THE PIECE OF THEATRE THAT CHANGED MY LIFE | ALAN LANE
The piece of theatre that changed the life of Alan Lane, Creative Director of The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, is certainly an epic one, featuring more than 3,000 performers it was watched by a global audience. Staged at London Stadium in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, it was The Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympics, featuring Sir Ian McKellen, dancer Dave Toole and actor Nickie Miles-Wildin.
Recalling the experience, Lane says, “It was a celebration of the potential and power of those living with disability, all wrapped up in the myth of Shakespeare’s The Tempest and the large-scale storytelling power of an Olympic ceremony; there was a moment when Nickie Miles-Wildin, as Miranda, flew high above the crowd to smash through the ‘glass ceiling’ of the stadium, that will stay with me forever.”
He continues, “It was the first time I’d watched something of that scale successfully unite the ‘political’ and ‘theatrical’ in one complete piece of cohesive storytelling. It was entertaining, with stunning images and extraordinary mass participatory work yet it was telling a story with the same detail and power of a studio theatre show. More importantly, it was the first time I really understood that the way something was made impacted directly on what the audience felt.”
He elaborates, “A key development piece of the ceremony was working with former service personnel who had lost limbs, offering them the opportunity to learn circus skills. The combination of the natural fitness and courage of former paras and marines, combined with top end circus training made for a better scene, but the narrative of ‘overcoming’ was amplified by the ‘how’.”
That, he says, was the moment he realised the difference between a ceremony and a show, he explains, “A ceremony requires a compelling narrative, just like a show, but there is the additional draw of how it is made, and how that power meets the audience. The ‘who’ and ‘how’ contributes to the meaning – the power of the piece.”
He adds, “This was also the show where I really understood the impact performance ceremonies can have on an audience. It ended with the song I Am What I Am, performed by Beverley Knight. It was electric. Tens of thousands joined in with what was the perfect piece of music for the end of that story; a well-known song repurposed for a different context, crammed full of layers of meaning as a result.
“It was such a brilliant piece of work by directors Bradley Hemmings and Jenny Sealey. I can still picture the moment Dave Toole flew above the stadium. Dave was the dancer with no legs who was in acclaimed physical theatre company DV8’s best work. He sadly passed away a few years ago. When he danced, he did so on his hands, an impossible range of movement with an arm span that allowed him to move in ways no one else in the world could.
“The moment he flew above the stadium was iconic; a single human metaphor for what is possible, and the way in which people with different life experiences (and bodies) can show you things that are original and profound. I loved that moment most of all. I was lucky to work with Dave a lot over the years. He was a brilliant actor and a genuinely world class dancer – a Yorkshireman who faced a lifetime of personal challenges with amused grumpiness. In a career of amazing moments, he was never better than when flying high above that stadium.”
Consequently, as Lane looks back to that event 14 years ago, he says that Paralympics opening was the first time he consciously understood the power of ceremony.
He explains, “It’s not solely about the quality, or the entertainment, or the meaning, although that all needs to be there. That ceremony was as entertaining as any theatre show but its power came from the combination of performance, creative skill and understanding of the reality of the performers. It took that reality, the involvement of wounded service personnel, Dave and his impossible arms and the ever-political Ian McKellen, and folded it into the fiction to make the piece more meaningful, to make the colours more vivid. Truth at the heart of a ceremony is the rocket fuel that drives the performance to even greater heights. I hadn’t got that until that moment and it changed my career.”
Lane went on to bring that new understanding to the Commemoration of the Centenary of the Battle of the Somme, of which he was Artistic Director. He also brought it to Slung Low Theatre Company, an award-winning theatre company working with community groups to make epic productions in non-theatre spaces, of which Lane is founder.
“That thinking also led me here, to The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the greatest show in Britain but a standing annual performance ceremony,” he reveals. “The combination of Scottish ritual, military ceremony and world-class performance creates a show that moves 230,000 audience members live on Edinburgh Castle Esplanade every summer, and millions more on the telly. At the heart of this performance is some truth, some reality, but it is only by respecting its history that you build the most powerful fiction.
“Last year’s show, The Heroes Who Made Us, was centred around the power of service at the heart of both The Tattoo and our society. With this year’s, A Call To Gather, it’s The Tattoo’s ability to convene internationally and the importance of bringing global communities together with performance; the heart of truth around which you can build a powerful, inspiring fiction.
“That’s what the Paralympic Opening Ceremony, the best piece of political theatre I have ever seen, taught me. That was the moment of theatre that changed, not only my practice, but my entire career.”
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo: A Call To Gather, Edinburgh Castle Esplanade, 7-29 August Tickets HERE
