The Sultan’s Elephant
04–07 May 2006, Central London
**TO WATCH THE FILM OF
'THE SULTAN'S ELEPHANT' SCROLL DOWN TO THE MEDIA SECTION BELOW**
Thousands packed the streets of central London as Royal de Luxe’s little girl giant and majestic elephant played tourists in May 2006.
The Sultan’s Elephant was the biggest piece of free theatre ever seen in London, set against the city’s magnificent landmarks. French theatrical magicians Royal de Luxe had already toured their elephant across Europe, but had never before performed in the UK.
The vast, time-travelling mechanical elephant, taller than Admiralty Arch and 42 tonnes in weight, was joined by a giant girl, twenty feet high. For four days they enthralled their audience with sprays of water, bus rides and by sewing cars to the ground. Then, when their time was up, they disappeared in a magical puff of smoke, leaving behind many wonderful memories.
Where?
The giant marionettes visited many major landmarks across central London. These include Trafalgar Square, St. James's Park, Pall Mall, Horse Guards Parade and Haymarket.
The Artists
Royal de Luxe are an extraordinary European street theatre company, renowned on three continents but hardly known in Britain. The director Jean Luc Courcoult founded the company in 1979. They have performed all over the world ever since.
The company has visited countries all over Europe as well as Korea, China, Vietnam, Chile and Africa. Some of their most celebrated shows – including La véritable histoire de France, Roman photo tournage and Le péplum have been revived many times. They spent six months in Africa and three in China.
In the past dozen years, they have created a series of spectacular shows involving giant figures as big as 11 or 12 metres high. The animal or giant arrives in town and lives its life, going about its business for a few days. Extraordinary interactions take place between passers-by and the performance. By the end of the performance, huge crowds gather daily to watch the latest episode in the life of the visiting creature.
The Sultan’s Elephant was the fifth in the series of giant pieces, the others being Le Géant tombé du ciel, Le géant tombé du ciel: dernier voyage, Retour d'Afrique and Les Chasseurs de girafes.
La visite du sultan des Indes sur son éléphant à voyager dans le tempswas first performed in Nantes in 2005, on the occasion of the centenary of Jules Verne's death. This production was commissioned by the cities of Nantes and Amiens and has received a special grant from the Ministry of Culture and Communication.
Website: www.thesultanselephant.com
Gallery
Media
Funded by
Co-producers
Vital statistics
Pedestrian crossings removed
5
Members of French company
115
Members of UK production team
150
Benevols
50
Height of the elephant
11.2m
Weight of the elephant
42 tonnes
Speed
1.5km per hour
No. pistons in the trunk
22
M2 leather used to make the elephant’s ears
80
M2 reclaimed poplar used to construct elephant
56
Height of little girl
5.5m
Visitors
1,000,000 according to BBC estimates
Website hits
2 million
Direct spend by audience
£28.7m
Miles of streets closed on route
5
