#SRCZ Comment // In Liverpool There Be Giants!
The sound of drums in the
distance, coupled with the ever growing numbers of people gathering on the
traffic-barren road. Then, in the distance we see the Little Girl Giant making
her way along the enraptured crowd as a sea of eyes look upwards when never
they would on a normal occasion and cameras and phones click in frenzy. Only
one thing is for sure, the Giants are back in town!
When we first witnessed
the spectacle of Giants in 2012 we were drawn to them naturally because they
were (and are) a spectacle. Their return to Liverpool has caused us to re-evaluate
them from ‘mere’ spectacle for the eyes into a more elevated representation of
the power that public performances such as this can command.
By anybody’s standards,
this year’s parade was enormous in scale and grand in its intentions. Rarely
does a performance on this scale succeed in being genuinely eye opening,
involving and extremely bizarre at one go. In many ways, it’s one of the odder happenings
in the cultural calendar but it’s one that is welcome, bringing something
genuinely different to the streets of Liverpool that reflects the value of the
arts, creativity and humanity.
There’s nothing wrong with
a music festival, in fact we encourage them (and, in the case of some of us, organise
and instigate them!) but when you put live music in a moving vehicle and add
beautifully made giant puppets that tower over the crowds then it makes all the
difference. A music festival rarely gets the crowds seen out watching the
Giants today, but a visual spectacle that makes us reconsider our city is a
guaranteed draw.
Indeed, it was a difficult
journey in perusing the programme to choose just where the optimum Giant
viewing spot would be and in the end, it didn’t really matter. After all, they’re
Giants and with every step they built up the atmosphere of the city admirably. Although
the trio of puppets, the amazing Grandma and the Little Girl Giant and her
beloved dog Xolo are from Nantes, a city in Western France, they really did
make a home for themselves in Liverpool during their activities.
In sheer terms of
ambition, spectacle and creativity the Giants belong in their own class and in
bringing street theatre to life on such a grand scale Royal De Luxe deserve very
big congratulations. We all know that Liverpool is known for its cultural
connections and musical roots and in showcasing the Giants over one action
packed, often moving weekend the city is certainly shining a big light on the scale
of its ambition and the universal love for performance and music so many of its
residents and visitors embrace.
It would be easy to say
MORE OF THIS PLEASE, and it’s just been said, but, to pick just one magic
moment from many, the sheer power of the Grandma Giant’s appearance along
Whitechapel and into Liverpool 1 cannot be understated. The magical combination
of rock music and visual spectacle as she wended her way down the packed street
was enough to convince anybody that the weekend was a success. A big well done
must be aimed at all involved in pulling together an event of such precision,
timing, tradition and above all off the wall relevance.
When the trio of Giants
sail away down the Mersey on Sunday morning there will almost certainly be many
wishing for a return and we wouldn’t bet against it…
(S. Gahan)
