Generally, Reading does a pretty good job of putting on a wide variety of events in the town. Not music and theatre as The Hexagon is too small a venue for many acts and it’s too close to London to attract many who would naturally gravitate there. However, occasionally something out of the ordinary comes along and, I think, Luke Jerram’s Gaia is just one of those things.
You had to book to visit and I did wonder how popular it would be even though entrance was only £2 but the website stated that the week’s run was fully sold out and there was a long line of people waiting to attend when we went.
Along with 100+ others, we saw suspended from the ceiling of the Concert Hall in Reading a large globe seven metres in diameter which was lit and slowly rotated. At the same time, in the background, a soundtrack of voices and specially commissioned music played.
The “event” (I’m not sure what else to call it) lasted for half an hour but it never seemed to build to a crescendo. Once you’d spent a few minutes looking, listening and contemplating that was sort of it. Clearly, we weren’t alone in feeling this as after 15 minutes there were less than half the number of people that came in with us. We managed 20 minutes so it is possible that at the half hour mark, the world explodes but I seriously doubt that even though this was put on as part of Reading Climate Festival and so would have been kind of appropriate.
Have a look at the video below and see what you think. There’s a good chance that you will be able to see it for yourself as there are multiple versions of “it” touring.