The colossal Man Engine, voted the UK’s National Lottery Best Arts Project in 2017, and powered by Volvo, will return for his much-anticipated Resurrection Tour very soon. On March 31, the awe-inspiring behemoth will be resurrected in the far west of Cornwall, where he was last seen during his 2016 tour at Geevor tin mine before blazing a trail right across the UK to other iconic industrial heritage sites.
People turned out in their tens of thousands in 2016 to meet and greet the largest mechanical puppet ever constructed in Britain (powered by Volvo). The giant miner uncovered a deep vein of passion and pride running the length of the Cornwall & West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site. This year he will be visiting key Cornish mining locations (Geevor tin mine, Heartlands and the Royal Cornwall Events Centre) before heading up to the gateway of the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site, Tavistock then travelling on up to Radstock in Somerset, South Wales, Shropshire and Yorkshire.
The Man Engine’s creator, Will Coleman of Golden Tree Productions, says “There are quite a few elements being kept under wraps until the actual launch on Saturday at Geevor, but I can give you a few hints about what extras to expect. At the Afternooner there will be opportunities for big kids and their families to get hands-on with mini-mining games and activities (supported by our partners at Camborne School of Mines and Geevor mine). At each location we will be treated to the rousing sound of a local brass band (Pendeen Silver Band, Camborne Youth Band, Lostwithiel Town Band and Tavistock Stannary Band) who will also take part in the Man Engine Ceremony itself. As everyone knows, the Man Engine will only ‘transform’ when enough people sing. So to heighten the experience at every Afternooner, we have rattled-up a 100-strong choir of local singers.”
“The Afterdarker promises an experience for braver souls. We’ve commissioned an epic, industrial sound track, from well-known Cornish composer Jim Carey. Jim has created an appropriately huge-scale score including the recorded talents of St Keverne brass band. We are also very excited to be collaborating with Titanium who are adding pyrotechnic effects to help us depict not just mining, but also smelting, casting and forge-work – the entire industrial revolution in a white-hot, explosive celebration – sparks will fly!”
The Man Engine Resurrection Tour 2018 tickets are available for each of the Cornwall and South West England events from manenginetickets.com