The Minotaur: the keys to the show – 01/11/2018

The Minotaur and the giant Ariane spider appear this morning in Toulouse. This is the kickoff of four days of the show of The Machine which is the instructions for use.

If all goes as planned, a big surprise awaits the Toulouse this morning. When they wake up, they should discover two giant creatures positioned in the city, two creations of François Delarozière's street theater company La Machine: a 47-ton Minotaur created especially for Toulouse and a giant 38-tonne spider that has already made appearances in Liverpool, Reims and Ottawa. Asleep both, the Minotaur should be in the center of the city, and the Spider on the facade of the Hotel-Dieu …

With such a presence, incongruous and fantastic, the whole city is metamorphosed. For four days, from today to Sunday, it will be the scene of a show that should attract 450,000 spectators, according to the estimate of the Machine. The images of the Minotaur and the spider will go around the world.

Here are the keys of this event to allow you to follow it at best.

1. The secret.- "It's a secret that we offer to Toulouse," explains François Delarozière. From where, as long as the event did not begin, a certain blur for the public to know where and when to follow the machines. But the secret is part of history and wonder. "It's not worth explaining, you have to come," says the artistic director who wants everyone to take ownership of the experience.

2. The Minotaur and the myth of Ariane.- Purchased by Toulouse Métropole as the show, the Minotaur was never revealed to the public. This is the first actor in history. The second being the giant spider. In Toulouse, François Delarozière saw a labyrinth of streets but also a symbol of the bull (the street of Taur and Saint-Saturnin), the figure of Ariane (through space) and the legend of the Gold of Toulouse. He has thus built a story that is a reinterpretation of the Ariane myth. The Minotaur, also known as Asterion, wakes up in the labyrinth city in search of his temple. Ariane, the spider, her half-sister, guardian of the labyrinth, protects and guides him.

3. Places and highlights.- To follow this story without revealing it, François Delarozière published a booklet of show (downloadable on toulouse.fr and lamachine.fr, and summary on the next page). This Thursday is the day of the appearance of machines. With, at 18 hours, the awakening of the Spider. Friday, Saturday and Sunday are divided into three scenes: morning, afternoon and evening. The Minotaur wakes up Friday morning. Each scene is a key part of the story, made of walks in the city. With a final at 7:30 pm Sunday on the Pont Neuf.

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The biggest event in Toulouse

With 450,000 spectators for four days, from today to Sunday, according to the estimate of the company The Machine, the show "The Guardian of the temple", around the figure of the Minotaur, will be the biggest event ever organized in Toulouse. Our infographic above shows that the fireworks show and concert of July 14 is the show that attracts the most people at the same time with 300,000 spectators in one evening. The carnival reached 150,000 people in the eighties, its good years, and 120,000 to 150,000 in the years 2015 and 2016, according to the organizers. The event that mobilized the most is the one that followed Charlie's attacks on January 10, 2015: between 120,000 and 150,000 people. Then those against the pension reform of 1995 and 2010 (between 100,000 and 120,000, according to the figures of the unions). Depending on the year, Rio Loco, in the filter meadow for four days, attracts between 90,000 and 150,000 fans, according to figures from the town hall. At Euro 2016, the Stadium, which hosted four games, received 124,000 spectators in total.