White Light Supplies The Ugly One at Park Theatre

Following its initial run at the Royal Court Theatre a decade ago, The Ugly One has recently returned to the capital in what is its tenth year anniversary. Currently running at the Park Theatre, this revival is being directed by JMK award-winner Roy Alexander Weise. As one of the leading lighting suppliers to London theatres, White Light has provided the lighting for this production.

The Ugly One is written by Marius von Mayneburg and the lighting designer is Amy Mae, who has recently returned from New York having lit the critically-acclaimed Sweeney Todd at the Barrow Street Theatre. She comments: “The Ugly One is about identity, beauty standards, morals and technology. The technology aspect was really helpful in shaping our approach. The writing has a way of blending scenes together so a big question for the creative team was how to support these shifts. There are also a wide range of locations and contrasting situations featured in the piece. Therefore I needed a cover of light that could achieve all of these and have the ability to balance levels and colour as required”.

Amy worked closely with Loren Elstein (Designer), Louise Rhoades-Brown (Projection Designer) and Giles Thomas (Sound Designer) to create a feel that encompassed their collective visions. Amy states: “The show is being performed in Park Theatre’s 90 space which is in the round. Therefore my biggest concern was ensuring I covered all areas as well as not wash out the projection! Similarly, during time in the space, Roy and I found that the lighting should help define the stranger, more surreal moments of the show from the more realistic lighting state that pervades throughout”.

To achieve this, Amy approached WL and drew on the company’s extensive hire inventory. She states: “Moving lights were very useful for this design. The actors cover all areas and once we got into the space blocking needed to be changed so having something versatile was brilliant”. This versatility came from the GLP X4 Impressions which WL has invested in extensively. Amy comments: “The Impressions have a useful built in mode which allows you to change the pattern on the front of a light. This meant for certain scenes that took place in more corporate settings, I could create some interesting patterns to link with the feel of a particular scene. They also go from 7 to 50 degrees, which is perfect for small spotlights and stage washes where required”.

Amy’s design also relied heavily on the use of LED tape. She states: “The tape was inspired by an image that Loren showed us of a rectangle with light coming from underneath which created a floating effect. It’s also been useful for transporting the audience across the worlds of the surgery, hotel, conference room and even in the surreal transitions. It’s been a great way to add saturated colour into the design”.

Whereas this is the first time that Amy has lit a show at the Park Theatre, it also marks the first time that she has worked with projection. She adds: “Balancing light and projection has been a new experience for me but one I’ve really enjoyed. Louise has done an amazing job and her projections bring a whole new element to this classic piece. All of the creative team have been really open to one another’s suggestions and thoughts and I think that shows in the finished product”.

The show opened last Friday to rave reviews. It will run until 24^th June.

Photos courtesy of Helen Maybanks.