Tag Archive: Jonathan Haynes

1. Come Alive! The Greatest Showman Circus Spectacular has come to town with White Light.

   13 January 2025 12:01 Leave a Comment

   

   Inspired by the hit movie The Greatest Showman, Come Alive! The Greatest Showman Circus Spectacular is a new immersive production that opened its doors last October at the Empress Museum in Earls Court, London. Visitors are invited to explore a vibrant backstage world for an interactive pre-show experience before entering the 700-seat Big Top for a spectacular show where circus blends seamlessly with musical theatre.

   Woodroffe Bassett Design (WBD), renowned for their expertise in immersive experiences, West End shows, and live music tours, was tasked with the lighting design for  the new production. They partnered with White Light (WL), a d&b solutions company, to provide the lighting equipment.

   Come Alive! offers an immersive pre-show experience that gives visitors a peek behind the scenes of the Big Top, featuring secret performances and intriguing characters, all while enjoying delicious food and drinks. The main event, the Circus Spectacular, blends West End and circus performances, showcasing top international circus stars (including Cirque de Demain Medal Winners and Cirque du Soleil performers) and acclaimed musical theatre talent (Olivier and BAFTA nominees and winners) from the West End.

   So how did Adam Bassett and the WBD team approach such a unique production? He explains: “Given the show’s complexity, we had to consider various elements. The immersive aspect is overarching, but within it, the Circus Spectacular is a West End-level musical production incorporating a number of live circus acts, which are stand out moments in their own right. Merging these three components was a challenge that producers Outside The Box Amusements and TSG Entertainment trusted us with, thanks to our experience in each of these genres.”

   When creating the lighting design elements Adam continues: “The production’s unique nature required us to carefully integrate all elements. The space, apart from the entrance and exit, is one large open plan. We had to deliver an immersive experience and a 700-seat auditorium show simultaneously. These elements weren’t mutually exclusive, so we needed to design them to complement one other and feel like a natural journey for the audience experiencing the show.

   

   Another key aspect was creating a space that didn’t feel like a traditional auditorium. Bassett adds: “We wanted the audience experience to feel like they were walking through the midway, before entering into the big top. From an immersive perspective, this was crucial to our design.”

   WBD put together a team of associates and programmers with experience in these specific genres. Adam Povey was appointed as production electrician to deliver the technical elements, working closely with Dom Yates, WL’s Head of Lighting.

   Dom comments: “We were happy to work with both WBD and with Adam Povey once again, delivering the equipment to enhance this unique production. We were pleased to be able to offer the design team a range of different fixtures, which included several new additions to our hire inventory such as Ayrton Rivale, Martin Mac One and GLP Impression X5. We have also supplied the show with two Macula Remote Followspot systems, making it the fourth show this year to utilise this new technology. We drew upon our vast inventory to provide Mac Aura XB’s, GLP X4 XL’s, Ayrton Ghibli’s and ETC Colour Source Spots, as well as a variety of generic fixtures.”

   Adam Bassett concludes: “Having worked with WL on numerous occasions, we knew we could rely on their extensive experience in theatre lighting and their adaptability. Their work across various genres made them the perfect partner for this project.”

   Credits
   Photography by Luke Dyson

   Lighting Designer – Adam Bassett
   Associate LD – Alex Forey
   Programmer – Stanley Olden
   Lighting Assistant – Hannah Clancy
   Production LX – Adam Povey

   Contact our Hire Team for any further information 020 8254 4800.

2. White Light Puts on a Performance at Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

   1 June 2021 09:04 Leave a Comment

   

   Based in Glasgow, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland is a world-leading conservatoire of music, drama, dance, production and film. Founded in 1847, it now has more than 1300 students studying undergraduate and postgraduate degrees and, pre-Covid, staged over 600 live performances across its professional venues throughout the year. It recently opened a brand-new rehearsal and performance space for its students and approached White Light (WL) to provide the lighting equipment.

   As part of its Covid-19 response plan, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland realised that building occupancy numbers and social distancing were going to play a key part in ensuring it could continue to deliver technical training and support to all its students. The decision was made to transfer a rehearsal studio into a new, fully-equipped performance space that would allow both performance and production students to keep learning throughout the pandemic and beyond. Dave Evans, Lighting Tutor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, explains: “The equipment chosen would be used across theatrical plays, dance and musical theatre, and ensure that all of these production styles could also be filmed; something that has become a necessity with live audiences at a minimum. Therefore, we had to look for equipment that could provide both a high quality of light, but also be a useful teaching and learning tool for developing technicians and lighting designers”.

   

   Prior to this upgrade, the rehearsal studio had a simple overhead grid of 48mm pipe, providing a rigging area, and was equipped with 24 budget range RGB LED Par64 units, which could provide some very basic top light during rehearsals. Dave comments: “The space is of quite a considerable size for a rehearsal room – 12m width by 18m length and a height to 48mm pipe grid of 6m, making it an excellent location for a newly-designed performance venue within the Royal Conservatoire. Whilst we had trussing already in place, the new venue would still require a full range of PA, cabling, drapes and lighting, to bring it up to being a full working theatre”.

   The Royal Conservatoire has a long-standing relationship with WL, and so when they started to look at options for choosing the new lighting infrastructure, they immediately approached the technical solution experts. Dave explains: “We keep up-to-date with product innovation and development across the industry to give the students as wide a knowledge base as possible, and through this, we had been aware of a range of products that may be available. We approached Jonathan Haynes, WL’s Business Development Manager, who we have worked with for many years and, through our discussions, realised the best fixtures to fulfil both our performance needs and student learning were from the ETC ColorSource range. This range allows us to have Profile, Fresnel and PAR-type fixtures, all utilising the same colour engine system, thus giving a really user-friendly nature to the rig.

   

   Dave adds: “Linking this to an ETC Eos console system also heightened the usability of the system. We also purchased an Avolites Powercube dimming system to allow integration of tungsten sources into the system, allowing further diversity to the capabilities of the rig, and allowing the student lighting teams to design and rig with a wider range of fixtures already in RCS stock”.

   Jonathan comments: “It has been a pleasure working once again with the team from RCS to provide what is an incredibly versatile rig that will further enhance their shows. The ColorSource offering continues to be a perfectly affordable solution and, with the 10 year warranty, it also provides reassurance of long term reliability and support”.

   

   Since the space began operating in January 2021, it has hosted several productions, from Shakespeare to devised performance pieces to acting showcases; all of which have been professionally filmed. Working alongside professional lighting designs and production electricians, the students have had the opportunity to rig and operate these productions, and see how the pieces can be designed for stage, but also ensure they can be filmed for digital sharing.

   Dave concludes: “We are really happy with our investment, with the ETC ColorSource units offering exactly what we required and ensuring our students and technical team have as wide variety of equipment as possible. As always, a big thanks to WL and their team for their advice and support every step of the way”.

   Photos courtesy of Royal Conservatoire Scotland and Tim Morrozo Photography.

3. White Light Supplies New Lighting Fixtures to Glyndebourne

   20 April 2021 13:13 Leave a Comment

   

   Located in the heart of the Sussex countryside, Glyndebourne is one of the most renowned and celebrated opera houses in the world, delivering performances to over 150,000 people on an annual basis. Every Summer, it normally hosts the Glyndebourne Festival: a world-class opera season which plays to audiences in its state-of-the-art indoor auditorium. The technical team at Glyndebourne recently decided to upgrade parts of the lighting rig within the auditorium, ensuring that it matched both the exacting standards of incoming lighting designers and the venue itself. As such, it approached White Light (WL) to assist.

   Having first opened in 1934, Glyndebourne is a venue rich in both history and tradition. It is also one in which audiences expect an operatic experience like no other and, as such, has to ensure that the technical infrastructure in place is able to offer this. Vic Pyne, Head of Lighting and AV at Glyndebourne, comments: “We have been working on a general overhaul of our basic lighting rig for the past couple of years, mainly because our in-house lighting rig mainly consisted of tungsten and HMI fixtures; the majority of which are nearly 15 – 30 years old.  In addition, we were keen to support Glyndebourne’s environmental commitments, and the use of LED fixtures would mean that our energy consumption would be significantly reduced. With sets increasing in complexity, flying space at a premium, not to mention many fixtures becoming increasingly redundant in today’s lighting designs, we took the advantage of last year’s unexpected downtime to properly explore what options were open to us in terms of a footlight solution to replace our old LDDE fluorescent units”.  

   Vic and her team approached Business Development Manager Jonathan Haynes to decide on what fixtures they required. Vic explains: “As a venue, we are always striving to keep up-to-date with the latest technology and were particularly keen to ensure we invested in LED fixtures as part of this upgrade. Not only are these able to provide the looks required by designers but their quietness is a necessity in a venue such as ours.  Certain designers had requested specific units, that were unavailable to us except to hire at vast expense from European hire houses, and it made financial sense to settle on a common solution for our repertory basic rig.’ 

   Having demoed a number of fixtures with support from the team at WL and manufacturers, Vic and the team decided to invest in the LDDE HP2880 Footlights. She states: “The Footlights offered us a range of fantastic features, such as impeccable brightness, shadow image, colour mixing and ease of use; not to mention the incredibly useful barndoor assembly.  Plus LDDE have been reliable in the past and we’re confident that this will continue going forward.’

   Vic also decided to continue their investment in the GLP XBar 20. She explains: “Almost every designer that comes through our doors requests the GLP battens; it is clear that they are a staple fixture for any lighting rig. They are compact, hugely versatile, great colour mixing, and we had known for some time that we needed to purchase some!’.

   The new, energy efficient parts of the lighting rig are now being used as part of this year’s Glyndebourne Festival which makes a much welcome return next month, following the cancellation of last year’s season. 

   Vic concludes: “We are all really looking forward to the season opening and seeing how the designers utilise the new fixtures across the various productions. I’d like to say a big thanks once again to Jonathan and the team at WL who offered excellent customer service and for whom nothing was too much trouble; particularly during what was a very stressful and uncertain time for so many of us in the industry”.

   Photo credit © Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. Photo: James Bellorini

4. White Light Supplies Fixed Lighting Rig to The Grange Festival

   20 January 2021 08:18 Leave a Comment

   

   The Grange Festival is a summer opera festival that takes place at The Grange in Hampshire. Following its first season in 2017, the Festival has become renowned for showcasing world-class operas, all taking place within the stunning setting of a country estate. While the Festival normally hires lighting equipment for each season, they recently decided to invest in a permanent rig and approached White Light to provide this. 

   The technical set-up at The Grange Festival is overseen by Chief Operations Officer Michael Moody, who comments: “Ever since we first started out over four years ago, we’ve approached WL to supply the lighting equipment for our summer season. It’s a hire package which consists of mainly moving lights, LED, dimming and control. We’ve always received great service from the team and have always been satisfied with the equipment used on our productions”. 

   While the hire package meant that the Festival was fully equipped for those few weeks of the season, for the rest of the year, there was actually no technical infrastructure in place. While this is normally not an issue, the outbreak of Covid-19 meant that the Festival, like so many others, had to look at alternative ways of offering live performance and how it could achieve this. Michael explains: “We unfortunately had to cancel last year’s Festival, like so many across the country. That said, we still wanted to offer our audience some form of entertainment during what was such a difficult time and so decided that we would create some socially-distanced performances as well as online streams. We were going to approach WL once again to hire the equipment but realised that, particularly in a time of lockdown and mass restrictions, that it would be much easier if we actually had fixtures on site that we could use ourselves as and when we needed to. As such, we decided to invest in a permanent rig”.

   Michael contacted WL’s Customer Service Team and worked specifically with Senior Account Handler Dan Last and Business Development Manager Jonathan Haynes in choosing the most suitable fixtures. Jonathan explains: “The Grange needed a lighting package that included everything from base infrastructure, including data and power distribution, lighting control as well as the luminaires themselves. The fixture spec needed to be current and be able to satisfy the needs of incoming designers. It also needed to be completely LED for energy-saving, as well as to adhere to the venue’s environmental policy. The rig and lighting system also needed to have the option of being supplemented for the Festival each year, should additional fixtures be required for certain shows”.

   With WL knowing the venue so well, Jonathan and Dan put together a series of packages for Michael and his team, who then decided which one was best suited for the venue. Michael explains: “Based on the recommendations by Jonathan and Dan, we opted for a mix of ETC ColorSource Spots, Lustr 2s and ColorSource Pars to do most of the leg work. These fixtures are top of the designers’ wish lists, and come with proven reliability and performance. For lighting control, we have purchased an ETC Ion XE 20, with an Avolites Art2000 T4 rack to handle the power distribution, and ETC Response Gateways and Sundrax DMX splitters to look after the networking (alongside nearly 1km of cable!). Our key objective was to have a first-class rig with kit that you’d expect to see on any major regional production”.  

   The investment took place last summer which meant that supplying the equipment had to be done whilst adhering to the various government guidelines. Jonathan explains: “To make the transition of the fixtures as safe as possible, we collated all the kit on site at our warehouse. This was then transported over to The Grange by one driver and dedicated truck and unloaded by the Grange team who were then able to install this on-site themselves. As always, we were on the other end of the phone (or in many cases now, Zoom!) should they need any advice or have any questions”.

   The equipment was quickly installed and immediately used on The Grange socially-distanced season as well as their online live streams. Michael comments: “We were delighted once again with the service we received from WL and the fact that they were able to so promptly provide the equipment we needed in time for our socially-distanced season”. 

   Jonathan concludes: “We have a long-standing relationship with The Grange Festival so we were delighted when they got in touch to ask for our advice and help guide them as they made this significant investment. As a company, we relish working closely with our customers and providing the technical infrastructure needed to achieve their specific aims – something we were able to do once again on this occasion”.

   Photos courtesy of The Grange.

5. Storyhouse Upgrades to Solaframe Fixtures with White Light

   20 February 2020 09:18 Leave a Comment

   

   The world-class Storyhouse, in the city of Chester in North West England, is an award-winning venue encompassing a theatre, library, restaurant and cinema. Housed in a restored Odeon building that dates back to 1936, it now holds an 800-seat auditorium and a 200-seat studio theatre. SolaFrame 1000 luminaires from High End Systems are the latest addition to the venue’s LED inventory as part of a tungsten replacement program.

   “With busy rep seasons multiple times throughout the year, playing up to four shows on top of one other, flexibility within our lighting equipment has always been key,” says Storyhouse technical manager Andy Patterson. “We opened our building in May 2017 with a four-show rep season and a schedule that didn’t allow for refocuses between shows.”

   During the first year of operation, the venue’s kit list included a combination of Source Four, Source Four LED Series 2 Lustr and ColorSource Spot fixtures from ETC. Added to this were some tungsten Fresnels, some ex-hire tungsten moving head wash lights and four moving light profiles.

   

   “Given the impending demise of tungsten, the increasing difficulty getting hold of lamps for units like the TW1 and the desire to improve our production quality, I put together a 10-year tungsten replacement program,” explains Patterson.

   With the intention of replacing the tungsten moving fixtures and bolstering their generic stock with LED replacements, Storyhouse turned to White Light, one the UK’s leading lighting suppliers, and worked closely with Business Development Manager Jonathan Haynes for some impartial and invaluable advice. Haynes talked through the options currently available on the market and arranged demonstrations of various luminaires.

   “Having demo’d all of the available offerings of mid-size LED profiles with shutters, we were taken by the ‘bang for buck’ that the SolaFrame 1000 gave us,” remarks Patterson. “The quality of light, the noise (or rather lack thereof), the feature set and, most importantly, the quality of the dimming impressed us.”

   

   The SolaFrame 1000s revealed a string of features that appealed to the venue. “In addition to high CRI, excellent dimming, shutters, animation wheel, high output, color rendition, light weight and excellent price point, the fact that the units come with flightcase inserts – while perhaps a minor point for some − was a big draw for us,” Patterson adds.

   Storyhouse opted for the High CRI version of the luminaire since quality of light is particularly important to the venue, given the intimate space and type of productions it stages.

   With regard to the positioning of the fixtures, Patterson says, “They are used predominantly on our home-produced work, which takes place on our 500-seat thrust stage configuration. This is why units with shutters were important to us − to control the light and keep it precisely where we want it.”

   The Solaframe 1000s have nestled perfectly into the venue’s lighting stock of predominantly ETC [High End Systems’ parent company] fixtures. Their output, high CRI, and color reproduction are perfect for Storyhouse’s theatrical applications. “The dimming curve was one of the most important things for us, and the SolaFrame 1000 delivers this seamlessly,” adds Patterson. “The fact we can use them for comedy shows, music gigs and do in-air effects with them as well – given their high output and color and gobo options – is a win-win.”

   Photos courtesy of Mark McNulty.

6. White Light Provides Royal Albert Hall with LED Upgrade

   14 January 2020 11:18 Leave a Comment

   

   White Light recently supplied the Royal Albert Hall with a range of Martin MAC Encore fixtures, continuing the phased upgrade of the in-house lighting rig.

   Located in South Kensington, the Royal Albert Hall is one of the world’s most iconic concert halls. Founded in 1871, it has played host to some of the biggest artists of all time and seats over 5,000 audience members.

   As it hosts concerts on an almost nightly basis, the venue possesses its own in-house kit which is used by incoming shows. The rig has to be extremely flexible in order to adapt to such a varied programme, as well as needing to be energy efficient and sympathetic to the needs and requirements of a wide range of different lighting designers and productions. The existing fixtures, whilst having served their time very well, were due for upgrading in line with the Hall’s ongoing replacement program. As a result, the venue approached WL in order to invest in some LED alternatives.

   

   WL’s Business Development Manager Jonathan Haynes explains: “I met up with the Royal Albert Hall’s Lighting Design Manager Richard Thomas who told me about their existing set up and what he was looking for to replace the ageing fixtures. The main priority was that the new fixtures were LED and provided a tungsten colour match that was at least as bright as the fixtures they were replacing. They also needed to be quiet, as well as have the ability to provide a high output in cool white to cut through the rest of the rig for aerial work.”

   WL put forward a range of options and held an on-site demonstration at the Royal Albert Hall for the lighting team to see each one in situ. Jonathan explains: “It is so important to shoot out fixtures in the venue for which they are intended, to see how they react to the conditions, throw distance etc. After discussing suggestions with Richard and his team, it became obvious that the Martin MAC Encore Performance CLD was the best option”.

   The Martin Mac Performance CLD integrates cutting-edge LED technology with a proprietary and innovative light engine carefully engineered to generate pristine, full spectrum light with ultra-high colour rendition. The feature-packed moving head offers unparalleled 6000K crisp, neutral daylight. Its advanced colour mixing system delivers the full palette from smooth and subtle pastels to rich and vibrant saturated colours.

   

   Richard comments: “Integrating the Encores into the rig has revolutionised the way we are able to light certain areas of the Hall, as well as offering a whole new palette of gobos, colour potential and framing options that previously did not exist. Added to that the increase in reliability in the rig means less maintenance time required over a typically busy week. We have received many positive comments from a whole host of lighting designers in just the few week after their install”.

   

   Jonathan adds: “The Encore is an extremely popular fixture, used right across the industry. It’s one we’ve invested in heavily for our rental stock to meet the demands of some of the UK’s biggest touring and West End shows that we continue to supply. The small form factor, combined with high output and whisper quiet performance meant it was a no brainer for this application. Ultimately, it was the right product for the right location”.

   The Royal Albert Hall invested a total of 18 fixtures which have all been successfully delivered and are now in pretty much constant use. The investment reinforces the continued relationship between WL and the concert hall, and adds to a large stock of Martin MAC Viper Wash DX fixtures that were purchased last year, along with ETC Lustr Series 2 LED Profiles and ROBE MegaPointes. The venue also recently replaced its stock of Robert Juliat Cyrano Followspots; again all purchased through WL.

   Jonathan concludes: “We have a very close relationship with the Royal Albert Hall and it is great to be involved in yet another project for this iconic venue. As a company, we relish being able to work closely with the team and offer them technical solutions that are bespoke to their exact needs; something we were able to do one again on this occasion”.

   Photos courtesy of Richard Thomas.

7. White Light Sets the Stage at Highbury Theatre Centre

   13 November 2019 11:01 Leave a Comment

   

   White Light has overseen a brand-new lighting upgrade at the Highbury Theatre Centre in Sutton Coldfield.

   Having opened in 1942, Highbury Theatre Centre is one of the oldest, most established amateur theatres in the country. Through its resident company The Highbury Players, the venue annually presents a ten month season, which includes seven main stage productions and three studio plays. It is also home to a number of visiting companies including Trinity Players, From The Top Theatre Company and Class Act Drama Centre.  The Centre also hosts the annual Birmingham Festival of Acting and Musical Entertainment.

   To ensure its productions maintain the highest technical standards possible, the venue decided to upgrade its existing lighting rig. As a result, the team visited PLASA Focus Leeds earlier this year where they met WL’s Business Development Manager Jonathan Haynes. Jonathan explains: “The Theatre had built up capital and wanted to use this to upgrade their existing lighting rig; replacing their very old tungsten units and console. They were very keen to draw on the most advance equipment possible yet also use the funds wisely and ensuring there was a long-lasting system in place, especially given then concerns surrounding the availability of tungsten lamps”.

   

   Following this initial chat, Jonathan went to visit the Theatre Centre and walk through the space. He comments: “It was important for us to see the venue, listen to the client’s requirements and then offer a solution. We demonstrated a lot of equipment which we thought would offer enough lighting coverage yet also fall within budget. I was keen to ensure that what we offered was affordable, but also could offer the long term reliability and manufacturer support”.

   WL put forward a lighting package from the ETC ColorSource family, including ColorSource Cycs, ColorSource Pars and ColorSource Spots. This was enhanced with High End SolaFrame 750 moving head fixtures, and an ETC Gio to control the new rig. WL also supplied a power distribution solution to replace the existing six way tungsten dimmer packs, and ColorSource Relays to provide switchable power via the console. With the ColorSource fixtures having a 5 year warranty on the fixture and 10 year warranty on the LED array, as well as a great light output, it proved a perfect option that could provide the long term reassurance that the venue was looking for.

   

   Highbury Theatre Centre’s Head of Lighting Andrew Noakes comments: White Light and Jonathan in particular were most helpful and offered us a package that exceeded what we thought we could afford and now have a rig which is flexible to our needs and brings us into the 21st century.  We are now into our third production using the new kit and are very happy with it.

   Jonathan adds: “It was fantastic to work closely with the team at Highbury Theatre Centre and supply a package that was bespoke to their technical and budgetary needs. It is even more rewarding to see the new kit working well in its new home with a very happy technical team. Whilst we have a reputation of working with some of the biggest regional theatres in the UK, we work with venues of all shapes and sizes, and would encourage anyone looking for a lighting upgrade or just with a general enquiry to contact our expert team.”

   Photos courtesy of Highbury Theatre Centre.

8. White Light Hits the Right Notes for Falsettos

   8 October 2019 17:25 Leave a Comment

   

   White Light has supplied the lighting equipment for Falsettos which is currently running at London’s Other Palace Theatre.
   
   Originally performed on Broadway in 1992, Falsettos is a double Tony Award-winning musical which offers a poignant look at the life of one family as they live through the AIDS crisis. Despite other productions across the globe, this is the first time the show has been performed in its entirety in London. It features a lighting design by Nic Farman, who comments: “For Falsettos I knew I would be working closely with PJ McEvoy, the set, costume and projection designer, who I’ve worked with a number of times before. Our brief was to be bold with the colour and the stage pictures we were creating to aid telling the narrative of the story. Projection is used heavily throughout so I had to be very specific with how I was lighting scenes to avoid washing out the image and to build a cohesive stage picture. Together we worked on building a vivid colour palette, bold colours denoting each of the characters in the show track through as an element within the projection, costume and lighting”. 

   

   Whilst preparing for the show, Nic approached it as he would with any project: by responding to the script and music. He explains: “I was able to do a lot of work based on PJ’s initial storyboards of the projection content, alongside working with the director, Tara, to develop the concept. In rehearsals we started developing detailed blocking notes as we knew we didn’t have followspots on the show, but wanted to have the clarity of tightly spotting the cast which was to be achieved through the moving light rig alone. Once we were in to tech we had to work quickly and in broad brushstrokes initially to get a feel for the show as a whole. Falsettos is entirely sung through (39 songs in total), so there’s a lot of numbers to get through and we wanted to be detailed with the way we lit the show. Needless to say a lot of time was spent over previews finessing the design”.

   Having supplied several of Nic’s shows already this year, he approached WL to hire the equipment once again on this occasion. He explains: “Having a shuttering, moving profile was really important to give us flexibility from Front of House when it came to creating specific spot specials so I called upon the Martin MAC Viper Performances. We also developed a concept of building ‘rooms’ of light on stage which the characters inhabited and worked with the set’s checkerboard floor. An additional overhead grid of Viper Performances gave me a bright option for that role.

   

   He continues: “The rich colour palette we were aiming for meant I wanted a sidelight rig of LED profiles which came in the form of ETC Lustr 2s. It was also my first time using the Colorsource Cyc units which were brilliant, due to their brightness and colour depth. Finishing off the rig were Martin Mac Auras which gave me a flexible pipe end wash and GLP X4 Bar 20s as an impact backlight, which were used in pixel mode to add extra effects into some of the bigger show numbers”.

   Falsettos has now opened to rave reviews and will run until 23rd November.

   Nic concludes: “This is a very technical, ambitious show and one which I was proud to be a part of. I’d like to say thanks to my Production LX Anthony Hannah, LX technicians Dan Farr and Jordan Lightfoot and the team at The Other Palace and Selladoor. It was wonderful to work with WL as ever and a big thanks to Jonathan Haynes, Chris Delaney and Andy Cullen for the stellar service they provided”.

   

   Photos courtesy of The Standout Company

   Full Credits:
   Director & Choreography: Tara Overfield Wilkinson
   Musical Director: Richard John
   Musical Supervisor: Mark Crossland
   Set, Costume & Projection Design: PJ McEvoy
   Lighting Design: Nic Farman 
   Sound Design: Chris Whybrow
   Producer: Selladoor

9. White Light Sees REDD at the Barbican

   1 October 2019 09:54 Leave a Comment

   

   White Light has recently supplied the lighting equipment for REDD; a brand-new dance show at the Barbican Theatre.

   Devised by the Olivier Award-winning hip-hop partnership Boy Blue, REDD is a piece of dance surrounding the five stages of grief. Told through the movements of nine dancers, it offers an introspective journey into loss and examines how we are affected by those irreversible moments in our lives. It features a lighting design by Charlie Morgan Jones.

   Charlie comments: “REDD is a beautiful show which takes its audience on an unforgettable emotional journey. In terms of lighting, it’s an interesting piece as there is no actual set! With that in mind, my main brief was to create the five distinct ‘worlds’ of grief – the solitude of depression, the featureless denial, the sharpness of anger, the bold bargaining and the brightness and hope of acceptance”.

   

   This was the first time that Charlie had lit a dance piece, although he emphasises how he “approached this show as I would any other – although I do appreciate the importance of side light in dance pieces”.

   Creatively, the team decided that the lighting rig would be on display throughout the entire show, becoming an extra character in itself. As a result, Charlie had to draw on equipment that would be artistically appropriate as well as aesthetically attractive.

   Charlie contacted Jonathan Haynes at WL in order to draw on his perfect rig. He explains: “The bulk of the work on REDD was done with 48 Par Cans with long top hats. I absolutely loved playing with different intensities in order to create the five worlds. It always amazes me quite how different a Par at 60% looks in colour compared to a Par at 30% and I was able to use this variety to create the feel that the show needed.

   He continues: “I also draw on 10 ETC Lustrs to bring very occasional colour to the piece and 11 Vipers to highlight moments which demanded a crisper look”.

   

   Due to the nature of the piece, this meant that Charlie had to be very adaptable with his design. He explains: “The music and choreography were changing right up until press night due to the enormously creative process. As such, it meant that the LX team had to be completely on the ball – aided by the wonderful CSM, Carly Hook. Similarly, the entire show is run off time code (a new experience for me in a proscenium arch environment), so I spent a great deal of time working out the timings of each of the 400 light cues!”.

   REDD has now opened and will run until Saturday 5^th October.

   Charlie concludes: “This was my first experience of working with Boy Blue and at the Barbican and it was a brilliant process. The in-house lighting team were excellent and enormously helpful and supportive; as was my Associate Lighting Designer, Clancy Flynn. Similarly, the Hire team at WL were once again extremely helpful during the process and only ever a phone call away; support that’s invaluable for any designer”.

   Photos courtesy of Carl Fox.

10. White Light Supplies LED Lighting Packages to ATG Venues

    30 May 2019 14:47 Leave a Comment

    

    White Light has recently supplied brand-new LED lighting packages to two ATG venues: Aylesbury Waterside and the Grand Opera House York.

    With its heritage in theatre lighting, WL has formed an unparalleled reputation for supplying venues across the world with the very latest lighting technology. Therefore when Stuart Graham, Head of Technical Operations at Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG), was looking to begin an LED upgrade at the group’s venues, he approached the technical solutions specialist. WL’s Business Development Manager Jonathan Haynes comments: “Stuart got in touch saying that ATG wanted to implement an LED upgrade and had chosen two theatres as a starting point: Aylesbury Waterside and Grand Opera House York. The organisation wanted to upgrade its offering to support its diverse range of productions, as well as reduce the energy consumption of the house equipment in order to make the rig as green as possible”.

    WL was asked to put together an LED upgrade package. This meant substituting the tungsten rig with LED, replacing the overhead and cyc lighting. WL worked closely with the Stuart Graham and the technical managers in each venue to ensure they created a package that would fulfil both theatres’ needs. Jonathan explains: “We worked with Jacob Edmonds, Technical Manager at the Waterside, and Mark Waters, Technical Manager at the Grand Opera House. The initial brief was for us to come up with a lighting solution, choosing fixtures and products that we felt would offer the most flexibility, but at the same time provide longevity; as well ensuring that they remained ‘theatrical’. The equipment would need to support a diverse programme of entertainment ranging from, dance, music, comedy and musicals – all of which rely on the in house kit from both respective venues”.

    

    WL then carried out a demo for ATG at its Studio15 facility, presenting a range of options within five main categories: cyc battens, profiles, fresnels, pars and moving lights. Once the selection had been honed down, WL arranged follow up demos in each venue to see how the fixtures fared in the environment they were destined for. It was eventually decided that the High End SolaFrame 1000 would be the flagship of the new rig. ATG opted for the High CRI version which offers a much more refined quality of light and a CRI of 90+, as well as 16,000 lumen output. It is jam packed with features including 12-40 deg zoom, fully framing shutters, rotating and fixed gobo wheels, animation as well as CMY colour mixing; whilst at the same time being super quiet and weighing just 32KG. Jonathan explains: “Seeing the SolaFrame in-situ, it became clear that this was the perfect fixture for both Aylesbury and York. They are extremely versatile and will ultimately be the workhorse for the rig. They also have a five year warranty which is obviously a huge bonus”.

    In addition, WL also supplied 48 x ETC ColorSource Par, 42 x ETC ColorSource Spot (complete with a mix of profile and fresnel lenses), 32 x ROBE LedBeam 150s, 8 x High End Shapeshifters and 11 x Chroma Q ColorForce II RGBA cyc fixtures, as well as all the ancillary cabling and rigging across both venues.

    Alongside supplying the equipment, WL offered a three day training package for each venue. Jonathan explains: “We wanted the teams in both venues to feel confident using the new equipment, for both operation and maintenance yet also from a design and programming perspective. The perfect solution for this was offering a training course that would instil this confidence and ensure the in-house staff were familiar with day-to-day maintenance and operation; something that will prove extremely beneficial in the long run”.

    

    The fixtures have now been fitted in both venues and have immediately been used on a host of shows.

    Stuart Graham adds: “It was important for us to find the right company which could offer us industry-recognised products and the full back-up and support required for such a large-scale transition from tungsten to LED. We were also particularly impressed by WL’s willingness to provide in-depth training which will prove invaluable for our staff”.

    Jonathan concludes: “We are delighted that ATG chose WL to deliver this project for them, and the feedback so far has been incredibly positive. As a company, we work hard with our clients to come up with a tailor-made solution and are fortunate to have strong working relationships with some of the industry’s leading brands. For WL, service and after sales support are key. ETC and High End offer some of the longest warranty periods on their fixtures and all brands are represented and supported in the UK. It is fantastic to work so closely with ATG, a global leader in live entertainment which operate over 50 venues worldwide as they continue improving and modernising lighting systems across their venues”.

    Photos courtesy of Mark Waters and Simon Drake Photography.