As part of Nick Mason’s Saucerful Of Secrets 2023 ‘Echoes Tour’, the band has announced they are will be playing Pompeii on 24 July. The amphitheatre where Pink Floyd famously played is unavailable for concerts, so the performance will be in the similarly ancient Grand Theatre in the grounds of the ruins.
Photo by Alexandra Cuza
The eighth stop of the European tour saw Nick and Guy returning to Pompeii for the second time. Guy took note during the show that three individuals, including himself, Nick, and David Gilmour, have performed at Pompeii twice. Notably, Pink Floyd filmed their concert film Live at Pompeii without an audience at the nearby amphitheatre in 1971. David revisited Pompeii in 2016 for a pair of shows, which were later released as Live at Pompeii in 2017.
The intense heat couldn’t overshadow the audience’s adoration for the Saucers that evening, creating a distinct atmosphere in the historic theater! The absence of the typical backdrop behind the band was compensated by the charming ruins and ancient brick, providing a one-of-a-kind experience for the audience. Nick’s iconic hat from the original concert film also made a cameo, despite the unfortunate loss of his mustache..
Photo by Rory Gentry
Earlier that day Nick was made honorary citizen of Pompeii – see previous news story HERE in which he jokes during the show that he can now park anywhere he’d like in the town.
The Teatro Grande was built by exploiting the natural slope of the hill for the construction of the auditorium. The staircase was separated into three areas with corridors, which were in turn divided into five sectors, and was based on a passage with a barrel vault.
It was built around the middle of the 2nd century BC and significantly restored according to the Roman stlye. An inscription, visible at the entrance of the corridor that provides access to the east and that is one of the very few representations known with reference to the name of the architectus, recalls the works carried out in the Augustan age by Marcus Artorius Primus.
These works concern the scene and the stage, the adoption of the velarium, a large tarp used as a cover for the warmer days and the numbering of the seats. In the theatre they represented comedies and tragedies of Greek-Roman tradition. The theatre was the first large public building completely freed from the deposits of the eruption.
Set 1: One Of These Days, Arnold Layne, Fearless, Obscured By Clouds, When You’re In, Candy And A Currant Bun, Vegetable Man, If, Atom Heart Mother, If (Reprise), Remember A Day, Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun
Set 2: Astronomy Domine, The Nile Song, Burning Bridges, Childhood’s End, Lucifer Sam, Echoes
Encore: See Emily Play, A Saucerful Of Secrets, Bike
Capacity around 2,200
The theatre area of Pompeii is located in the southwest region of the city. There are three main buildings that make up this area: the Large Theatre, the Odeon (small theatre), and the Quadriporticum. These served as an entertainment and meeting centre of the city. Pompeii had two stone theatres of its own nearly two decades before the first permanent stone theatre was erected in Rome in the 50s BC.
Photos thanks to Rory Gentry and Alexandra Cuza
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