Sunday, August 10, 2008

The Léran Spectacle


Accent on the "tacle", the spectacle is our village's annual historical pageant held, this year, in the grounds of the chateau de Léran. Crammed with snails from the cargolade earlier that evening, we lacked the energy to take in the Saturday night son et lumière version. Instead, today, we ambled down to the show scheduled for 5 p.m.

Banked seats were set up in the shade. In front of us was the large meadow where sheep occasionally graze. Beyond it was a row of enormously tall trees and behind those, hidden by leaves at this time of year, is the chateau. 

Called "Léran-cestral" the 90 minute show was a quick whip through village history. Vignettes of peasants going about their daily sowing, laundering and threshing gave way to a Saracen attack. I think. My understanding of French went awry at this point. Anyway, a sequence featuring nubile, be-sequinned and filmily attired dancing girls. 

Highlights were the horse that galloped in towing a large blazing ball, jousting, a trio of fire-eaters, and the Black Death with the tiniest members of the cast costumed as Disney-ish rats. 

Special applause for the costumes which the village ladies spend much of the year making. 

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