In Focus: The Giant Marionettes of Royal de Luxe
Based in Nantes, France, the street theatre company Royal de Luxe performs around the world, primarily using gigantic, elaborate marionettes to tell stories that take place over several days and wind through entire cities. Puppeteers maneuver the huge marionettes — some as tall as 12 meters (40 ft) — through streets, parks, and waterways, performing their story along the way.
Top: A giant marionette, operated by performers, walks in Berlin, Germany, on October 2, 2009. The artists used the giant puppets to tell the story of separation and recovery to commemorate the fall of Berlin Wall 20 years earlier.
Center-left: A giant deep sea diver marionette is walked through the crowd during a performance in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, on October 3, 2009.
Center-right: The big giant and small giant meet in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, on October 3, 2009, as part of a performance for German Unification Day.
Bottom: In the finale of the Sea Odyssey, the giant deep sea diver, the little giant girl and her dog Xolo sail along the River Mersey through pyrotechnic smoke watched by thousands of people on April 22, 2012 in Liverpool, England.
Whoa.
I can’t decide if these things are amazing or absolutely terrifying.
There are not many tperformances I want to see more than Royale de Luxe.
I remember when this came to London, it was absolutely beautiful and the big elephant puppet even squirted water from...