Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department section on her record-breaking Eras Tour is easily her most ambitious yet, thanks to multiple moving production elements.
“I wanted to create the illusion of an alien abduction, a battle scene, a religious institution, a mental institution, a haunted house and a showgirl’s dressing room routine,” Swift, 34, wrote in her newly released official Eras Tour book, calling her plan “ambitious as hell.”
Swift released her 11th album, TTPD, in April and added a dedicated section to the Eras setlist one month later for her shows in Paris.
“We conceptualized and rehearsed it secretly, and surprised the Paris crowd with it when we started our European leg of the tour,” the pop star recalled, noting she wanted the staging to be “minimalist, white, stark and bold.”
Kate Green/Getty Images It’s been a long time coming. With Taylor Swift gearing up to say goodbye to her Eras Tour — a record-breaking show that spanned the globe for nearly two years — she’s taking a retrospective look at her favorite on stage moments, behind-the-scenes secrets and more in her Taylor Swift: The Eras […]
She added, “There was nothing else in the show like it, and it was such an exciting challenge to try and improve upon a show I already loved.”
As Swift performs songs including “But Daddy I Love Him,” “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” and “Fortnight,” she moves around the diamond-shaped stage via a moving platform that fans on social media likened to a Roomba vacuum. The “rover” was, in reality, controlled by a dedicated member of Swift’s team from beneath the stage.
“[It is] actually operated by a crew member, who lays inside the platform and drives it from the inside,” Swift revealed in the book, noting that her initial vision was expertly “pulled off.”
“[It creates] what I think is the most dramatic, cathartic, female-rage-driven part of the night,” Swift added.
As Swift performs an impressive seven TTPD hits — including “So High School” with all its football nods to her boyfriend, NFL star Travis Kelce — she glides across the stage in a white Vivienne Westwood ball gown. The frock’s skirt features “my lyrics printed in cursive all over my white dress,” she wrote.
Swift will conclude her Eras Tour early next month following three concerts in Vancouver. The companion book, which hit Target shelves on Friday, November 29, is Swift’s official recollection of her “beloved Eras Tour” experience.
“My goal was for every fan to leave that show knowing I gave them absolutely everything I had. I made a promise to myself to be physically and mentally tougher than I ever had been before,” Swift wrote in the book’s prologue. “To be more disciplined and committed to my health, fitness, and stamina. Thankfully, I’m surrounded by my incredible crew, band, singers, and dancers who all matched my dedication to the massive scale and challenges of this show.”
