Music / Interviews
Arcadia: we’re building something even bigger
The creative duo behind the Arcadia Spectacular, which rolls into Bristol next month, have revealed plans to build on the show’s huge success by building an even bigger structure and taking it around the globe.
The immersive experience, a regular feature at Glastonbury and other festivals around the UK, is the brainchild of Pip Rush-Jansen, 32, and Bertie Cole, 35, who built their 50 tonne fire-shooting spider and two other stages from recycled scrap metal.
Speaking ahead of Arcadia’s Queen Square debut, Pip told Bristol24/7: “We are definitely looking to build something bigger.”
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The Bristol-based organisers, who are originally from Dorset, have recently taken their live shows around the globe and are also hoping to incorporate a number of cultural influences from their travels into a new performance or structure.
“We’re starting to do quite a lot of travelling with the shows, which is quite an interesting thing,” explained Bertie. “It’s quite a nice idea taking this piece of art from Bristol to a country where they’ve never heard of Arcadia.”
He continued: “At some point it would be nice if there is some sort of cross pollination from all these different cultures. It would be nice if we were to take a little bit of inspiration from all these countries and bring that back into a show.
“I’m sure the flavour of the next thing we do will be quite different to what we do now.”
Their current show Metamorphosis is one of six projects being funded by Arts Council England’s Exceptional Award and will celebrate Bristol’s status as 2015’s European Green Capital, it’s also Arcadia’s first time staging the event in a UK city.
As well as an incredible light show and impressive sound system, Pip and Bertie’s giant spider will shoot fire using the world’s first biofuel flame system which the pair have sourced from chip shops and restaurants across the city.
“The stage itself is an inspiring example of what you can do by re-using materials,” they added. “It’s nice for people to see that things can be done differently.”
Plans to make Arcadia even more sustainable and eco-friendly include running their stages on an electrical grid system, using solar power and reducing waste by looking into more recyclable and re-usable cups.
Arcadia Spectacular hits Queen Square on September 4, 5. For more information visit www.arcadiaspectacular.com.
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