During July and August every year, there is staged in Aquitaine (S.W. France) a dramatic re-enactment of the Battle of Castillon – the last battle of the Hundred Years War.
It is performed on a natural arena of 17 acres near the aptly named town of Castillon-la-Bataille, located 30 miles east of Bordeaux. The site is within cannon range of the original battleground. The show is staged at night and features 800 volunteers, including 500 actors and 50 expert horseback riders.
For two captivating hours, the events leading up to the historical battle are played out under the night sky for the delight of a 2000-strong audience. The production is filled with stunts, special effects, first-class stage lighting and musical score, firework displays, and a myriad set-piece scenes depicting 15th Century life in France.
The foreground of the elaborate open air set features some typical medieval vignettes: a farm, an inn, a village pond, and a scaled-down representation of the cathedral of Bordeaux. As the story unfolds, we witness some wonderfully choreographed scenes; the bringing in of the grape harvest, the construction of a gigantic wine press, horseback hunting parties replete with packs of baying hounds, and a market day with a host of colourful street vendors and comedic vignettes.
The production is transformed with the arrival of the scarlet-clad English, led by Lord John Talbot, the 1st Earl of Shrewsbury. The French army retreat from the foreground and occupy their prepared positions on the hillside. As Talbot and his men commence their determined but ill-fated attack, so the battle opens with a spectacular French cannonade.
It is performed, as the producer Éric Le Collen, says, "With the precision of the cinema, the sensitivity of the theatre, and the dimension of the opera."
For my photos of this year's production, check this link:
link
gets medieval.
