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Dateline: 31st March, 2006
An Elephant in London The streets of London are to host the biggest piece of free theatre ever staged in the capital, in a show that takes place over the course of one magical long weekend this May. The Sultan’s Elephant is a fairy-tale for adults and children alike, and features a vast, moving, wooden elephant, 42 tons in weight, and the height of a three-storey house. The spectacle is the work of French company Royal de Luxe. Established for thirty years but hardly known in Britain, the company has performed all over the world. It is particularly known for a series of extraordinary shows involving gigantic, moving figures up to forty feet high. This is the first time one of their ‘giant’ shows has appeared in London indeed, the first time one has played in any capital city. Helen Marriage, whose company Artichoke is producing the show in London, commented, "This event places an extraordinary, moving, yet approachable, piece of art at the very centre of a capital city’s life, stopping the traffic and closing roads wherever it goes. Although London’s streets are closed to traffic for political demonstrations, road works, ceremonial events and sporting triumphs, they are rarely closed for art. "Royal de Luxe’s work is amongst the very best of a long tradition of European street theatre that started in this country with the work of Welfare State International and is now more frequently seen on the continent than on UK streets. By inviting the company here to London with this magical work, we wanted to reassert the importance of monumental live performance in the life of a city’s culture, bringing together visitors and residents alike in a moment of shared delight." The event is funded by Arts Council England, the London Development Agency and The Mayor of London, with support from Parkview International, AFAA, Grange Hotels among others. The project would also have been impossible without the co-operation of operational partners including Westminster City Council, the Metropolitan Police, the Royal Parks and Transport for London. Sarah Weir, Chief Executive of Arts Council England, London, said, "We are delighted to be the main public funder of this simply extraordinary international event. It's beautiful, it's breathtaking and it's free - for all London's residents and our many visitors. These four days will be magical, but the Elephant will, I am convinced, pave a spectacular way for public engagement with the arts - in Liverpool in 2008, at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and for years to come." Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, commented, “This remarkable project encapsulates so much that’s great about London’s cultural life. A team of international artists give us a symbolic opportunity to demonstrate London’s renowned ability to welcome people from all over the world to our city. The project is huge in scale and ambition and will captivate audiences young and old. It’s free to the public and will be remembered forever by anyone who sees it. And it’s brought together by the joint efforts of many agencies across London working together to demonstrate what artists can do with a canvas like our great city to work with." Co-producer LIFT (the London International Festival of Theatre) has created a series of events to welcome The Sultan's Elephant to London: a picnic with hundreds of school children, primary and secondary; four short films in association with Creative Partnerships North; and a tracking project with young emerging artists from Project Phakama and Lewisham Youth Theatre. It is also presenting a one day event called How Many Elephants Does It Take..? exploring how the cultural sector and city infrastructures can work creatively together to change the way we experience the city. Details
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