THE millions dead will be remembered in rhyme, and in the turn of the tides.
Danny Boyle, the movie director, has revealed his plans to remember the dead of the First World War in a new mass art-work, Pages of the Sea, which will use beaches all around the UK, including five in Scotland, as their canvass.
The public is being invited to gather on beaches, including West Sands in St Andrews, and as yet undisclosed beaches in Ayr and in Orkney and elsewhere, as an “informal, nationwide gesture of remembrance” on November 11.
On the beaches, large-scale portraits of casualties from the First World Wat, designed by artists Sand in Your Eye, will be washed away as the tide comes in.
The public will also be asked to join in: creating silhouettes of people in the sand to mark the millions of lives lost or changed permanently by the 1914-1918 war.
Carol Ann Duffy, the Scottish poet and Poet Laureate, is writing a new poem to mark the occasion, and the National Theatre of Scotland will be leading the events on the beaches north of the border.
The poem will be read by individuals, families and communities as they gather on beaches on 11 November.
Danny Boyle, known for his two Trainspotting movies, said: “Beaches are truly public spaces, where nobody rules other than the tide.
“They seem the perfect place to gather and say a final goodbye and thank you to those whose lives were taken or forever changed by the First World War.
“I’m inviting people to watch as the faces of the fallen are etched in the sand, and for communities to come together to remember the sacrifices that were made.”
Two more beach locations in Scotland are yet to be revealed.
The use of beaches utilises not only their ever-changing landscape, but also marks how millions of service men and women left the country by boat to fight and serve in the war around the world.
Jackie Wylie, artistic director of the National Theatre of Scotland, said that Scotland has an “enduring and emotive connection to the sea, and out beautiful coastline has seen many come and go throughout history.”
She added: “Pages of the Sea will create an artistic tribute, both personal and communal, through art, words, pictures and stories, acknowledging all those who left our shores during WW1.
“As a theatre without walls, the National Theatre of Scotland welcomes this poignant opportunity to help bring communities together in this fitting act of remembrance.”
- READ MORE: An interview with Danny Boyle
The public is also invited to say “goodbye” to some of the men and women who served in the war, personally.
An online gallery of portraits of some of those who served will be offered to the public, who can then choose to “say a personal goodbye to either via social media or as they gather in person on beaches on 11 November.”
The images are taken from the Imperial War Museum’s ‘Lives of the First World War’ which aims to tell 8m stories of those who served from Britain and the Commonwealth.
The art work is part of the 14-18 NOW series of cultural memorials to the First World War.
Jenny Waldman, director of 14-18 NOW, said: “Danny Boyle has created a beautiful, poetic artwork that invites people across the UK to participate in a new nationwide gesture of remembrance on the centenary of Armistice Day. “It is a fitting farewell to all of those who served and were affected by the First World War.
“I would like to thank Danny Boyle, Carol Ann Duffy and all our partners and funders for their help in realising this ambitious project.”
The National Theatre of Scotland has worked as part of the project before.
It worked with the artist Jeremy Deller on ‘We’re here because we’re here’ in 2016, which marked the centenary of the Battle of the Somme, as well as Processions, earlier this year.
That saw thousands of women take to the streets of Edinburgh in a colourful march to celebrate the centenary of votes for women.
The 14-18 NOW project also collaborated on the The 306 trilogy produced by the National Theatre of Scotland, the final part of which, The 306: Dusk, premieres in Perth later this month.
The war was also marked in the spectacular opening event of this year’s Edinburgh International Festival, Five Telegrams, by composer Anna Meredith and 59 Productions.
Boyle, from Manchester, is one of the UK’s most celebrated and successful film directors. As well as directing Trainspotting, and its sequel, he directed the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, and won Oscars for Slumdog Millionaire.
The director is currently editing his most recent film which,features the music of the Beatles, and has been written by Richard Curtis and stars Himesh Patel and Lily James.
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