 miles from Earth in a crippled spacecraft, astronauts Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert fight a desperate battle to survive.

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Some 77 hours into their mission they lose all communications with Earth as they pass around the dark side of the moon. Further from home than mankind has ever been, in total darkness and facing impossible odds of survival, the astronauts confront themselves and each other.

Marking 50 years since the launch of the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission, and based in part on actual transcripts, the play promises to be a captivating re-telling of one of the greatest space stories of all time.From the creative team behind the critically acclaimed lockdown production of Sebastian Faulks’s Birdsong Online and Watching Rosie, Torben Betts’ The Dark Side of The Moon explores the outer limits of faith, hope and the power of the human spirit.

Astronauts James A Lovell Jr. Thomas K Mattingly II and Fred W Haise Jr (photo: NASA)The play stars Tom Chambers (Father Brown), Christopher Harper (Coronation Street), Michael Salami (Hollyoaks) with Jenna Augen (Episodes), Philip Franks (Darling Buds of May) and Poppy Roe (Royal Matchmaker) and is directed by Alastair Whatley and Charlotte Peters.

It runs online from Thursday October 8 to Thursday December 31 and lasts for 70 minutes.Tickets cost £15 before September 30 and £20 from October 1.

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Other ticket packages are also available. For £50, a Lunar Module will get the buyer’s name in the credits and a programme, while those with a £500 Mission Control ticket get a signed copy of the script, an executive producer credit in the credits and a special thank you message from one of the cast.Visit originaltheatreonline.com to book or for more information about the production.

Photos from the Apollo 13 mission (copyright: NASA) include (top) astronauts James A Lovell Jr. Thomas K Mattingly II and Fred W Haise Jr

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