For official updates visit www.intrepidtrips.com
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For official updates visit www.intrepidtrips.com |
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MINACK THEATRE, Land's End, Cornwall, England, August 10 -- On the eve of the last solar eclipse of the millenium, the bus Further has found itself perched on a cliff high above the Celtic sea. When the moon will move to intercept the sun, the Merry Pranksters will channel the cosmic energies to summon the spirit of Merlin.
The entire troupe of Merry Pranksters, as well as production crew from Channel Four and several other curious onlookers are camping in tents on the field. The site has attracted a daily pilgrimage of visitors to the bus, and the area has become known as "Camp Prankster." The tour will relax here for four days, sleeping under a galatic canopy of stars, and waking to brilliant, colorful sunrises. Emerging is a reverant magic to this place, a feeling that the journey Further has been pre-ordained to come here to worship this great act of the sun as a harbinger of the millenium. See a virtual view of Camp Prankster. |
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The first challenge of preparing for the Merlin Pageant is unloading and setting up all the equipment that goes into a regular Prankster show. At left Ken Kesey takes a look at the famous "Thunder Machine," that has been around since the days of the Electric Kool Aid Acid Tests. The Thunder Machine is a unique psychedelic sound instrument that is at the heart of the Prankster orchestra. |
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The Thunder Machine weighs nearly a half-ton, and moving it is usually a major effort by several Pranksters. Complicating matters further, is that the Minack Theatre is a remarkable outdoor amphi-theatre built out of the rock that is the ocean cliff. The machine had to be moved a half-mile from the camp site and down steep rock steps that lead to the theatre.
The effort of 20 people to do this work was symbolic of the titanic undertaking of the Search for Merlin tour -- the enormous logistics, personel, equipment, cost, and great spirit mustered by Ken Kesey and the Pranksters and the UK production staff to carry the intrepid journey Further to the British Isles. "This is like a military operation," said Prankster Ken Babbs, resting after the Thunder Machine was successfully on the Minack stage. "This trip is either going to make us very healthy or it's going to kill us!" |
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The Minack was built in the early 1930s by a local woman named Rowena Cade who loved both Cornwall and theatre. All of the plays of Shakespeare as well as some fascinating other productions have been performed here over the years.
The Merry Pranksters performance of the Where's Merlin Review will become the next addition to the Minack's legacy. Assuming all goes well, the eclipse will happen in the morning east sky, right over the stage during the performance. Wait and see.... See a virtual view of the Minack Theatre, taken from the stage. |
