Derren Brown, the multi-award winning master of mind control and psychological illusion, wowed audiences in London last year with his mesmerising show Underground. The show originally ran at the Charing Cross Theatre and then the Playhouse Theatre in the West End. The show has recently returned for a nationwide tour of the UK and Ireland. Having supplied the original London production, White Light was called upon to provide the lighting for this latest tour.
Derren Brown: Underground is directed by Andrew O’Connor and Andy Nyman and features a lighting design by Charlie Morgan Jones. Charlie comments: “When I was first approached to light Underground, we talked a lot about bold looks. I’m a huge fan of the Great British Backlight so was determined to throw in some epic scenes from the up stage position. The Set Designer Will Bowen had created some beautiful Victorian drapes which I wanted to light in different colours; dependent on the various sections of the show. It was also really important to maintain the focus on Derren so I was conscious of drawing on kit that was able to close in on different sections of the stage with precision and subtly. I was also keen to light it very theatrically, giving the performance an extra texture”.
To achieve this look, Charlie approached WL to supply him with his ideal rig. He explains: “For the show, I’ve drawn on a range of Martin MAC Auras, which are great units because of their size. A lot of the stages on tour are fairly shallow and the LX bars needed to fly in fairly low without seeing any noses. The show also uses ETC ColourSource Sports and a plethora of ETC Source Four Minis”.
Whereas a lot of West End shows have to significantly change when embarking on a tour, this wasn’t the case for Derren Brown: Underground. Charlie explains: “The West End version of the show was actually the largest revamp that Underground when through in terms of lighting. We kept the Martin MAC Auras from the previous UK tour but added in ETC ColourSource Spots along with some clam shell footlights. We’ve then gone on to keep all of this for the 2018 tour, which means that audiences across the UK are seeing a carbon copy of the West End version”.
That said, as with any touring production visiting different venues on a weekly basis, Charlie had to adapt his design slightly for each theatre. He explains: “The main thing that’s different in every venue is the followspots and their operators. They have such an important job as they provide all of Derrren’s key lighting. That said, we’ve been very lucky on the tour as we’ve only encountered really great people”.
The show opened in Liverpool back in April and has visited Eastbourne, Hull, Nottingham, Cardiff and Dublin to name but a few. It is currently in Bournemouth at the Pavilion Theatre.
Charlie concludes: “I’ve loved every minute of working on Derren Brown: Underground. It’s not only a fantastic show but I’m surrounded by a brilliant team including Paul Walmsley, my amazing Programmer, and Andy Murrell, the Chief LX and Touring Relighter. Without them the show wouldn’t happen. I also want to thank the WL team for their support on every stage of this production”.
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Lighting Designer Charlie Morgan Jones
This month’s Leading Light is Charlie Morgan Jones. A previous nominee for the WhatsOnStage Best Lighting Design Award, his work spans the full theatrical spectrum, from multiple musical productions to the West End to immersive theatre to international operas. He’s currently at the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool with Derren Brown Underground and has taken the time out to speak to us about his story so far.
As always with Leading Light, we go back to the very beginning and for Charlie this is Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, which is in South Wales. He comments: “I was born and raised in Barry and lived there till I was 18. It’ll always be home for me. It’s very much a quiet town where the people are nice and everyone knows who you are. My bedroom window opened out onto the Bristol Channel and it really was a blissful place to grow up”. Charlie was an only child and lived with his mum and dad. He explains: “Mum is an English teacher and always took me to the theatre throughout my childhood. Dad is a photographer and my Grandparents loved classical music and I remember going to the Symphony Hall in Birmingham. Therefore I was certainly raised in a very ‘artsy’ family”.
Having attended theatre from the point where he admits to being “the screaming baby at the back”, Charlie’s personal first memory of theatre comes from when he was aged four. He recalls: “The first thing I remember seeing was a production of Turandot at the Welsh National Opera. It was just incredible. I remember this corrugated set which featured hundreds of heads all across the stage. It was lit by a woman called Heather Carson and I randomly looked back at the production shots a couple of years ago and it still looked spectacular”.
Charlie in his Cathedral School Llandaff uniform
Despite his mum being an English teacher, Charlie is the first to admit that he was far from academic. He comments: “I went to a lovely school in Llandaff which was about eight miles away in Cardiff. The teachers there were great and really pushed me. That said, I didn’t push back. I literally just wanted to spend every day larking around and making people laugh. I didn’t really put in the energy to apply myself to anything”.
During his schooldays, Charlie continued to see a lot of shows. He comments: “With the New Theatre being based in Cardiff, this meant that they had a different show each week and whether it was am dram, musical, farce or panto, mum and dad would always take me”. Charlie also took part in the school plays which were held every summer and Christmas. His first ‘theatrical credit’ was his unforgettable portrayal of a Rabbit in Wind in the Willows at the age of 7. Yet school was to further Charlie’s passion for theatre when a new state-of-the-art theatre was built. Charlie recalls: “I was 13 years old and for some unknown reason, my parents had bought me a smoke machine. I told my Drama teacher who asked me if she could borrow it for a show. I said yes and then she asked if I wanted to light it as well. I didn’t really know what I was agreeing to but I just said yes!”. Charlie ended up making his lighting debut on what he describes as “Stars in Their Eyes extravangza”. He recalls: “I lit the show on a two scene desk so it was literally on off, on off. That said, I had a blast and my teacher let me light lots of other shows. I think I became the only designer in history to light Joseph without any colour! Then again I was just having a good time and enjoyed the whole lighting process”.
Concorde would actually have a big influence on Charlie’s career choice.
Yet Charlie didn’t want to be a designer just yet. Rather, he had other ambitions: “I wanted to be a pilot – something I wanted to be for as long as I can remember”. And there was one particular plane that Charlie has a somewhat unhealthy obsession with: “I was madly obsessed with Concorde. My aunt lived in Reading which was on the flightpath to Heathrow and at 5:30pm every evening, I would run into the garden as soon as I heard the plane up ahead. I was so obsessed that, when I was ten, I wrote to British Airways saying I love Concorde and they needed to help me. To my amazement, a chap called Claude Freeman wrote back who was then Head of British Airways Maintenance. He asked if I wanted to spend a day at our maintenance facility and I, of course, said yes! I spent the whole day on a Concorde but not just any Concorde – the flagship plane named G-BOAC. I even received a Blue Peter badge”.
However, Charlie’s dream of flying Concorde was to be quickly dashed when he was just 15. He recalls: “They decommissioned Concorde which was a genuine blow to my piloting dreams. It felt like there was no end goal now as my ultimate ambition was to fly that plane”.
Charlie during his work experience days at Wales Millennium Centre.
While his Concorde dream was coming to an end, Charlie was still busy lighting shows at school. He recalls: “My Drama teacher, Claire Morgan, was very supportive. She would let me stand on chairs to rig lights and I even had a key to the drama studio (something I would use when I wanted to skip Chemistry). I used to spend all my time in there, playing with levels and cue timings. It was a very basic desk with 24 channels on top and 24 on bottom but it was my be all and end all”. Charlie soon became the school’s go to lighting designer and began to explore lighting outside of the drama studio. He recalls: “When I was 16, my mum introduced me to Perryn Leech, Welsh National Opera’s Technical Director. I soon embarked on work Experience on WNO Max’s Candide which was a fantastic experience. Perryn would also prove to be extremely supportive of me and introduced me to Dorset Opera – where I did two seasons as Assistant Lighting Designer. I was lucky enough to return in 2014 to light their 40th anniversary season as the fully fledged LD”.
Charlie passed his GCSEs and continued with his A Levels, which included Drama, Physics, Maths Statistics and Geography. He comments: “I went to a college that was different to my high school and really didn’t enjoy it. The only fond memory I have is spending time in the theatre! I also used to host a show on the local radio station called Spotlight which was all about theatre”.
During this time, Charlie continued his work experience at the Wales Millennium Centre, which included Acorn Antiques – the Musical. It was here he met Technical Director Dicky Burgess who said if Charlie wanted a job as a followspotter, he should email Dicky when he was 18. Charlie comments: “The day after my 18th birthday I emailed him and was offered a job as a followspotter: something I did for five years. The first show I worked on there was White Christmas where I was lucky enough to meet Lighting Designer Ken Billington. I remember he told me: ‘Kid, if they walk and talk, they get a light'”.
Rose Bruford was a life-changing experience for Charlie.
Yet all this focus on theatre meant Charlie’s studies were neglected and he failed his exams. However, he wasn’t giving up on education just yet: “Whilst I was working at the WMC, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was visiting and the Chief LX was a chap called Chris Vaughn. He told me to apply to drama school as he felt it would be a great experience for me. So, I applied to Rose Bruford in secret – mainly as I didn’t think I’d get in. I was then invited to interview with Rachel Nicholson and to my complete and utter surprise, she offered me a place!”. Charlie soon left Barry and made his way to London; something he describes as “terrifying and great”. And it seems that Rose Bruford was the one educational institution where Charlie really felt at home. He comments: “I had the most incredible three years at Rose Bruford and really honed my craft. The Programme Director Hansjorg Schmidt was the most nurturing man and gave me some incredible support. I took the Lighting Design course although not everyone taking it wanted to be an LD (one is now a Royal Navy Officer!). That said, I knew for a fact that this was what I was going to do and that marked me out slightly”.
During his time at Rose Bruford, Charlie began to work at the Vaudeville as a Board Operator. He recalls: “Working at the Vaudeville was also an education in itself as I got to see a new lighting designer’s work on a new show every three months. Peter Mumford lit the first show I worked on there (you can read Peter’s Leading Light here) whereas Mark Henderson lit the second one. You essentially had the dons of lighting design coming in and I was behind them in a dress rehearsal. It was at that point when I thought – I could be this guy”.
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3am at Leicester CURVE was Charlie’s first professional production after graduating.
Charlie graduated and was left to find his own way in the big wide world. It was here where his work at the Vaudeville would prove useful: “I emailed every single producer I knew, along with all the DSMs I’d worked with from my time at the Vaudeville. They were hugely supportive and told me who to get in touch with. It was in those early stages that I’d take unpaid leave to go and work on shows on the London fringe. It was a case of slowly, but surely, getting my name out there”.
Charlie’s first show out of university was 3am for the Curve Young Company at Leicester’s CURVE Theatre. He recalls: “I was put forward by Rachel Nicholson who was the Head of Creative Lighting Control and was immensely lucky to go straight into a show like that. I really felt like a ‘professional lighting designer’ as I had a programmer and stage management team”. Charlie would the continue to work wherever he could. He recalls: “I did a show at the Edinburgh Fringe called Jump which was a brilliant experience. I also lit a show at The Met in Bury and remember just jumping on a train, heading up to Manchester and saying ‘I’m here to light your show’. At that age, you just turn up and hope for the best. Then again, you need to have that go-getter attitude as people are only willing to employ those with experience and that was something I needed”.
It wouldn’t be long until Charlie got what he considers to be his first ‘big break’: “I worked on Dialogues des Carmelites at the Birmingham Conservatoire and the Director was Michael Barry. I was at his house for dinner and he showed me a prop from the Ring Cycle which he recently directed. As I knew very little about him, I presumed it was something he’d worked on at the Birmingham Local Opera. Fortunately I didn’t say anything out loud as Michael quickly informed me that it was a show he’d worked on at the Royal Opera House! A quick Google under the table and I realised he was quite a big name! We got on like a house on fire and Michael recommended me for various jobs including the Polish National Opera”. It was also at the Conservatoire where Charlie met Jack Ramplin who Charlie has used on lots of shows as his Associate. Charlie comments: “Michael foresaw a long creative relationship between Jack and I – he wasn’t wrong!”.
Charlie’s second ‘big break’ was to come shortly after at the Duchess Theatre in London’s West End. He recalls: “I was asked to light Cool Rider, which is the sequel to Grease. It was an all-singing, all-dancing musical with so much happening all the time – the first number had 80 lighting cues! For this show, I worked with an Associate called George Smith who was fantastic to bat ideas around with. It really changed my way of working and brought out the best in my lighting”. Shortly after this, Charlie and George formed Smith+Jones LX. Charlie comments: “We became friends but he sadly (for me) lives out in Macau now for work. That said, we’re still as close as ever, and I always visit him when I go to the Far East for work”.
Charlie lit Cool Rider at the Duchess Theatre in London’s West End.
The third break of Charlie’s was Avenue Q; the puppeted musical which is also one of Broadway’s longest running musicals. Charlie recalls: “I had worked with production company Selladoor Productions in their early days and remember touring Ibsen’s Ghost in the back of a van. They asked me back to light Avenue Q which was doing a three week run in Greenwich in April 2014. The run sold really well and got a lot of people talking – so much so that it turned into a six month tour. It then returned for a second tour in 2015, a third tour in 2016 and it’s recently been announced that it’s coming back next year. It was one of those shows that just ‘became a thing’ – when I told people I was lighting it, they were really impressed. It also got me an agent and opened so many doors for me as people were now able to see my work”.
Little Shop of Horrors is a personal highlight for Charlie.
Whereas these are Charlie’s ‘big breaks’, I ask him if any other shows that standout. Safe to say, he has a fair few: “Little Shop of Horrors definitely sticks in the mind. Everything on this production just felt ‘right’ and all the creatives just clicked. We wanted the show to be zany, cartoony and over the top; similar to the feel of the film. I remember being sat in tech thinking this should be spectacular and it was. It was great to be a part of and the highlight was when it visited the New Theatre in Cardiff where I used to see shows as a kid. It was at that point when I was confident in telling people that I was a lighting designer”.
Other shows include Derren Brown: Underground which Charlie describes as “incredibly bizarre as it was a huge name and another show that everyone knows and recognises. It’s also amazing that it’s going to the Wales Millennium Centre which is where it all started in a sense – I can’t wait for mum and dad to see it!”. The Polish National Opera is another highlight of Charlie’s. He recalls: “I was the only non-Polish speaker so it was the case of being thrown in at the deep end. That said, I spent a lot of summers in Poland as a child and can understand the basics so was able to communicate with Mariusz the director”.
Macbeth at Theatre Severn was lit by Charlie.
Charlie has managed to achieve a lot in a short time and, while it’s largely down to a hard-working ethos, he has been lucky enough to have the support and influence of some lighting legends. He comments: “As part of my drama course at college, we went to see the National Theatre’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle which Paule Constable had lit (you can read her Leading Light here). I actually phoned my dad during the interval saying how amazing I thought the lighting was; it was a character within itself. Almost without realising, Paule had become an influence. Flash forward a few years and I was back at the Millennium Centre working in between uni terms. It was 2010 and I was followspotting on the new Les Misérables which Paule had lit. When I was back in Wales, I went over to the production desk and said hello and she was just the most approachable and friendly person. We went out for lunch and she told me everything I needed to know about lighting. Another person who’s been a huge help is Rick Fisher (you can read his Leading Light here). During my second year at Bruford, he gave a talk and was kind enough to give me his email address. I emailed him that night (very eager!) asking if I could come and work with him on a show. He was lighting The Fantasticks at the Duchess Theatre and I sat behind Rick and the programmer and learned so much. I even got credited in the programme as Assistant to the Lighting Designer! Ultimately, both Paule and Rick are incredibly talented and equally kind individuals and I also show the same level of support to anyone who approaches me for advice”.
Listening to Charlie talk about his journey and career, it’s easy to forget that he is still extremely young (not even 30). So what aims does he have for the future? He answers: “When I was 14/15, my main aim was to solely light West End shows. I’ve now had eight productions in the West End so my goals have changed slightly (as they should). I would like to light more dance and would definitely like to work at the English National Opera. I think it’s important to remember that the role of lighting designers is changing also. It’s no longer just theatre. For instance, last year I was asked to light the rainforest at the Eden Project – something I never thought I’d do. Ultimately, I want to continue my existing relationships with current designers, directors and production companies as well as push myself as a designer”.
If the last few years are anything to go by, it’s safe to say that Charlie will continue pushing himself and cement his reputation as one of the most exciting lighting designers this country has to offer.
Photos courtesy of Graeme Braidwood, Hywel Jones, Matt Martin, Pamela Raith, Rose Bruford College and Sven Worrow.
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Produced by the award-winning Selladoor Worldwide, a brand-new production of The Producers recently opened at the Shanghai Culture Square and is currently embarking on a 14 week tour of China. The Lighting Designer is Charlie Morgan Jones and the equipment has been supplied by White Light. Whilst in East Asia, Charlie kept a diary of his travels in order to give us a first-hand insight into life on an international tour:
Thursday 12th October – Eight Days Before Flight
I was out of the country until yesterday, so had to express my Chinese Visa application through. It’s all a bit complicated, but thankfully our wonderful Company Stage Manager Sharon Speirs accompanied me to the Embassy and walked me through it all (she’d been so many times that she was old pals with the Embassy Official…!)
Today also marked the first run through of the show. It’s always special to be there the first time it’s all put together. As I write this, it’s just finished and it’s in-cred-i-ble. One of those “I CAN NOT WAIT TO LIGHT THIS” shows. Tara Wilkinson, the Director, and Matt Cole, the Choreographer, have done the most fabulous job.
Thursday 19th October – One Day Before Flight
This week has been slightly mad. I’m in pre-production for Inside Pussy Riot which begins tech the day I fly back from China, Eden Project at Christmas which starts mid-November, rehearsing for Gobsmacked! which opens in the USA the same night as The Producers and on Tuesday I had to travel to relight Derren Brown: Underground for one night only! So safe to say I’m somewhat pre-occupied!
Today, after an overnight plotting session for Gobsmacked!, I’m solidly in TheProducers rehearsals (thank goodness). This show just gets better and better and there’s now only four days until I start lighting it.
Friday 20th October – Flight Day
It’s early Friday morning (and I mean early!) and I can’t sleep. My flight isn’t until 15:15 but I’m very excited. One of the huge perks of the job is that producers pay me to fly half way around the world to do something I love with people I admire – what could be better?
All the crew have flown out ahead of us – so it’s just the Musical Supervisor, Sound Designer and Costume Designer on my flight…I promise we’ll be well behaved!
As we board, I know it’s going to be a good flight as I’m asked “Would you like a glass of champagne, sir?”. I think I can manage it.; after all, it is 10pm in Shanghai!
Saturday 21st October/Sunday 22nd October – Arrival in Shanghai
We all arrive (after a seemingly endless transfer) slightly worse for wear…I’m not sure any of us have managed to sleep, and with the time difference between the UK and here it would be dangerous to go to bed now… The hotel is lovely, but can’t quite get to grips with lunch so we find a Starbucks instead. Supper is an equally interesting experience…
Sunday is a whole day off, so Shane Button (Programmer), Alex Carver (Production Electrician), Andrew Blumsum (Touring Chief) and I all go for an explore…
We managed to find the theatre and were allowed to poke our heads in to check it out pre-fit up. I did a cracking ‘this is where my lights need to be’ for Alex using only a foot and a hand… I should be a mime artist!
We carried on to the “Westfield of Taicang”. It had some great food (steak and noodles – interesting combo!) as well as the sort of shops you’d expect to find (I bought us Uno for fun this evening. I really know how to party). We were asked for our photo a couple of times by local people…are we really that famous?!
Monday 23rd October – Fit Up
Most of today was spent with me doing coffee runs. There were a lot of language barrier issues making some of the fit up slow going, but the amazing LX boys got through it and did an incredible job. It turns out that Google Translate is genuinely the best thing since sliced bread!
Tuesday 24th October – Focus/Plot/Tech Session One
We bashed out the focus in record time. Andrew was on booms with our lovely ETC Lustr 2 units and JP (Tech Swing) was out Front of House. The tag teaming was incredible.
Shane and I managed to plot the first three numbers before tech began so we were in a healthy place to start. It suddenly feels like it’s all starting to come together!
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Charlie Morgan Jones
It’s a miserable day in the capital. Rain lashes down hard on a sea of hooded heads and a multitude of umbrellas. Embankment is particularly busy yet it seems to quieten somewhat towards the Charing Cross tunnel. The tunnel, along with a series of cafes, restaurants and even a nightclub, is home to the Charing Cross Theatre. Today marks the first preview of its latest show, Derren Brown: Underground. The production is a workshop collection of some of the very best of Derren’s previous stage work which he is developing for future overseas productions. We’re here to spend a day with the show’s lighting designer, Charlie Morgan Jones, who offers us an insight into what a day in his life looks like…
Upon entering the theatre, it’s all stations go. People are running round on stage, marking spots, moving props and making sure everything is just so. Charlie explains: “As it’s our first preview this evening, today is all about getting ready for that”. Charlie is positioned a few rows back from the stage on a custom-made lighting desk which is hosting a range of Starbucks coffee cups, several notepads and even an empty packet of grapes: “We decided to go healthy yesterday as it’s very easy to just constantly gorge on junk food when you’re in tech. As a result, when the crew came up to see if we had any treats, they were left feeling rather disappointed!”.
The theatre awaits…
Charlie is sat next to Paul Walmsley who is programming Derren Brown: Underground; with this show marking their 20th collaboration. He comments: “I work really well with Paul. He just gets me. When I see something on stage and I inherently pull a particular look, Paul knows what needs to be changed. We have a great working relationship and when I found out I was working on this show, I knew I wanted him on board”. Charlie was approached for the show by John Dalston, the General Manager, who has worked with him before. However, this is the first time that John has collaborated with Charlie as an LD. He comments: “When I worked with John it was a few years ago and I was a board operator. As I’ve managed to grow my portfolio over the past few years, I’ve almost grown up before his very eyes. Therefore, I was delighted when he asked me to light this show”.
As preparation, Charlie immersed himself into the world of Derren Brown. He spent hours online watching videos of the psychological illusionist and admits he was “utterly blown away by what I saw”. Yet how does he prepare to light a show filled with extraordinary moments , in comparison to say a traditional theatre production? For him, it’s exactly the same: “I don’t think of shows as completely separate entities i.e. this is theatre, this is opera, this is psychological illusion. Rather I approach each one with the same amount of flexibility”.
Charlie’s lighting plan for Derren Brown: Underground.
The rehearsals took place at the Dome Room above Her Majesty’s Theatre in London’s West End. Charlie attended a series of these along with a couple of run-throughs. He was also part of all of the production meetings. He comments: “The production meetings were just fantastic. As this is a show filled with crossroads, as opposed to working from a set script, there are so many avenues in which it can go. It was fantastic to hear all of the creative ideas flowing, as this ultimately had an influence on my own design”.
It seems as if being part of a team who regularly work create Derren’s work has been a good experience for Charlie. He notes: “One thing with Derren is that he is constantly trying to push himself. There is this perpetual strive to make their work better. As an artist, this is a level you should constantly be aiming towards”. This level of perfection has clearly transcended into the technical rehearsals in which the directors, Andrew O’Connor and Andy Nyman, find themselves sitting in various seats throughout the auditorium to ensure that everyone in attendance can see what’s taking place on stage. Charlie states: “It’s the surprise, confusion and the mystique that those attending a show want to experience. My role is helping to heighten this and ensure the audience are engaged with every single section of the show”.
The stage is set…
When we join Charlie, he has just finished the technical rehearsal and is about to embark on the dress run. He comments: “We got into the venue on Sunday (three days ago) and began to set everything up straight away. Once the fixtures were in place, we began to work through the show and recreate my design on stage”.
It was at this point where Charlie first realised the major difference between this and your more traditional theatre productions: “We’re essentially lighting the various moments on stage. When we notice something that needs amending or I spot something I would like to change, we adjust this and then have to run the scene from the top. However, as some of the sequences are ten, fifteen even twenty minutes long, this can be extremely time consuming when trying to run a tech”. Once everything is in place, Charlie then talks the director through his various plots as the show begins to take shape: “I sit down with both Andrew and Andy and run them through the cues to ensure they aren’t surprised by any of my sets as well as hear their own thoughts. Whereas I normally allow myself some flexibility with a rig, I did more so than usual on this particular production due to the fact that the entire production is so flexible; with the audience participation aspect meaning things are changing all of the time”.
Derren enthralls his audience from the very start.
Talk naturally moves onto the rig that Charlie has drawn on. Supplied by WL, it features a range of his favourite fixtures along with those he feels are needed on a show like this. He comments: “I have used the Martin MAC TW1s and they really do a lot of work on this show. For me, I just love this fixture. It’s reliable, flexible and the output is incredible. I also love the colour”. It’s at this point where Paul points out that he’s not their biggest fan but Charlie is adamant of their importance: “I was one of the many designers who was outraged when I heard they were discontinuing the units. Thankfully, I wasn’t the only one and the petition hundreds of LDs signed ensured that they continued making them”. Around the space is a series of ETC Source Four Minis which have been specifically chosen to illuminate certain props that are an integral part of the show (the fixtures being a suggestion of Production Electrician Andy Murrell). The entire front of house consists of ETC Source Fours whereas Par Cans are used as eye candy and for the pre-set. All of this is programmed on an ETC Ion Desk, something that Charlie says he “understands”: “It makes a difference using a desk that you are comfortable with and knowing, more or less, how it works”. Alongside this, there is are two followspots on Derren throughout the entire show. Charlie adds: “A lot of my role is creating a text and mood for each scene whilst keeping the focus on Derren. With the followspot permanently fixed on him, I have to ensure that the entire stage is brought to life and it all plays an integral part”.
As we’re speaking, Derren himself enters. And, as he does, he makes sure he acknowledges everyone present before immediately heading straight to the stage to rehearse some key moments for tonight’s show. Charlie adds: “Derren, and in fact everyone on this show, has been an absolute pleasure to work with. It really is an incredibly friendly company and I’m relishing every moment. The theatre itself is also a great venue for an LD. I particularly love the textured brick which forms the set. It’s a great canvas to work on”.
Charlie’s desk…
Derren and director Andrew run through certain sections and occasionally ask Charlie to light a certain moment or change something slightly. It’s the final moments of tweaking before a live audience arrives for the first ever live run through. Charlie notes: “This is a great show but it needs an audience. It’s 99% audience participation and we’ve only seen it with Derren so far. Today will be the real test to see how they respond to it”.
So after the quickest of lunch breaks, we find ourselves back to an invited audience who are eagerly awaiting the start of the show. The pre-set is the subtlest of oranges which perfectly sets the tone before the start of the show. Charlie states: “As an LD, I think you can tell different designer’s various work. With me, I have a specific colour palette which I work from in order to create a look that is unique to me”.
Another mind-blowing show from the psycholoical illusionist.
The show begins and while we obviously cannot give too much away, it’s exactly what you’d expect from Derren Brown. The whole 90 minutes are filled with gasps, awe and mesmerisation as the audience witnesses the seemingly impossible take place right in front of them. After dazzling everyone in attendance, Derren takes his final bow and exits the stage. The houselights come up and the audience begins to depart. And while they may get to leave, the crew’s work has only just begun; in particular Charlie’s. He is sat at the back going over his notes with Paul and Andrew, talking through the various sections and what their thoughts were. Once the auditorium is cleared, he finds himself on the stage, getting into positions and working out the best way to light these now an audience has participated.
He eventually stops and allows himself a post-show moment of contemplation: “Overall, thanks largely to the amazing team around me, that went really well for a dress. There were no major disasters and the audience’s reaction was exactly what we wanted. However, there are still some tweaks to be made. I’m not sure whether it’s my background in music but if a cue is one second long and would be better at 0.8 seconds then it should be changed. I’m not saying I’m a perfectionist – I just know when something works for me”. And judging by the look of the show and the audience’s reaction so far, a lot has definitely worked on this particular production…
Photos courtesy of Paul Walmsley.
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Whereas a lot of West End shows have to significantly change when embarking on a tour, this wasn’t the case for Derren Brown: Underground. Charlie explains: “The West End version of the show was actually the largest revamp that Underground when through in terms of lighting. We kept the Martin MAC Auras from the previous UK tour but added in ETC ColourSource Spots along with some clam shell footlights. We’ve then gone on to keep all of this for the 2018 tour, which means that audiences across the UK are seeing a carbon copy of the West End version”.
