The reality behind the great race

Who can forget the epic chariot race in the 1959 film 'Ben-Hur'? The race took five weeks to film, on an elaborate set constructed outside Rome specially for that scene only.

Heaven knows what it would cost to do that today - probably as much as the entire budgets of many films.

Now there are plans to recreate the race in Britain, using 'professional' charioteers. An article in the Daily Mail describes what it's actually like to drive one of these chariots.

I rapidly discover that there are two problems with a four-stallion chariot - and acceleration is not one of them.

The first challenge is simply preventing the horses from going flat out. The second is turning without flipping the cart, the horses and the driver.

Now, I am trying to do this in a huge, empty field miles from anywhere, where the only threat is myself.




Four months from now, though, five chariots, five insane charioteers and 20 horses will be attempting to replicate the mayhem of the great Ben Hur race on the tightest circuit in history.

They will be racing round a track slightly smaller than a football pitch. And the world premiere of all this will be in front of 14,000 people in London.

It sounds barmy, but then everything about the upcoming Ben Hur Live show seems a tad ambitious.

For a start, there is a cast of 400 and a production crew of 200.

The music has been written by a pop star (Stewart Copeland of The Police) and the script includes a sea battle with galleys on wheels and a flying menagerie featuring (real) eagles, falcons and vultures.

The actors will even speak Latin, much to the delight of London's Latin-speaking Mayor, Boris Johnson, who has been offered a walk-on part.

The word 'extravaganza' does not really do it justice.

. . .

For the moment, the charioteers are practising on a farm deep in the Brandenburg countryside where I find trainer Nicki Pfeifer in an ordinary carriage taking a quartet of frisky Andalusian greys through their paces.

These temperamental beasts are straight from a Spanish stud farm and have never pulled anything, let alone a Roman chariot.

'If the horses are educated, it will all be OK,' says Nicki, who seems to spend more time chatting to his horses than to humans.

He will be racing in the show himself. In fact, his is the best of five pretty awful roles, since it's his job to stand in for the actor playing Judah during the chariot race.

And Judah wins. Everyone else gets mangled.

Sitting alongside Nicki is Czech stuntman Peter Barik, 44, who has the joyous task of being thrown from his chariot every night and crashing into the scenery.

'It will be fine because I have a special catapult which throws me out,' he says cheerfully.

Oh, that's all right then. Is he worried? 'Not really. At least I am not on fire. The worst stunt job is when you are on fire.'




We set off for the training ground, which involves riding through the village of Neuendorf.

I nearly cause a pile-up as I reach a roundabout in the middle of the village.

A lorry driver slams on his brakes as he gives way to a chap in Roman armour in the back of a chariot pottering along at walking speed.

'Am I dreaming?' shouts a giggling lady driver.

There's a lot more at the link, including some great photographs. Recommended reading - and probably viewing too, if the show lives up to the promise of the article. It might even be worth the trip to England to see it!

Only thing is, remembering the carnage in the film version of the race, I want to nominate a few US politicians to drive the chariots in this new race - without benefit of prior training. I'll leave you to insert names here from your own imagination . . .



Peter