FRANCE 98 – The Royal de Luxe Giant returns to Nantes
The “Royal de Luxe Giant” will return to NANTES on the 27th and 28th of June. Four years ago, the people of NANTES were astonished at the appearance of a huge 9-metre-tall puppet roaming their streets. For four days the Giant provoked amazed stares wherever he went. He has now entered the pantheon of NANTES’ cultural history. It is only natural that the immense creature brought to life by the “Royal de Luxe” street-theatre troupe, who have just spent 6 months in Cameroon, should return to NANTES on the occasion of the1998 World Cup.
The tale recounts that the giant, lost on a raft and swept away by the currents to the coast of Africa, found refuge in a village of African giants, who nursed him back to health and built him a cabin. They then gave him a 6-metre-tall son who they christened “Little Giant”. One day, “Little Giant” – intrigued by his father’s tales of small white people – decided to leave his native Cameroon to discover the world. Worried, his father set off to look for him in the land that he knew so well. Today, father and son are still searching for each other in the streets of NANTES, dreaming of their long-awaited reunion.
At around 10am on the 27th of June, visitors to NANTES will be treated to the spectacle of the giant awakening under his metallic portico behind the cathedral in the Place Saint-Pierre. From there he will stroll throughout the “Cité des Ducs” – NANTES’ famous château – ending at the Cours des Cinquante-Otages (on the corner of the rue du Calvaire) at around 5pm. The next day, father and son will finally be reunited at 6:30pm near the château. Accompanied by 80 musicians, they will then participate in a huge African party – but don’t expect the surprises to end there!