HAL SILVESTER
Lead designer of The Man Engine
How was The Man Engine born?
In 2015, the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site put out a call for projects to celebrate 10 years since the local mining landscape was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The aim was to increase awareness of the region’s industrial past, and The Man Engine was selected as the flagship project. We took him through western Devon and Cornwall in the summer of 2016, and we had an amazing response. In Penzance, 28,000 people turned up – more than the town’s entire population! All the pasty shops had their best- ever days.
What’s he made from?
He’s mostly steel – the parts were all made from scratch, and we were inspired by the Victorian, cast iron aesthetic. He has a smoke machine on board, which uses compressed air to send out high-pressure jets of smoke from various parts of his body, giving an industrial, steam engine effect. But he has a modern look too: he’s got one foot in the past and one foot in the future.
How does he move?
The Man Engine starts off each show crouched down, hidden under a shroud, and then he’s raised up by a Volvo wheel loader. The puppeteering is done by 10 people dressed as miners, who pull on ropes to move his head and limbs, open his mouth and blink his eyes. We wanted The Man Engine to be a puppet, not a robot, so you can really see the miners’ exertion. The Man Engine also makes a lot of noise. People can get selfconscious if a puppet is silent: it’s like seeing a bad mime artist. So as well as the jets of smoke, there are pistons, he stomps his feet, and there’s a cement mixer in his belly with chains inside, which makes a rhythmic, clanking sound. This time around, there are also going to be pyrotechnic elements to conjure up imagery of smelting and molten metals. It’s a really visceral experience.
What was the most challenging part of bringing The Man Engine to life?
He’s 11 metres tall, but we wanted The Man Engine to be able to fit inside a shipping container so that we can one day take him overseas, to follow in the footsteps of the Cornish miners who emigrated. We designed him to pack up really tight, like a 3D jigsaw puzzle. It was a challenge, but that’s also one of the joys of the live experience: seeing him transform from this lifeless lump of metal into a giant.
What do you hope people will take from the experience?
Everywhere we’re going on this UK tour, there’s been mining or heavy industry. Even if you can’t see it now, the heritage is still there, and the puppet helps people to connect with that. He gets people talking about the mining history in their own families, and he’s inspiring an interest in engineering, too. Even though he’s a big, clunky, steel giant, there’s a sensitivity to him. He can look you in the eye, and we’ve had plenty of people in tears. That’s one of the reasons why puppets are so powerful. You can see the strings, but when you suspend your disbelief, they come to life.