Royal de Luxe

Royal de Luxe

The story of Lemuel Gulliver, as told by satirist Jonathan Swift in his book Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World( also known as Gulliver’s Travels), has been a favorite of mine since childhood. One image that has always stuck with me from the story was the description of how the tiny residents of Lilliput lashed the much- larger Gulliver to the ground, and how Gulliver eventually pulled himself free from these restraints.

I remembered this scene recently when a friend sent me a video link from YouTube; in it, a curious little girl wakes up, gets dressed, and sets out to see the world around her. However, this“ little girl” is actually a giant marionette, and her movements are determined by people pulling her strings from below and above. But, unlike Gulliver, these men and women dressed in crimson livery are not pinning her down, but instead seem to be freeing her, making her appear amazingly life- like and real.

I later learned that the events I was watching were part of a larger production called The Sultan’s Elephant, which took place at various points around London in early May of2006. This four- day, large- scale performance was created by Royal de Luxe, a street theater company based in Nantes, France. Seemingly well known everywhere but in North America, Royal de Luxe has been presenting highly creative street theater pieces in France and around the world for almost thirty years.

Giant Fans

Founded in1979 by current director Jean Luc Courcoult, Didier Gallot- Lavallée, and Véronique Loève, Royal de Luxe staged a series of popular street theater productions in the1980 s, several of which they took on tour to various parts of Europe, Africa, and South America. In1989, Royal de Luxe moved its operations from southern France to Nantes, a city in western France, and in1993 embarked on a new phase of its history, when it presented the first of its“ giant” pieces.

Featuring a doleful- looking gargantuan figure named Le Géant( the giant), the piece was called Le Géant Tombé du Ciel(“ the giant falls from the sky”), and to date has been followed by five other giant- related shows: another version of the first show( Le Géant tombé du Ciel: Dernier Voyage); Retour d’Afrique(“ return to Africa”), which introduced the giant’s son, Le Petit Géant(“ the little giant”); Les Chasseurs de Girafes(“ the giraffe hunters”), again featuring the little giant; The Sultan’s Elephant, which introduced the giant’s daughter, La Petite Géante; and The Hidden Rhinoceros, which debuted in Santiago, Chile, in January2007.

These shows all feature enormous human and animal figures, built primarily by company member François Delarozière, and although rigorously choreographed, give a sense of spontaneity, as the figures move about in their surroundings and interact with bystanders. They all follow a simple story, since according to director Courcoult, it should be one that children can understand. The company reveals few details before a show opens, wanting to surprise its audience and to increase the chance that viewers will just“ happen” upon the spectacle. Indeed, Courcoult finds it preferable that viewers don’t see everything that takes place, just participating in the performance as it happens.

Taking it to the Streets

When Royal de Luxe made its debut in the UK with The Sultan’s Elephant, a project that took four years of planning, this randomness was ensured by the diverse settings in which the events of the performance occurred, including Waterloo Place, the St. James’ neighborhood, Trafalgar Square, and Horse Guards Parade. These settings served the purpose of the story, for which the French name of the show provides a helpful outline: La visite du sultan des Indes sur son éléphant à voyager dans le temps, or“ Visit from the Sultan of the Indies on his Time- Traveling Elephant.” The sultan of the story is looking for La Petite Géante( the little girl giant), who landed in Waterloo Place in a gigantic space rocket inspired by the works of Jules Verne. In fact, Jean- Luc Courcoult created the show in honor of the centenary of Verne’s death, and it was first performed in Nantes and Amiens, Verne’s places of birth and death respectively.

While I’m sure the elephant in the show was truly impressive— an intricate machine powered by hydraulics and motors, and weighing42 tons— based on the video I saw, I think I would have found the little girl giant more fascinating. As she moves around doing ordinary things( getting dressed, licking a lollipop, sleeping), all the wires and people around her seem to fall away, and it’s as if you are watching a real giant girl do these things. It tickles me to know that on her sojourn in London she also did not- so- ordinary things, such as“ sewing” cars onto the road, and stopping to take a pee out in the open.

It’s clear that the minds behind Royal de Luxe want to fire the imaginations of spectators, reminding them of childhood dreams and reveries. In an interview with Jean- Christophe Planche from2005, Jean Luc Courcoult even remarked on this, responding to how people react emotionally to the shows, saying“ I have seen adults crying as the giant leaves… I don’t believe they are crying because he is leaving but because of the loss of their imagination.” As the image of Gulliver and the Lilliputians reminded me of my childhood, when fairy tales seemed very real, so can these epic images of giants inspire those same memories in others. In a very powerful way, Royal de Luxe makes these fairy tales come to life again.