Four years ago, I took a day off for a long weekend to visit Liverpool so that I could watch giants walk across the city. It was the first day of schools being out for the summer, so it took eight hours to reach Liverpool when it should have taken only three (so much for a day off just to sit on the motorway for it), but it was worth it when I finally arrived, and I saw the giants on the following day. The giants had returned to Liverpool in 2014 from having been once before in 2012, four years after the city was "capital of culture". The 2014 event (Giant Spectacle Marionettes in Liverpool 'Memories of 1914' Commemorate World War 1) was to commemorate 100 years since World War I started.
Liverpool welcomed the giants, and they included the little girl giant, the 25-foot grandmother giant, and Xolo the dog giant. Over a million people flocked to Liverpool over the long weekend last time to see them parade through the streets and then be sent off with a finale.
The giants are the artistic vision of Jean-Luc Courcoult of Royal de Luxe. To describe them best would be to describe them as giant marionettes from which an entourage of performers make them come to live through a system of pulleys and motions. This system of movement makes the giants seem life-like. They also have their own wardrobes and accessories!
Little girl giant has different outfits, a scooter, a popsicle, a chair, a radio, an umbrella, and other accessories. The motions of the giants are life-like in the way they walk, blink, and move the head and mouth. When they "sleep" or "rest" during the intervals of the parade, their mouths appear to move to simulate breathing. The grandmother giant also had her own special abilities, including flatulance. Xolo the dog also has his own performance pieces and can drink from a bucket of water; the performers studied canines to be able to replicate the movement of the tongue and the different motions of the face/ears/movements that a dog makes when drinking water. Understanding the aspects of movement and behaviour was important to making these marionettes come to life.
The reason I am featuring these wonderful giants again is because they have attracted much love and inspiration in Liverpool, and sadly, this is their last performance in the world. The final performance was dubbed "Liverpool Dreams", and the giants included the uncle giant and little boy giant; both of these giants I had not seen in real life. Xolo also made an appearance, and the little girl giant appeared for the grand finale, wearing a colourful pink dress.
Unfortunately, I was unable to see the last ever parade of these magical giants last weekend. This makes me sad because they will not be shown again anywhere in the world. The reason for their retirement is for the company Royal de Luxe to focus on new and challenging performances. Royal de Luxe is planning on a new performance related to gorillas.
I think that the retirement of the Liverpool giants probably brought many tears to eyes during the final parade weekend. They certainly were memorable for me.
To read more about the Liverpool Giants in 2014 and to see more photographs of them, please visit: Giant Spectacle Marionettes in Liverpool 'Memories of 1914' Commemorate World War 1
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