That was an impressive performance. Must have been something to see live.
I found
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRPx6RtiHKc&feature=related , which is a little short about some of the people working on the Godiva project. It's wonderful to see
so many people pulling together for a big art project.
That is one aspect that makes Lady Godiva so awesome. One art project can inspire so many people to work as a team.
It turns out the elephant I remembered was by a French theater group, Royal de Luxe. There are some wonderful pictures of their work on
theatlantic.com.
"The Sultan's Elephant," which I recalled seeing in the news, was performed in the streets of London on May 5th, 2006.
Here's a video of
the performance of "The Sultan's Elephant" in London And
here's one about the elephant puppet itself.
Which brings me to ask, is there something about the UK that it has these awesome giant puppet public theater spectacles? I can't recall hearing about anything like them in the US.
I think it may be to do more with the open air performance tradition than with giant puppets. I know it sounds silly given the weather, but there is a very strong open air tradition both for theatre and concerts. People seem to enjoy the pre-performance picnic and then sitting in the cold getting wet. I have sat through a performance of Henry V when it pored with rain and the stage was covered with water. Covent Garden in London has a lots of free open air performances. I was enthralled to hear singers from the Royal Opera House do an ad hoc concert there. Punch and Judy are probably the best know live puppets and there is a lot of tradition surrounding them. I think that lots of city centres have squares/open spaces that lend themselves to performances.
Giant statues of Gog and Magog are part of the Lord Mayor's Show
http://www.lordmayorsshow.org/visitors/procession/gogmagog/ I am now wondering how long it will be before they are animated.
WOW! The Sultans Elephant was incredible! I loved the bit with her on the bus. They used some very central sites in London. Trafalgar Square with glimpses of the National Gallery. And, I think, Horse Guards Parade. The faces of the members of the audience showed an indication of how emotive such and event can be.
