Tag Archive: Clay Paky Sharpys

1. White Light is Simply the Best for TINA – The Tina Turner Musical

   10 July 2018 09:03 Leave a Comment

   

   One of the best-selling artists of all time, Tina Turner’s fascinating life story has now been turned into a stage show with TINA – The Tina Turner Musical. Written by Olivier Award-winning playwright Katori Hall, the show charts Tina’s humble beginnings in Nutbush, Tennesee to her transformation into the global Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll. The show is playing at the Aldwych Theatre in London’s West End and as a leading lighting supplier to some of the biggest shows in the country, White Light was called upon to provide the lighting equipment.

   

   TINA – The Tina Turner Musical is directed by the internationally-acclaimed Phyllida Lloyd and features a lighting design by Bruno Poet. Bruno comments: “My brief for the show was to help tell this extraordinary story and make the performers come alive within Mark Thompson’s elegant design. The set frames the actors beautifully and is very stripped back, with the focus being on the characters’ emotional journeys. There are also around 40 scenes in different locations, and the lighting needs to support that sense of time and place. Added to this were several concert scenes so I had to create a design that matched this energy”.

   To achieve this, Bruno approached WL in order to draw on his ideal rig. He explains: “It was a combination of experimenting with new units that I felt might be useful in combination with tried and tested favourites. I was really keen to move away from discharge light sources and more towards the latest LED fixtures. I also needed a really flexible rig that could offer a full-on concert experience at the end of the show, but also work with the more nuanced, delicate scenes.  I was also determined to have a very quiet rig. Even a musical has quiet moments and hearing fan noise is a personal pet hate of mine!”.

   The equipment Bruno drew on included the MAC Encore Performance CLD, the VL550, the MAC Aura XB, GLP X4 Battens and the ETC Source 4 Lustr 2s. He explains: “With the MAC Encore CLD, this is the first LED source I’ve found that gives the cold discharge look of something like a MAC Viper but can also do a convincing tungsten warm. With the Auras, these have great zoom range, brilliant colours and can be used for punchy, beamy looks. The set design cried out for curtains of light and the GLP X4 Battens allowed me to achieve this, while taking up virtually no space on the grid.  I also drew on Portman P2s for the big concert finale, along with Clay Paky Sharpys. The desk I drew on was an EOS which I often use for theatre productions”.

   The decision as to what type of lighting equipment should be used was much discussed in the show’s pre-production stages. Bruno explains: “As the musical spans several decades, we did contemplate using equipment and styles that would be accurate from certain points along that timeline. However, looking at this in detail, we realised that this could be very dull for a modern audience! That said, I did make myself some ground rules. For instance, you don’t see moving lights move until we get to the late 1980s”.

   TINA – The Tina Turner Musical has now opened to critical acclaim and has already been extended to February 2019. Bruno comments: “This was a fantastic production to be a part of. I was supported by an amazing team which included Max Narula as Associate, Warren Letton as Programmer and Sam Floyd as Production Electrician. I really enjoyed collaborating with Jeff Sugg, the Video and Projection Designer, as this was one of those shows where lights and projection worked as one. Similarly, I was surrounded by a brilliant stage management team, especially Sarah Seymour our DSM whose calling of the finale is poetic and a masterclass in timing”.

   Photos courtesy of Manuel Harlan.

2. White Light Goes for Goldie on New UK Tour

   28 November 2017 10:22 Comments Off on White Light Goes for Goldie on New UK Tour

   Widely considered as one of the most influential British electronic musicians of all time, Goldie has been creating music for over two decades, with his 1995 album Timeless considered to be an all-time classic. For the first time ever with a live ensemble, the musician recently travelled across the UK with The Journey Man Tour in which he performed tracks from his iconic repertoire along with material from his recently released album of the same name. Having previously supplied Goldie’s Timeless anniversary concert at the Royal Albert Hall, White Light was called upon once again to supply the lighting equipment on this latest tour.

   The lighting designer for The Journey Man tour was Richard Godin. He comments: “The show featured Goldie performing with members of the Heritage Ensemble along with a range of special guests. With Goldie’s music being so expansive, this is essentially a concert, jazz performance and rave rolled into one (!) so my task was to take the audience on an emotional journey through the different genres. As the songs built, this needed to be reflected in the lighting design, with a bombardment of beats and lights combined”.

   To inspire his design, Richard spent a lot of time listening to the show’s set list. He explains: “The music is hugely influential for this design. I would listen to the tracks over and over again in order to pick up on the complex beats and rhythms. Goldie himself talks about sound in terms of colour, light and darkness which I tried to incorporate. For instance, a deep blue felt right for the bass, saturated colours matched the cymbals whereas soprano voices almost felt like light coming from the darkness.

   

   Richard adds: “A lot of the design is about focusing light into the audience but avoiding direct light into their eyes. As a result, I used a lot of the venue’s architecture to send beams into the crowd which will allow them to feel surrounded by light and fully immersed into the music but not blinded”.

   Richard then approached WL and spent a week at the company’s state-of-the-art Studio15 in order to pre-rig his design. He comments: “The rig is based around five booms and a goal post which creates an arc around the band. This then throws light around the performers and into the crowd. Clay Paky Sharpys provided the laser-like light of the rave. The GLP Impression X4s provided texture and colour for the band, which the amazing light quality and zoom of the VL3000s creating a poetic link between the two. I drew on the Arri 2K and Selecon Acclaim Fresnels to crosslight the band and soloists, removing the need for followspots. The SGM X5 strobes deliver the staccato punch when we need to get the crowd moving”.

   

   The practicalities of travelling from venue to venue on tour meant that preparation was key. Richard explains: “The first get in required the rig to go from the truck to be ready and set up inside the venue within an hour. As a result, I needed to build it entirely at the WL warehouse. I also had to time myself and ensure that everything could be fitted up in time”.

   The tour opened at Bridgewater Hall in Manchester and visited the Roundhouse in London, Brighton Dome, Wolverhampton’s Civic Hall and Bristol’s Colston Hall.

   Richard comments: “This was a fantastic tour to work on and we received a great response from audiences up and down the country. Roger Deane and the team at WL were once again really supportive and offered a great level of service and equipment”.

   The Journey Man Tour marks another example of WL’s work in concert touring, with the company also supplying the latest tour for the Fleet Foxes, who performed at Brixton Academy last night.

   Photos courtesy of Richard Godin.