THE HATCHLING

Dragon masters

A giant dragon puppet roamed through Plymouth before taking flight at Plymouth Hoe

On August 29, an estimated 10,000 people gathered on Plymouth Hoe to watch a giant dragon, the size of a double-decker bus, take flight and soar across the sea.

The enormous dragon puppet, which transformed into a giant kite, flew across Plymouth Sound, with thousands watching in awe. The dramatic spectacle was the grand finale of The Hatchling, a weekend-long arts project produced by Trigger with support from Arts Council England and Plymouth City Council.

Audiences witnessed the dragon hatch from an egg in the city centre on August 28, with the public accompanying her as she explored her surroundings. In the evening, crowds gathered to see the dragon fall asleep under a tree. She awoke the next morning, as an adult dragon, and continued her journey to Plymouth Hoe, where she transformed into a ginormous kite with a 20-metre wingspan.

The project, which was part of Plymouth’s Mayflower 400 celebrations, comprised a team of 36 puppeteers and 22 kite flyers, as well as more than 250 local residents, which joined the cast of the impressive theatrical spectacle.

Chris Clay, director of Dock Street Events, was the event’s technical director. He said: “The event was originally scheduled to take place in August 2020, but COVID put pay to that. The event was rescheduled to take place on August 14 and 15 but it was not right to produce a celebratory event so soon after the recent shootings in Keyham. Out of respect, we moved the event and remobilised, moving the event to August 28 and 29.”

Falling on one of the busiest weekends of the year for events, Clay had to source new suppliers and stage managers, because some contractors and freelancers were no longer able to supply the new date.

Aggreko, Tube, Rock City, Light Up, Security Management South West, JHAV, Langdon Transport, Sky Bums and Megaflatables supplied kit and services to the event, which included significant stakeholder engagement. For example, Clay and the team had to liaise with the Queen’s Harbour Master and various ferry companies, as the kite was tethered to a boat, which sailed from Plymouth Hoe to Barn Pool Beach, Cornwall.

Clay concluded: “This project really was something special and different. It was a difficult thing to achieve but brought people together.”

The Hatchling will appear in London, heading a procession of more than 5,000 performers at The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant on June 5, 2022.