Changing the way we think about street theatre, Royal de Luxe brings together gorgeous imagery, engineering talent and storytelling prowess to transform the idea of the mannequin into pure comic strip brilliance. This ingenious free event will infiltrate the city over ten days, using popular shop windows for stages. Forty mannequins will be fixed in place every day and changed every night so the stories can evolve on the streets of Wellington during Festival 2010.
The personal adventures of the mannequins interweave love, fear, honour, pleasure, revenge, jealousy, violence and the discovery of life ... the unfolding drama has had an eclectic mix of just about everything: assassinations by the sniper, birth in a shop window of a little old man, a young child growing to exploding point in a box, the hunter and his dog, china plate shooting instead of claybirds, riots in the closing down sale ... even ripping the carpet off the shop floor, crazy firemen cooling down one of their own by filling her up with water, the little people stealing the opera words and music ... and now the opera singer herself, the trendy young man melting into a puddle, the housewife catching fresh fish through her kitchen floor, Inspector Colombo chasing all over town asking the hard questions, lovers' passion across a shop doorway ... who knows what will happen this weekend for the finale?
Royal de Luxe has performed around the world, creating extraordinary rapport with passers-by. Residents have become captivated with the activities of these miraculous beings and begin to follow their every move. By the end of the performance, huge crowds gather daily. Make sure you reserve a spot on the footpath to catch sight of these wondrous creations before they leave our streets.
Shopfront locations around Wellington:
CLOSING-DOWN SALE / David Lawrence
EVIL TALE FOR OTHER PEOPLE'S CHILDREN / Pearl
THE COMIC FRIE BRIGADE/ Robyn Mathieson
THE ANGELUS, BY MILLET / Portmans
EAT YOUR SOUP IF YOU WANT TO GROW UP BIG AND STRONG / Borders
NIGHTMARE OF THE PUDDLE / Unity Collection
THE HUNTER / Farmers
POSITIVE TEST / Kirkcaldie & Stains
THE KITCHEN / Kirkcaldie & Stains
THE LOVERS / Stax
Some more photos of the evolving story
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