Giant steps: ‘Sea Odyssey’ street theatre to take over Liverpool

Remember La Machine? We still can’t get it out of our heads – one of the highlights of the 2008 Capital of Culture programme, it saw a 50 foot mechanical spider roaming the streets as part of a huge street theatre project. Climbing buildings, ducking into the Albert Dock – it was hugely exciting, perfectly executed and surprisingly moving.

Next year it’s been announced the city will get another large-scale street theatre project, this time done by Royal De Luxe, who’ve put together big marionette pieces (above) in Berlin, Santiago, and Antwerp.

It’s part of the Titanic centenary commemorations, so we’re expecting some sort of maritime-themed storyline: none of the specifics like location or route have been revealed yet, but it’s happening between Friday 20th and Sunday 22nd April 2012 across the city centre.

Royal De Luxe founder Jean-Luc Courcoult said of the top secret, uniquely crafted storyline: “Liverpool, for me, stands out as an island in its own right, within a larger island. Passions for football, the revolutionary music and poetry of the Beatles, and the legendary story of the Titanic, give the city a strong, emblematic identity, and the people a compelling warmth which pulls me to them.”

Director of Culture Liverpool, Claire McColgan, said: “As a city, we put on exceptional free events and no matter what walk of life you’re from, you can experience something which transports you to another world – this is what great art achieves.”

Fact fans: the Titanic had strong ties to the city – it was officially registered here, making it the ship’s home port, and around 1 in 10 of the crew on the ship were from Merseyside. The Liverpool-based Cunard liner Carpathia was the ship to rescue the 705 survivors, too.

Sea Odyssey, Friday 20th – Sunday 22nd April 2012
Liverpool city centre
Free