spielzeit’europa | Berliner Festspiele and the legendary French street theatre company Royal de Luxe will present a theatrical event in October on the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. On their journey through Berlin the two giant marionettes measuring up to 15-meters high, the Little Giantess and the Big Giant, tell a fairytale of finding each other again after a long separation. The event takes place under the patronage of the cultural minister Bernd Neumann and comprises the main event celebrating German Unification Day. Royal de Luxe will enchant Berlin’s public with their enormous figures and will revive the emotions of 1989.
Brigitte Fuerle, artistic director of spielzeit’europa, will present “The Giants Arrive – A Fairy Tale for Berlin” from 1 – 4 October open air and with free admission. At important locations throughout the German capital, such as the Brandenburg Gate, Unter den Linden and the Rotes Rathaus (Red Town Hall), Royal de Luxe will tell a story particularly created for Berlin: ”We chose to deal with the theme of a drastic separation rather than an explicitly political one,” explained Jean Luc Courcoult, artistic director of Royal de Luxe. One day sea monsters ripped the city in two. One of these parts was then surrounded by a wall, causing the Big Giant to become separated from the Little Giantess. But then the Big Giant went searching…
Royal de Luxe have already presented the latest chapter of their enchanting giant stories in their hometown Nantes and have delighted hundreds of thousands of people with their enormous creatures. In this rehearsal for Berlin, Nantes’ public witnessed the Big Giant’s first steps when he emerged as a deep sea diver from the waters of the Loire and then set off through the streets of the city in search of the Little Giantess. A structural feat lies behind the figures made of steel and wood: the Big Giant, who is moved by 30 red liveried “Lilliputians” (actors), is 15 meters high and weighs 25 tons. The Little Giantess is 7,50 meters tall and weighs a robust 13,5 tons. “A fascinating, poetic and technically demanding spectacle.” (dpa)
“In a poetic and moving fairytale told in an incomparable manner and with a tender gaze, the giants render the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall into an unforgettable event. An event that deals with the great fortune and vast emotions of 1989 as a gift to the city and its people, as well as with the painful past and with all viewers from near and far. An October fairy tale for Berlin.” Brigitte Fuerle, artistic director of spielzeit’europa.
For 30 years Royal de Luxe have been representing exceptional street theatre, which the company practices throughout the world. Under the group’s founder and artistic director, Jean Luc Courcoult, in recent years Royal de Luxe have created fantastic theatre events using enormous human and animal figures that are guided by up to 40 actors and that move with incredible liveliness. In this way they delighted all of London in 2006 and went on to transform the streets of Santiago de Chile into a gigantic theatre festival in 2007. As part of spielzeit’europa in 2008 Royal de Luxe created the installation “La Révolte des Mannequins,” by which they captivated the pedestrians in front of KaDeWe’s display windows for an entire week.
“The Little Giantess and the Big Giant will bring magic to Berlin.” Joachim Sartorius, director of the Berliner Festspiele.
