Conversations with an elephant
One of the most memorable London cultural events of the 21st century so far has to be The Sultan's Elephant. Created and performed by French company Royal de Luxe, this public extravaganza took the capital almost completely by surprise over the first weekend in May 2006. The arrival of a twenty-foot high little girl from outer space and a elephant parading through the heart of the old Empire changed many people's perceptions of what art and theatre and spectacle might mean, including it seems Arts Council England's. Some initial reactions from the professional arts world were aired the following Monday at a conference convened by LIFT (London International Festival of Theatre), which had supported Artichoke Production's risky proposal to put on the show in the first place. I was commissioned to write up the conference and my report is downloadable here. It covers the impact of the weekend's events as well as the conference discussions - and it is unashamedly personal in tone. This was one arts project I will never forget, along I suspect with the thousands of others who witnessed it. Artichoke continues to promote the unexpected and its more recent activities can be seen at www.artichoke.uk.com/ and LIFT, too, continues to break new ground, as a visit to www.liftfestival.com will demonstrate.
