Funerals, Canals and a Motto

Well a whole lot has changed since last week. For a start I have learnt how to do a blog! For the last week we have been preparing for the Pre show. To represent the mourning of the death of Idomeneo we discussed the ideas of launching a funeral pyre onto the canal. This presented several problems 1. tour boats frequently sail past so it cant be too big 2. it cant be on fire for obvious reasons 3.the area by the canal is covered with trees! This has lead to several days of tree surgery but the wharf area is now clear for the pre show.

The most interesting thing we dicovered about funeral rituals is the ritual of a resurrection ceremony for those who have been presumed dead and have had funerals without a body then the person has returned from being lost, not dead. This is exactly what happens in our story so it would be interesting to incorporate into the action somehow.

We have just started marking out a large Auschwitz inspired motto in the holding area which reads 'Worship the Gods, Obey King Idomeneo.' This will eventually stretch 15m across the wall but as we only have one ladder and one person that can reach the top of the wall it's slow going but I'm sure it will be very effective when it's finished.