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Wild show thrills crowds in park setting
11:58am Monday 12th May 2008
A shadowy spectacle of fire and light entranced hundreds of onlookers in a Brighton park.
Thousands of people packed Wild Park, off Lewes Road, on Saturday night for a spectacular free performance of The Bell, a highlight of this year's Brighton Festival. A second performance was due to be held last night.
There was an eerie atmosphere as members of the cast strode about on stilts, wearing dark costumes, waving flags and bewitching a crowd of all ages.
The Bell, staged by theatre company Periplum, told a tale of war and clan massacres through fire, dance, acrobatics and haunting music.
It was a quite literally explosive 45-minute performance, dominated by pyrotechnics and a giant wheeled structure.
The cast, brandishing flaming torches, darted through the awestruck spectators to do battle with giant warlords who looked like a cross between Darth Vader and The Wicker Man.
Whooping war cries echoed through the flickering darkness on a balmy, early summer evening during the interactive show in which every member of the audience had a front row view.
Donna Close, Brighton Festival's outdoor programmer, said: "More than 2,500 people came to see The Bell on its first night, which we were really happy with.
"Outdoor performances are a different sort of art form and allow artists to engage with audiences more, which you sometimes don't get with indoor theatre.
"For example, in The Bell the audience is part of the interaction.
"It was quite an experimental piece but the audience really got involved with it and became a part of it.
"I think free outdoor events encourage people to take a risk and go along and see something they might not necessarily pay to see.
"So it opens up new worlds for the audience.
"The fact that it is free also means the audience is bigger and there is a real sense of feeling part of a larger thing, a community celebration, as you are sharing that experience with other people.
"It's all about getting involved. Your job is to be part of the festival."
Periplum stages Arquiem, another 45 minute show crackling with dark energy, at Brighton College from Friday, May 16, to Sunday, May 18.
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Flag-waving stiltwalkers add to an eerie atmosphere lit up by fire
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