Street theater Royal de Luxe: giant puppets roaming the world

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

This is the biggest show on Earth, literally. Giant puppets do not fit in any theater, so the troupe travels around the world, giving street performances. Their performances can be seen from France to Morocco, from Cameroon to China, from New Zealand to Mexico. Street theater Royal de luxe, established in 1979, is known all over the world.

The Royal de Luxe troupe began its activities in Aix-en-Provence, where a trio of actors led by Jean-Luc Courcou conquered the public on the streets with their supernatural performances and giant figures. 10 th travels around the world made the actors famous. The theater has become the focus of attention of the world community, media and producers.

In 1989, the mayor of the French city of Nantes offered Royal de Luxe to finance the troupe, as well as create a creative workshop in a former abandoned warehouse on the banks of the Loire River. It was in this workshop that the genius of Jean-Luc Courcou flourished, who had the opportunity to bring his wildest fantasies to life.

Since its first street parade in the early 1990s, Royal de Luxe has traveled hundreds of cities, invariably gathering thousands of spectators, gazing in fear at the 15-meter mechanical puppets marching through the streets.

Each such giant, built from light and flexible poplar wood, is controlled by a system of hydraulic blocks and levers from 20 to 40 members of the Royal de Luxe troupe. A rather motley company gathered in the troupe: inventors, poets, stuntmen, technicians and actors came to work for Kurk.

Giant puppets not only step over their feet when walking (which is already surprising given their size), but even blink and sigh.

What happens behind the scenes at Royal de Luxe is kept in the strictest confidence by Kurku. However, he rarely even gives interviews or attends public seminars, preferring to keep the secret of the magic of his company.

The mayor of Nantes refers to him as a genius who helped acquire a modern face for the city. Even though the financial budget for each parade is between $ 1.5 million and $ 3 million (and this is funded by the city coffers), free screenings tend to draw huge crowds, resulting in 10 times more revenue.

Kurku offers the audience the opportunity to dream of a world where anything is possible. Attending the Royal de Luxe performance is like touching fantasy and mythical land.

As everyone who has watched the giant puppets with their own eyes say, this spectacle must be seen with your own eyes.

Dolls have always attracted people, especially such unusual ones as author's dolls with character and mood from Oksana Mironova … Looking at them, it is difficult to believe that this is the creation of human hands.