More than 2,000 characters, 100 horses and some 25 cannons will be part of the commemorative acts of the 207th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, in what will be the largest recreation since 2015, when it was 200 years old.
In it, visitors will be able to go back in time to 1815 and discover what life was like for soldiers in bivouacs, a kind of makeshift camp, as well as delve into the work of the inhabitants of a town at that time.
The recreation, which will last all weekend, will reach its peak on Saturday night and Sunday morning, when the actors will reproduce the fighting on the Hill of the Lion, in which the British soldiers managed to prevail over the French despite the military superiority of the latter.
In addition, in this edition, there will also be guided tours of the bivouacs, demonstrations of care for the wounded, map reading workshops, shooting maneuvers, 19th century magic shows, tarot card reading or craft workshops to make perfumes. and wicker baskets, among other activities.
Every five years, the organizers redouble their commitment and offer bigger shows and new workshops and events, although in 2020 the covid-19 pandemic prevented the recreation from having the brilliance that it deserved.
Once all the restrictions against the coronavirus have been lifted, this year’s recreation will be the most important since 2015, when the Battle of Waterloo marked 200 years, and, in addition, the Duke of Wellington will be played by a new actor , the British Richard Johnson.
Johnson, who has been trained by the actor who gave life to his same character in 2015, also works as a firefighter in the United Kingdom and acknowledged being "highly strung"although he considered it to be "A great honor" have been asked to play that role.
"There are more than 1,000 artists who will be here. They’re going to have a fantastic performance. These guys are very passionate and very proud. The involvement with the team and the community has been enormous. It will certainly be very exciting to see"said Johnson himself.
As explained by the organization, recreations of this type, so numerous, require a whole year of preparation, although the last four or five months are especially intense.
"Here you can really get into the story and enjoy how people get involved. You can talk to them and have a good time"pointed out the British about the cast of actors, among which Klaus Beckert stands out, an 85-year-old German who acts as Field Marshal Blücher and who has a career behind him in this recreation.
Who will repeat as the main character is Mark Schneider, an American actor and historian, with a French mother, who since 2015 has played Napoleon Bonaparte, one of the historical figures that most interests him.
"I am a historian of Napoleon and of the 18th and 19th centuries, of military history. I am very interested in the part of Napoleon, the kings, the queens, the uniforms… And I am also an actor. I enjoy. In Virginia I play the Marquis de la Fayette. It’s theater and history together"Schneider commented.
Tickets are available only through the event’s website and range between 15 and 45 euros, depending on the seat from which the show is viewed.
The package that offers visits to the bivouacs and different places, such as farms or museums, ranges between 12 and 25 euros, although children under 10 enter free in all cases.
