Background
As part of research and development (funded by Arts Council England), a group of 8 artists from Emergency Exit Arts visited Sri Lanka in June 2004. An important experience on the trip was a Full Moon festival organised by a community of just 1000 people, which has provided the inspiration for Arena: The Perfect Circle.
Full Moon Festival - The Pandal
The community gathered in a field. There was a circus and a man on a stage telling a story. The
space was dominated by a 40-foot structure named a Pandal.
It was decorated with thousands of flashing bulbs and hand painted
panels. The purpose of the festival
was to reflect on key events in the previous year. In that year three women in
the village had lost children through Dengue Fever.
The painted panels told a story that related to their plight;
A prince and princess eloped to the jungle.
They had a child, which died. The
distraught princess took the baby from house to house seeking help.
Eventually she talked with Buddha who said that if she could find a house
that had not experienced death, he would help her.
Naturally every house she then visited had experienced death, but
learning of the plight of others help her come to terms with her own grief.
The impression created by this festival was the powerful social
cohesion within the community, focusing en-masse on shared and intimate
events. We will aim to create a
similarly simple and universal story, which will involve the audience in an
intense theatrical event.
In order to create this intimate focus we will create a unique purpose
built touring arena that will enclose the audience inside a fantastically
decorated and populated interior courtyard. The Arena will be 50 metres in
diameter which will comfortably hold 2500 - 3000 people, and will be
bounded by another fenced circle (this can be adjusted depending on space)
