The Most Incredible Thing


The Most Incredible Thing

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Transcript


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Once upon a time, in a land far, far away,

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Danish author Hans Christian Andersen

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wrote a fairy tale called The Most Incredible Thing.

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More than 140 years later, it inspired electronic pop legends

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The Pet Shop Boys to write a score for a brand new full-length dance work.

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Renowned choreographer Javier De Frutos

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was then tasked with bringing this magical story to life.

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At the heart of this is a pop group - The Pet Shop Boys -

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who want to do something more serious and that's a reflection

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of how boundaries are breaking down between classical and pop and rock.

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# When I look back upon my life... #

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Since 1989, we've tried to do shows that have film and dancing

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and this show, actually, is a very natural lineage

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from the show we did with Derek Jarman in 1989.

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# For everything I long to do... #

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What's interesting is to take the elements of classical ballet -

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the story telling - and do it in a different form of dance.

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We've written the score so that it can meet the world

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of contemporary dance and the fairy story brilliant world of Hans Christian Andersen.

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Having developed the idea

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with friend and former Royal Ballet star Ivan Putrov

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the three took it to Saddler's Wells Theatre in London

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where work began on transforming the original tale into 90 minutes of dance.

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We realised it would be impossible to write just to the three pages

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that Andersen had written, so we approached what's called a dramaturge.

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Is anyone familiar with that word? Ha! Anyway...

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Ooh, he's a right dramaturge! Dramaturge.

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Neil said something quite interesting.

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He said, "I want something that we can take to Vegas."

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It was quite liberating for me.

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I realised that I was writing into a very big canvas.

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It is trying to do something new with a narrative ballet, no doubt.

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And I think that's why Javier was interested in doing the project,

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because this is his chance to work with his contemporaries.

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I didn't want to treat it as a fairy tale.

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I wanted to treat it as a very good story.

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And therefore, what I felt was important was to really find

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the right vocabulary.

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It has a very classical structure, just painted in a different manner.

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The influences come thick and fast.

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I'm very Tarantino-esque when it comes to the things I like. I like my references.

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The creative team also referenced a lesser-known fact

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about the Danish writer. That he made beautiful paper cuts which he unfolded

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while telling his fantastic stories.

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This element of the writer's story-telling inspired the design.

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We developed a strong idea

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of the paperiness of Hans Christian Andersen's work.

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I didn't want anything too solid.

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We wanted to tap into a fairytale aesthetic.

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Another key contributor to the production was artist and film-maker Tal Rosner.

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His specially-created films

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and animations provide a further story-telling layer.

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The biggest challenge is not interfering too much

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with what's happening

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and still have a voice that, you know, stands out.

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It's very challenging but also really fun.

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You're thinking about it as part of an ensemble.

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It's part of an ensemble, you know, and that's what's fun about it.

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The first six minutes tells you everything about the basis of the story.

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It tells you there's a kingdom

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and there's people working daily in a hard fashion, having to just get by,

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and there's the announcement and everybody starts to try and create the most incredible things.

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We start in Act One with Leonardo in the factory. He's a nobody.

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He's an inventor. He loves getting back home to work on his creations.

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I play the princess. She's about 16, I think.

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She's incredibly head-strong. A free spirit.

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A bit of a rebel.

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She lives in a world that is incredibly strict

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and people have been programmed to think the same way,

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move the same way, work the same way, and she's not like that.

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It is important to set up a fractured relationship between the father and the daughter.

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To realise there are parental issues here because he's giving away half of the kingdom

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and giving the kid to get married to whoever wins.

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Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,

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and welcome to the show The Most Incredible Thing.

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Before, I had an obligation to present the futility

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of a competition that is going to achieve nothing.

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I think for Leo,

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this is his X-Factor moment where he sees his life could be opened up.

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It could change in an instant.

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She's told by her father that she's the prize for the person

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who can come up with the most incredible thing,

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so she runs away and bumps into this man who, at first,

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seems quite charming

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and sort of smiles and she thinks, "There can be love," you know?

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And quite quickly she realises that actually he's a bit of bad news.

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Karl is the villain and the destroyer. Very strong character.

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But Karl loses control of the world that he's in

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and he wants to keep it together.

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So anything that threatens it, he wants to destroy.

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Later on, she then meets Leonardo

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and suddenly she realises that there is a man that perhaps she's been

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dreaming about in a romantic way.

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There is actually that person who exists.

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On one level it's a very traditional fairy story, in a kingdom

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and a king and a princess

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and you can imagine Tchaikovsky writing a ballet for it.

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But also, it seemed to have more to it than just that

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and there'd be depth to it. It wasn't just a story for children.

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It was something that could appeal to people of all ages.

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The greatest strength of the story is the message underneath

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about the power of creativity.

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And that it can't be squashed by physical force.

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MUSIC BEGINS

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SCISSORS SNIP

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ELECTRONIC MUSIC

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# Wasn't in when you called

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# It's been so long since I heard from you

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# Play the message you loved

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# Sound fine about what to do

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# And all the good times we had

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# Why did they fade away?

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# Babe, you hurt me so bad

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# What have you got to say?

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# You call me baby

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# What do you want from me, baby?

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# You call me baby What do you want from me, baby...? #

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MUSIC STOPS ABRUPTLY

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ELECTRONIC MUSIC

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(Help me.)

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ETHEREAL WHISPERING: (We'll sing the songs of creation.)

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(Invention flows like water from us through you.)

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(We're here to help you, Leo...)

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(Your memory of all you've seen, make manifest, all.

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(We'll aid your mind, genius.)

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(We'll sing songs of time and memory...)

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(Time...)

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(We're here to help you, Leo...)

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ELECTRONIC MUSIC

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Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,

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and welcome to the show The Most Incredible Thing.

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You look like an incredible audience this evening,

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which is no coincidence because this is an incredible show.

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Incredible set, incredible contestants, incredible orchestra.

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Looking jolly good down there, chaps.

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Somebody else incredible out there this evening is our king.

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CHEERING

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How are you this evening, your majesty?

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A big thank you to our sponsors, Makarov Vodka.

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Remember - Makarov Vodka is A-OK!

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Introducing our judges - Babushka,

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Batya,

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Maneesh.

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Good evening, judges.

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Tonight we're going to change one contestant's life with this big prize.

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So, without further ado, I introduce to you Tina and Sparkle.

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CHEERING

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Spiffing!

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Judges?

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Congratulations, you're in with a chance.

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Moving on to contestant number 27, it's Dimitri.

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How are you this evening, Dimitri? He's nervous.

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And what do you have for us? A dog?

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Ladies and gentlemen, this is our fourth dog this evening.

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Let's hope this one's incredible.

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Chop, chop, Dimitri.

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Incredible... Judges?

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Better luck next time, Dimitri.

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I have just heard that the fire-eater has been extinguished

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and is OK, which is incredible.

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Moving on to the next contestant,

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it's Monkey Elliott.

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Jolly good. How do you feel. Oh, steady on. Judges?

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Not incredible.

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Next, ladies and gentlemen, I introduce you to Pavlov.

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Hello, Pavlov, what are you going to do for us?

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He's going to turn a towel into a swan. Fascinating.

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Do you know what this reminds me of, ladies and gentlemen?

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How Jesus turned water into wine.

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How Christ walked on water and Lazarus rising from the dead.

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We've got our very own miracle right here in this theatre.

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Let's take a look, shall we?

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Yes, but it's still a towel, isn't it, Pavlov?

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Moving on to contestant 599,

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it's Rocky Man.

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How are you this evening, Rocky Man?

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And what are you doing here?

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Yes, he's balancing a rock on his head.

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How long have you been doing it for?

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For 25 years, apparently. And for heaven's sake, why?

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Oh, Rocky Man...

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Oh!

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Oh, dear. Ghastly. Dimitri, you're back.

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What do you have for us now?

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Fleas? From your dog, I suppose? Where are they?

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Oh, Dimitri.

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Moving on to contestant 1,999, it's Kristov. Let's hope he's good.

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Oh, I say, old chap? Are you all right? What's going on?

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Erm... What do I do now?

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Excuse me?

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Where's my cue card?

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Your Majesty?

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Oh, this is just ghastly...

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Are you all right?

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I've been here for three days and none of the acts are any good. Oh.

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It's all just rubbish.

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Tick-tock, tick-tock,

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tick-tock, tick...

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APPLAUSE

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Act Two, we've got Leo with what he's created as the most incredible thing.

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The idea is the clock is taking over Leonardo.

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He becomes the clock, almost.

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Then we open up to him revealing the clock to the whole audience.

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How do you create the most incredible thing?

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It's just like an impossible task, and terrifying, really.

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It felt wrong to try and create it as a solid object.

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It had to be elusive. It had to engage people's imaginations.

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He has invented something that no-one in that kingdom had seen before.

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What they hadn't seen before was the power of imagination,

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as they had been a very repressed society. That clock doesn't tell the time.

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He tells you the extraordinary things that have happened throughout time.

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One is Adam, two is Eve, three's the sun, the moon and the stars,

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four's the four season, ten is the Ten Commandments.

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11, my favourite, is Apollo 11.

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I sort of made equal the discovery of the most incredible thing

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with an emotional state.

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It's kind of, "Where were you when...?"

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So, for me, where were you when? I remember that very clearly.

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Watch the launch of Apollo 11 and then watch the walk on the moon.

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All the things that make you feel emotions in such a great way

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have to be the most incredible thing.

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I quite like the seven deadly sins now, actually.

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We just got so stuck on that. We didn't know what to do for ages.

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Ten, which is the Ten Commandments,

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which is a fantastic marriage between the live dancers on stage

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and their top shot in a Busby Berkeley style of what they're doing.

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12 is my favourite. I think it's a bit of a work of art in itself.

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Number 12 is actually a list of over 300 artists that we compiled

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among ourselves, in hoping to create and already start the debate of,

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"Oh, I didn't see so and so,"

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and "That person should have been there."

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And you start compiling your own, in a subliminal way,

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you start compiling your own incredible peoples list.

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The one that always springs out is Banksy.

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The Eagles, when I was young.

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Sergei Diaghilev.

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Robert Lepage.

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Definitely Pina Bausch.

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-Liza Minnelli.

-David Bowie.

-David Bowie probably is in there.

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He's not.

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I'd say my family.

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Harry Worth.

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The whole creative team should be in cos they have been incredible.

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-We're not in it, are we?

-I was worried in case...

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The last name is Hans Christian Andersen.

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It's a list that can never be finished, I believe.

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One...

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two...

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three...

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four...

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five...

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six...

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..seven...

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..eight...

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nine...

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ten...

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Ten,

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nine,

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eight,

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seven,

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six, five,

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four, three, two,

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one.

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You shall not covet thy neighbour's husband or wife.

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You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.

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You shall not steal.

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You shall not commit adultery.

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You shall not murder.

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Respect your mother and father.

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Remember the Sabbath.

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You shall not blaspheme.

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You shall not worship false idols.

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I am the Lord, your God.

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Ten, nine, eight - ignition sequence - seven, six...

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five, four, three, two, one.

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Zero. Lift-off!

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We have a lift-off! 32 minutes past the hour.

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Lift-off of Apollo 11.

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CROWD SHOUTS: Three, two, one...

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BELL RINGS

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Golly. Gosh, that really was a rather unexpected turn of events, wasn't it?

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But, audience, you're still looking incredible.

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Chaps in the orchestra are still looking incredibly dashing.

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And our sponsors, who are still hanging in there.

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Remember, Makarov Vodka is A-OK.

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Let's go to our judges one final time

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because I am sure we've found our winner.

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Judges?

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Congratulations, Leonardo!

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Leonardo, how are you feeling?

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He's speechless!

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And how do you feel that you've won half of the kingdom and the princess' hand in marriage?

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He's totally lost for words!

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Is that the clock? Fascinating.

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Moving on with procedure,

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Your Majesty, if you would like to come to the stage

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to present your prize.

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APPLAUSE

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Are you happy with the outcome, Your Majesty?

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This is an historic moment, ladies and gentlemen,

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rather like the coronation of our good and kind king.

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So, Your Majesty, what will be happening now?

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THEY MIME

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Yes, thank you.

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And there they go.

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Ah, it's just come in from the PR department

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that the king has declared a public holiday,

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which will be called Leonardo Day.

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And the royal factory has just gone into production

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with royal wedding memorabilia,

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such as caps, cups, mugs, T-shirts,

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tea towels and napkins,

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all available from the royal factory.

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So, ladies and gentlemen, that's the end of this incredible event.

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And for our viewers across the globe,

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arrivederci, dasvidaniya,

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a bientot,

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cheerio.

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SHE CRIES OUT

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APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

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Act Three brings us back to the beginning, but worse,

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because those people had a glimpse of happiness.

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At one point, they saw the possibility of a country changing in the hands of a dreamer,

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and that's now not going to happen.

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We've kind of opened up the space, it's much starker,

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much more about the people and the kind of rhythm of their movement.

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The kingdom itself is split

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and we've also got the paper-cutting hands

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and they're all plastered and bloody.

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Visual signals that kind of say that things have shifted.

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I use a lot of red

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which is to symbolise that there's death and destruction

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and blood and kind of the horror of the world.

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You see the townspeople mourning for the fact that they've lost the inspiration

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that might have come from the most incredible thing.

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We see the black wedding,

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when the princess is just about to get married to Karl.

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Doom, gloom and depression.

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You know, for her, life's over.

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The black wedding ends with her being taken off

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and supposedly being prepared for the first night of marriage.

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At the end of that wedding, when they try to taunt Leonardo

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who was been sent to jail,

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the reappearance of the clock

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which has actively reformed.

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All the pieces that were broken and destroyed

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have reformed in a new formation

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and it literally eats Karl alive

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with the help of the three muses.

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The death is metaphorical.

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His biggest punishment -

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he's now part of the hour that he hated so much.

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The muses kind of come back and they release me from prison

1:14:461:14:51

and they basically lead me back to the princess, in her room.

1:14:511:14:54

She comes on expecting Karl to walk into the room

1:14:561:15:00

and, erm...she gets a surprise tap on the shoulder

1:15:001:15:04

and it's Leonardo.

1:15:041:15:05

In that incredible moment, she actually gets on her knees

1:15:091:15:13

and asks him to marry her.

1:15:131:15:16

The 21st-century feminist has arrived.

1:15:171:15:20

The king announces the wedding almost with tears in his eyes.

1:15:221:15:27

You discover that he has repented, he has regretted

1:15:271:15:30

and is an incredibly proud father.

1:15:301:15:32

The daughter has taught him to relax more

1:15:321:15:34

and the kingdom will heal itself.

1:15:341:15:37

Five.

1:26:291:26:30

Eight.

1:26:321:26:34

Two.

1:26:371:26:38

One.

1:26:411:26:42

Ten.

1:26:451:26:46

Six.

1:26:491:26:50

Three.

1:26:531:26:54

Nine.

1:26:571:26:58

Four.

1:27:011:27:03

Seven.

1:27:051:27:06

GONG SOUNDS

1:27:131:27:16

APPLAUSE

1:32:491:32:50

BELLS RING

1:33:231:33:25

CUCKOO CLOCK CHIMES

1:35:451:35:48

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

1:36:041:36:06

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

1:37:021:37:04

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