Royal De Luxe

In 1993, Royal de Luxe became synonymous with over-the-top, extravagant theatre: the Saga of the Giants began and became a major chapter of the company’s history. Manipulated by dozens of Lilliputians, these Giants bring stories to life on city streets over several days. Their audacity and their poetry, mixing time and genres, with different Giants moving at the same time at various ends of a city results in thousands and even millions of spectators.

The Giants are loved by all: each year thousands of letters, e-mails, photos, drawings, true declarations of friendship, even of love arrive from all over the world sent to the company.

Royal de Luxe is considered emblematic of street theatre and a jewel of French cultural fame. In 2013, Jean-Luc Courcoult was decorated with the title of Knight of the Order of the Arts and Letters of the French Republic by Jean-Marc Ayrault, Prime Minister of France.

Royal de Luxe have played in front of more than 24 million spectators with around 1,500 shows in more than 172 cities, in 40 countries on 5 continents. For a full history of the company please view the Royal de Luxe website.

The Saga of the Giants marked a clear turning point in Royal de Luxe history. Their inimitable humanity and the empathy they produce in their awe-struck audiences, have now become a signature of the company. These creations in which emotion and poetry are combined are dedicated to travel around the world. Those lucky enough to temporarily play home to these special creations include:

• Le Géant tombé du ciel » (The Giant fallen from the sky), in Barcelona, Nantes and Nimes
• La visite du Sultan des Indes sur son éléphant à voyager dans le temps » (The visit of the Sultan of the Indies on his time traveling elephant), in 2006 in London (1 million people), Antwerp, Calais and Le Havre, in 2005 in Nantes and Amiens, as a tribute to Jules Verne
• Le Geyser de Reykjavik » (The Geyser from Reykjavik) in Reykjavik in 2007 (more than 50,000 people)
• La Géante du Titanic et le Scaphandrier » (The Giantess of the Titanic and the Deep-sea Diver) in Nantes-Saint-Nazaire in 2009
• Le rendez-vous de Berlin » (The Berlin appointment) in Berlin (1.5 million people) in 2009 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Fall of the wall
• L’invitation » (The invitation) in Santiago of Chile in 2010 for the Bicentenary of Independence and the 200 years of the Chilean theatre (3 million people)
• Le Scaphandrier, sa main et la Petite Géante » (The Diver, his hand and the Little Girl Giant) in Antwerp in 2010 for the festival Zomer van Antwerpen (800,000 people)
• Le Géant de Guadalajara » (The Giant of Guadalajara) in Guadalajara, Mexico in 2010 with the invitation of the Mexican Presidency with a creation presented for the Centenary of the Revolution and the Bicentenary of Independence (more than 3.5 million people)
• L’Odyssée de la mer » (Sea Odyssey) in 2012 in Liverpool for the hundredth anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic (more than 800,000 people)
• Le Mur de Planck » (The Planck wall), in Nantes in June 2014. The public (500,000 people) discovered a new Giant, a Grandmother. She came to speak about the great History and the little stories to the Dukes of Brittany’s City, to pour her flood of legends as she is endowed with the faculty of speech
• Mémoires d’août 1914 » (Memories of August 2014), labelled by 14-18 NOW which launched the commemorations dedicated to the centenary of the First World War. This show was an order of Liverpool City Council in partnership with Sport, Tourism and Equalities Ministry of the United Kingdom (more than 1 million people)
• La Grand-mère tombée de la galaxie dans un champ du Munster » (The Grandmother fallen from the galaxy into a field in Munster), in Limerick (Ireland) within the program of Limerick Irish City of Culture (230,000 people)
• L’incroyable et phénoménale voyage des Géants dans les rues de Perth » (The incredible and phenomenal journey of the Giants to the streets of Perth), at the invitation of Perth International Arts Festival to commemorate the centenary of Anzac, supported by the Government of Western Australia (1.4 million people)
• Les Géants » (The Giants), an invitation from the Zomer Van Antwerpen Festival (900,000 people)
• La grande invitation » (The great invitation) in Montreal, for the 375th anniversary of the city (620,000 people)
• « Franciscopolis» in Le Havre, for the 500th anniversary of the city (600,000 people)
• « Le chevalier du temps perdu » (The Saga of the Giants, the knight of lost time), in Geneva, Switzerland (850,000 people).