Tag Archive: lighting hire

1. White Light On Song for West End Eurovision

   16 May 2019 16:41 Leave a Comment

   

   White Light has recently supplied the lighting equipment to West End Eurovision; an annual singing competition in which a range of West End shows compete against one another in a Eurovision-style contest in order to raise vital funds for the Make A Difference (MAD) Trust.

   The MAD Trust is an organisation which works with its partners to support HIV and AIDS projects both in the UK and Sub-Saharan Africa, building awareness and providing care support and education. The first ‘Eurovision’ took place in 2008 at the Piccadilly Theatre. This year it was held at the Adelphi Theatre on Sunday 28^th April and was lit by lighting designer Andrew Ellis.

   Andrew comments: “West End Eurovision is meticulously planned down to the minute, with show production by Gareth Hulance from Cue2Cue Global and production management by John Rowland from ProdEM. That said, the bulk of the lighting work is done on the day in several very quick tech sessions! My task was to create a design that complemented the Eurovision theme, worked well with the in-house rig, was quick and simple to program as well as being flexible enough to allow for many different looks. My creative brief was to deliver something with a theatrical feel that emphasised the camp fun of the Eurovision Song Contest”.

   

   Andrew worked closely with the production company and MAD’s directors to create his lighting package. He explains: “What I created allowed for some fun aerial effects with texture, movement, sweeps and audience blinders, a huge range of colours and some modelling of the space to help focus in on the performances. I chose kit that I knew well and thought would be reliable and easy to set up, while still offering the ‘blingy’ effects and tricks that this sort of event needs. Simon Arnold and the team at WL were very helpful in providing all the kit and infrastructure, which made putting the floor package together and getting everything up and working really simple and straightforward”.

   Due to the fact that West End Eurovision was taking place around the main in-house show Waitress, this meant that Andrew’s biggest challenge was time. He explains: “There were seven acts which each had less than 10 minutes to plot, tech and run their pieces, so we had to be able to respond quickly to each show’s needs. Working with a representative from each cast and with my programmer Jack Ryan, we came up with a set of cues for each song. There was limited time to note and make corrections, and we tried to make sure each act had the look they wanted”.

   In addition to the seven show acts, there was also a big opening number for each half, and guest performances from Michael Rice, this year’s UK Eurovision entrant, and previous Eurovision winner Dana International.  This year, the cast of The Phantom of the Opera were crowned worthy winners for their performance of Grande Amore.

   

   Melanie Tranter, Chair of the MAD Trust, comments: “This event was a testament to the generosity of the amazing people in the theatre community coming together to support the Trust. The funds raised will help us to continue our work supporting those living with of affected by HIV and AIDS. Congratulations to The Phantom of the Opera for a well-deserved win. We all look forward to them defending the trophy next year.”

   Andrew concludes: “This was my first time working on West End Eurovision, but I have designed several gala and concert events where time is of the essence, so I already knew where planning would help and what sort of challenges I would face on the day. The rest of the team on sound, video, stage management, pyro and production management were fantastic, and in what could have been a very stressful afternoon, we all had fun. Thanks again to WL for their support on this very important event”.

   Photos courtesy of PBG Studios.

2. White Light Ain’t Misbehavin’ at Southwark Playhouse

   2 May 2019 17:01 Leave a Comment

   

   White Light has recently supplied the lighting equipment for Ain’t Misbehavin’ which has recently opened at the Southwark Playhouse.

   Ain’t Misbehavin’ celebrates the legendary jazz musician Fats Waller and his energetic, exuberant and effervescent music. Set largely in the music halls of 1920s Manhattan, it is directed by Tyrone Huntley and features a lighting design by James Whiteside. James comments: “Ain’t Misbehavin’ is a show that’s all about the music. There’s no narrative as such and the cast of five and on-stage band work really hard to celebrate Fat’s iconic sound. I wasn’t particularly familiar with his work so part of my preparation was listening to this, observing rehearsals and then working with other creatives to understand how the lighting could be used to support the show.

   James continues: “Our designer, Takis, created a highly reflective gold set which, along with the music, suggested the rich, warm tone of the lighting. A highly reflective floor can sometimes be tricky to light, but rather than fight against this, I wanted to see what it could offer in terms of my design. For instance, whilst it does throw the light around a lot, in the context of this show it proved helpful as there are some lovely moments with performers caught in its reflection”.

   

   The show is a co-production between Mercury Theatre Colchester, Paul Taylor-Mills and Tamasha Theatre Company. As a result, it initially opened at the Mercury in Colchester before transferring to the Southwark Playhouse; something James had to take into account for his design. He comments: “The Mercury and Southwark are two very different spaces. For the initial performances in Colchester, we added audience seating on stage to help replicate Southwark’s thrust stage; something which would prove useful in tailoring my design before we arrived in London”.

   To acquire the fixtures he required, James contacted WL. He comments: “Thinking about the rig, I knew that moving lights for specials would be essential. I was keen to stick with tungsten sources due to the 1920s look and feel of show, hence the Martin Mac TW1s were an obvious choice. I would almost always use the narrow lens sets on the TW1s which we did in Colchester, but for Southwark’s much lower rig, we swapped to the standard lenses which worked a treat. To add some colour in the arches of the set upstage, we used seven Showline SL Strip 400 LED battens mounted vertically behind and to skim across each portal. WL also supplied some additional dimming for the chasing light bulbs around the portals, three 2kW fresnels to supplement Southwark’s in house rig and an ETC ION to run it all. So whilst this may not have been the most ‘state-of-the-art’ rig, it did need very specific fixtures – all of which WL was able to source’.

   

   The show has now opened to critical acclaim and will run until 1^st June 2019.

   James adds: “As ever, creating the lighting is a team effort, so I am hugely grateful to my Associate Kiaran Kesby who also programmed the show in Colchester and Southwark. There’s also Mike Smith, our Production Electrician for Southwark, the crews at Southwark and Colchester and, of course, WL for their enduring support throughout”.

   – End-

3. White Light Makes the Newsies at ArtsEd

   13 February 2019 15:24 Leave a Comment

   

   White Light recently supplied the lighting equipment for Disney’s Broadway-smash musical Newsies which recently had its UK premiere at ArtsEd.

   Set in turn-of-the-century New York, Newsies tells the story of Jack Kelly, a charismatic newsboy and leader of a band of teenage ‘newsies’. When titans of publishing raise distribution prices at the newsboys’ expense, Jack rallies the newsies together against the unfair conditions to fight for what’s right! The show was a smash when it played on Broadway and the lighting designer for the UK premiere is Nic Farman. Nic comments: “I hadn’t seen the original Broadway production but the moment I read the script and listened to the score, I knew it was going to be a great show to work on. The key for the creative team was creating a production that had the high production values associated with a show of a larger scale. It was also incredibly exciting as it’s the first time the show has been done in the UK; so we knew the expectations that this carried”.

   Having become familiar with the show, Nic began to formulate his design. He comments: “I approached the show in the same way I do with my other work: developing a concept that helps frame the action that’s appropriate to the location and time that the piece is set. I was lucky to be working with Luke Sheppard (Director) and David Woodhead (Set Designer) who had created a beautiful set that was full of texture. So a lot of my initial work was finding ways to light the architecture on the stage cohesively which promoted that texture. We also had a clear idea of the colour palette we wanted to use which included lots of cold whites moving through to rusty warm tones and to dial in saturation and help lift the musical numbers”.

   

   Once Nic knew what he wanted his design to look like, he approached WL to supply him with the fixtures to achieve this. He explains: “Early in the process I sat down with WL’s Business Development Manager Jonathan Haynes to discuss trying out the VL2600 Profiles on the show. I knew having a versatile moving profile overhead was going to be important and I was really pleased with how they performed. These would go on to become the real workhorses in the production. I asked a lot of them, doing live shuttering and tracking the action, which they dealt with consistently. They’re also nice and punchy which gave me good options for impact cues.

   Nic adds: “The varied colour palette also called for some flexibility (especially as time was tight for the get in and focus) so ETC Lustr 2’s and ColorSource Spots gave me options for both set dressing and side light. Completing the rig were Martin MAC TW1s which I love using for their warm tungsten output and soft edge”.

   

   As this marked the show’s UK premiere, there was a lot of anticipation and the entire run quickly sold out. Nic comments: “This was just a really special project to work on. It’s a wonderful show with brilliant music, so it was a joy to get to put my design spin on it. As a creative team, I think we created a version of the show which sat really well in the intimacy of the Andrew Lloyd Webber Theatre. I’d like to say a big thanks to the team at ArtsEd – Di, Phil, Chris, Molly, Leah and Fran for their hard work in delivering the show”.

   Alongside Newsies, Nic is lighting the UK tour of David Walliams’ Billionaire Boy, which WL is also supplying. Nic comments: “It was great to work with WL once again on this project, especially Jono and Chris, who offered brilliant support in helping me realise my design. It was another example of the fantastic service which I have come to expect from them”.

   Photos courtesy of Robert Workman

   CREDITS

   Director – Luke Sheppard
   Choreographer – Ashley Nottingham
   Set & Costume Designer – David Woodhead
   Lighting Designer – Nic Farman
   Sound Designer – Tom Marshall
   Musical Director – Laura Bangay

4. White Light Will Leave to Remain at Lyric Hammersmith

   4 February 2019 12:05 Leave a Comment

   

   White Light has supplied the lighting equipment for Leave to Remain at the Lyric Hammersmith, which features a lighting design by Anna Watson.

   A new play featuring songs by Matt Jones and Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke, Leave to Remain explores the story of a young gay couple whose marriage begins to fracture both of their families. It is told through a blend of movement, drama and 14 original tracks. Anna Watson is the lighting designer and comments: “Leave to Remain is a unique play that has music and choreography at its heart. It’s physical, funny and emotional and is driven by a pumping soundtrack of West African high-life”.

   Anna worked closely with director Robby Graham to help create the perfect look for the show. She explains: “Robby really likes spectacle (as do I) and we both agreed that we wanted to move away from naturalism yet wanted to ensure that certain moments still felt very real. The play features a lot of different locations and moves very fast between scenes; some of which are drug-fuelled, flashbacks or involve abstract movement. The lighting needed to define the different locations and help drive the action through the use of movement, focus and tone. With the choreography being slick, the music urban and the acting raw, I wanted this to be reflected in the lighting”.

   

   To achieve this, Anna and her team approached WL to draw on the fixtures required. She explains: “I had given Shaun Parry (the Chief Electrician) the brief for the hire, specifying that I needed 14 moving profiles with shutters and punch. We went with the Martin MAC Vipers, positioning 10 overhead and 4 on high boom positions. The floor was designed as a grid pattern and we decided that we would use this as a way of dividing the space for the split-stage scenes and to isolate certain characters”.

   Anna also drew on ETC ColourSource Profiles which were used as cross light whereas 30 x RGBW LED fluorescents were installed within the set and used to provide texture and effects in the nightclub scenes, along with adding abstract to the more intimate moments.

   With the show being performed straight after the Lyric’s Christmas pantomime, this meant there was an extremely tight turnaround for the get-in and technical rehearsals. Anna comments: “This is a hugely ambitious production which had a hugely ambitious timeline! Every beat of the show is so technical and with just three days of tech, the team had to work flat out to get everything ready in time. Thankfully, I had a brilliant programmer in Cat Carter who was just terrific”.

   

   The show has now opened to rave reviews and will run until 16^th February.

   Anna concludes: “It’s always a joy working at the Lyric Hammersmith and especially on a show as exciting and original as Leave to Remain. I am really grateful to Shaun Parry and his team for facilitating all of my design ideas and working extremely hard. I’d also like to thank WL for a great service and supplying me with the equipment I needed”.

   Photos courtesy of Helen Maybanks.

5. White Light Takes a Trip Down Avenue Q for UK Tour

   1 February 2019 10:10 1 Comment

   

   White Light has supplied the lighting equipment on the Tony Award-winning musical Avenue Q which is currently embarking on a UK Tour.

   Avenue Q is a laugh-out-loud musical featuring puppets who tell the story of recent college graduate Princeton who moves into a shabby New York apartment on Avenue Q. Here, he meets a range of colourful characters who help him discover his true purpose in life. The production is produced by Selladoor Worldwide and features a lighting design by Charlie Morgan Jones. Charlie comments: “This is the fifth time I’ve lit the show, having worked on previous UK tours and even a Hong Kong run. Whereas this time the show remains just as hilarious, we have in fact completely revamped the lighting rig”.

   Prior to the show, Charlie sat down with Director Cressida Carre and Set Designer Richard Evans to talk about the look and feel of the show. Charlie comments: “Our brief was quite simple – it had to be bright, colourful and comic. Although the production has evolved over the last four years, we have kept the same ethos throughout – which is to provide every audience member with a side-splitting experience”.

   Part of this evolution includes the lighting rig itself, which has undergone a large revamp with this latest version of the show. Charlie explains: “Technology has moved forward a lot in the past few years and I wanted this to be reflected in the design. Now, for the first time, we have an entirely LED rig overhead”.

   

   For his ideal rig, Charlie approached WL and worked closely with Business Development Manager Jonathan Haynes and Senior Account Handler Dan Last. He comments: “We replaced the fresnels that we previously had with brand-new ETC Lustr 2s. These are used for the set dressing at front of house and backlighting for the whole stage. They also give us far more options than a standard fresnel would. For instance, in the song ‘If You Were Gay’, where we had only two colours before, we are now able to use every colour from the pride rainbow flag. Similarly, as the day gets longer, we’re able to move through the entire colours of the day, from sunrise to sunset and everything in between; with these fixtures giving us the scope to do that”.

   Charlie has also drawn heavily on the Vari*Lite 2600s which are a new fixture that WL recently invested in and were used for the first time on Charlie’s previous show, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Unmasked at The Other Palace. Charlie comments: “When I used the 2600s, I was simply blown away by them. They are a fantastic fixture that really allow me to achieve the crisp brightness and colour I’m constantly striving for. Once I’d used them for the first time, I literally redrew the lighting plans for Avenue Q to include them in the rig!”.

   Whilst Charlie has drawn on a range of new fixtures, the show still relies heavily on followspotting; something he had to incorporate during his design and the tech period. He comments: “The set design is nothing short of beautiful but it is only four meters up stage so is very present! However, there are times in the show when you want to lose the street setting and focus solely on the puppets. Therefore, I had to combat this through some very intricate positioning. The lighting also controls the automation of the set doors on this version so I’ve had to ensure all the different elements work in unison!

   

   He adds: “I am absolutely delighted with the rig we’ve put together for Avenue Q and know this will look the best it’s ever been. Fortunately, for all my recent shows I’ve had a brilliant team with me every step of the way, which includes Programmer Paul Walmsley, Production Electricians Toby Cartmell and Chris Gunnell, Chief LX Jack Ramplin, LX2 Dan Chalk and the original Avenue Q Associate LD George Smith”.

   The show marks an extremely busy few weeks for Charlie, who in the past two months has also worked on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Unmasked (The Other Palace Theatre) and The Lady Vanishes (UK Tour). He is also preparing for his latest tour, The Shy Manifesto. For all of these productions, WL has supplied the lighting equipment.

   Charlie concludes: “I am extremely grateful with the brilliant service I have received once again from WL on all four shows I’ve recently lit. Nothing is ever too much and they are always on the end of the phone, eager to help in any situation. I look forward to continue working with them throughout the year”.

   Photos courtesy of Matt Martin.

6. White Light Supports VAULT Festival for Seventh Year Running

   22 January 2019 09:43 Leave a Comment

   

   White Light will be returning to VAULT Festival once again this year to supply the complete lighting and rigging solutions. This will mark the seventh consecutive year that the company has worked on the Festival, having supported it from day one.

   Located inside the Waterloo tunnels, VAULT Festival is London’s biggest, boldest and bravest arts and entertainment festival. This year it will run from 23^rd Jan to 17^th March, with more than 400 shows from over 2,000 artists. It features the best new writing in theatre and comedy along with immersive experiences, late night parties and much more.

   The event is produced by Mat Burt and Andy George of the Heritage Arts Company. Andy, who is also Head of Production, comments: “When we first started the Festival back in 2012, we had no idea it would grow to become what it is today. We initially thought it would be a one off yet the more people heard about it, the more they wanted to come along and get involved. One of our biggest aims has always been to make theatre accessible and remove barriers for our visiting artists. As we know, making creative work for a live audience is always risky but we try our hardest to minimise up-front costs and reward the creative party”.

   

   With the Festival being so committed to supporting its artists, this means it largely depends on the help of other organisations to make itself sustainable. Andy explains: “We are not publicly funded which often makes things difficult; especially when the whole purpose of the Festival is to make theatre financially viable! That’s why when we first started, we contacted WL as we knew about their reputation for supporting emerging artists. Thankfully, they’ve been with us ever since”.

   At VAULT Festival, WL supplies all of the lighting, rigging and power across 16 venues, six bar spaces and six box office areas. This year, they have worked closely with Head of Lighting Sarah Readman who specified the kit required for each area. She comments: “This year, we’ve made a conscious decision to move more towards LED. Not only is this much more energy efficient but also offers our designers more flexibility and reliability. I worked with Senior Account Handler Dan Last who was extremely supportive and helpful; as always”.

   Alongside supplying the equipment, WL also provides the services of its current apprentices who help install everything on-site across an 11 day period. Andy comments: “The apprentices this year, like the previous cohort, are a fantastic bunch who have really gone above and beyond to get everything ready on time.  Across the Festival, they will also take on different roles such as show operator and technician, ensuring they take full advantage of the festival whilst it’s running”.

   

   VAULT Festival opens on Wednesday and the headline show this year is Counting Sheep which visits London after an acclaimed sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe.

   WL’s Managing Director Bryan Raven comments: “We are delighted to once again be supporting VAULT Festival. It’s one of the few platforms out there for emerging artists of all disciplines to have their work showcased and is a hotbed for the next generation of theatre-makers. As an organisation, it’s been fantastic to see the Festival simply go from strength to strength and we look forward to continue supporting Andy, Mat and the whole team on what promises to be another memorable year”.

   Photos courtesy of VAULT Festival.

7. It’s a Happy New Theatre Year for White Light

   14 January 2019 09:26 Leave a Comment

   

   White Light is welcoming in 2019 by supplying a range of theatre shows in London’s West End as well as touring productions across the country.

   Over the course of 2018, WL supplied the lighting for a variety of smash-hit shows including the critically-acclaimed Company, The Inheritance, Young Frankenstein, The Jungle, The Pinter Season, The King and I, True West and the Oscar Wilde Season. The company also continued to supply long-running hits including Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Matilda, Aladdin, Tina – The Musical, 42^nd Street and Les Misérables.

   WL’s Managing Director Bryan Raven comments: “We had a fantastic 2018 which marked one of our busiest years yet. As we progress into 2019, we have hit the ground running and are looking to repeat the success of the previous twelve months. Our expert Customer Service teams continue to work with designers, both established and emerging, to help achieve their vision”.

    

   In January alone, WL has supplied the lighting for Songs for Nobodies at the Ambassadors Theatre; with the company providing the lights for every single show at the venue last year. Over the next few weeks, WL will also supply All About Eve at the Noel Coward Theatre, The American Clock at the Old Vic and The Price at the Wyndham’s.

   Away from the West End, WL is also supplying a range of tours. Shows that have loaded out already this month include Rain Man, The Lady Vanishes, Abigail’s Party, Wise Children, Ghost, Art and Avenue Q.

   The company is also supplying shows within London’s OffWestEnd including Leave to Remain at the Lyric Hammersmith, Aisha at the Old Red Lion Theatre and The Unreturning at Stratford East Theatre Royal. WL is also sponsoring the Best Lighting Design Award at both the WhatsOnStage and OffWestEnd Awards and will also be providing the complete lighting solutions for the VAULT Festival which returns for its seventh year later this month.

   Bryan comments: “We continue to invest up to £3 million in brand-new equipment each year, meaning we are able to work on such a large range of shows, both in the West End and across the country. To see our kit being used in venues throughout the UK is a fantastic feeling and we’re delighted that designers return to us year-on-year in order to offer them a service they won’t receive anywhere else”.

    

8. Oh Yes It is Panto Season for White Light

   13 December 2018 11:36 Leave a Comment

   

   With the festive season now upon us, theatre stages up and down the country are being filled with dames, beanstalks, flying carpets and glass slippers. As a leading lighting supplier to West End and UK touring theatre, White Light is once again suppyling a range of pantomimes this Christmas.

   Pantomimes are many venue’s biggest production of the year, with these classic childhood stories often starring household names. An all-time favourite is Aladdin and, this year, WL is supplying several versions of the show, including one at Hackney Empire which is lit by David Howe. He comments: “Hackney Empire’s Aladdin evolved a lot in the rehearsal process, with a lot new music being written specifically for this production. My brief, as ever, was to enhance the whole look of the show and help the audience focus on each story-telling moment. When it comes to equipment, it’s not actually about the flashiest new kit or what’s just arrived on the shelf. Rather, it’s about drawing on fixtures that you know will be reliable and able to cope with 12 performances a week – something WL has in abundance”.

   WL is also supplying Aladdin in Cambridge, Crawley, Norwich, Yeovil and Swindon, with the Wyvern Theatre production starring EastEnders legend Adam Woodyatt. The Lighting Programmer for the show is Eden Thornton, who comments: “I’ve now worked on ten pantos over the last six years. They can often be hard work as you’re trying to create a big show in what’s not a great amount of time. That said, it’s very exhilarating. It’s also important to have a good team around you as well as the services of a reliable hire company; hence we try and use WL whenever we can”.

   Other popular titles that WL is supplying include Snow White in Bolton and Malvern, along with The Wizard of Oz at the Birmingham Rep and Bolton Octagon. Cinderella is going to the ball in Canterbury, Eastbourne, Guildford and Portsmouth whereas Jack and the Beanstalk is sprouting on stage in both Epsom and Watford. Peter Pan is also flying into Theatre Royal Portsmouth as well as the Park Theatre, London, where Nic Farman is the lighting designer. Nic comments: “I’ve worked on a couple of pantos now and, from my experience, you can really be bold and create beautiful, colourful stage pictures which captivate the audience’s imagination. Peter Pan at the Park Theatre is actually a more traditional version of the play and my role is to use light to create the locations that appear throughout the course of the show. We rely heavily on saturated colour and texture from gobo washes to help transform the relatively small stage for each part of the play. The team at WL have been great in providing me with the fixtures I need to take the audience to places such as Neverland, Mermaids Lagoon and Captain Hook’s Pirate Ship”.

   WL also supplied the lighting for Sinbad at the Beck Theatre for BACCES: the British Airways Cabin Crew Entertainment Society which puts on a yearly panto, and in its history has raised over £1M for worthy causes. The Lighting Designer was Jonathan Haynes, who states: “Compared to a traditional play, panto is generally very flashy and colourful, jam packed with fun where anything goes! Basically nothing is off limits, so long as it also helps to tell the story! With this show in particular, as the cast are full-time cabin crew for British Airways, there were only a limited number of rehearsals so I had to have a design that was flexible and could change. For instance, the first tech run was the first time I actually saw the characters’ lavish costumes and so I very quickly had to tune the colours to compliment these; hence it was vital I had equipment that offered versatility”.

   The busy panto season is a fitting conclusion to what’s been an extremely busy 2018 for WL, who have supplied the lighting on a range of theatre smashes including Company, The Band, Tina – The Musical, The Inheritance, The Pinter Season alongside long-running hits such as Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Aladdin, Matilda and Les Misérables.

   WL’s Managing Director Bryan Raven comments: “It’s been another great year in which we’ve continued working on shows of all sizes all across the country. We are now looking forward to 2019 where we will continue our investment in both the latest technology and expert staff in order to offer lighting professionals the level of service they’ve come to expect from us”.

9. White Light Adds Vari*Lite VL2600 to Hire Inventory

   25 October 2018 14:26 Leave a Comment

   

   For years, Vari*Lite has offered lighting designers ground-breaking products to help achieve their vision. Their latest product, the recently-launched Vari*Lite VL2600 Profile, promises to continue this tradition, designed with a range of features that push the boundaries of lighting technology. With a continued commitment to the very latest technology, White Light confirmed they are making a substantial investment in the product; with the fixture now available to hire for its clients.

   The VL2600 Profile is designed with top-class performance in mind. It produces 19,000 lumens of high colour temperature, high contrast light output from its state-of-the-art 550W light engine, with a class-leading zoom range of 7-48°. Shaun Robertshaw, UKI Sales for Vari*Lite, comments: “We are really excited with the VL2600 Profile. Expanding on the colour range of the VL2500, it offers a broader choice of saturated colours whilst maintaining the familiar Vari*Lite colour palette from the CMY colour system with variable CTO adjustment.  It’s also extremely compact, lightweight, fast and accurate; not to mention easy-to-use, prep and maintain”.

   On display at this year’s PLASA Show, the product has already proven extremely popular with lighting designers and technicians, impressed with both its capabilities and versatility. It was also here where WL confirmed they are making a substantial investment in the product, having spent time evaluating prototypes over the summer. The fixture will be available for clients to hire in mid-November.

   

   From left to right: Vari*Lite’s Shaun Robertshaw, White Light’s Bryan Raven and Dave Isherwood and VL’s Amber Etra.

   Dave Isherwood, WL’s Technical Director, comments: “At WL, we are renowned for investing in the very latest technology and being able to offer our clients as many options as possible; hence why we invested in the VL2600. It’s a really well-rounded product that will meet the demands of LDs across many of the varied markets we service, and it continues the innovation that the Vari*Lite brand is renowned for”.

   Shaun adds: “What’s great about this investment is that it further cements a long-standing partnership between ourselves and WL that has proved to be successful over many years. With WL investing in the Vari*Lite VL2600, I envisage that, in a very short time, it will become the ‘go to’ luminaire as did its predecessors. Here at Vari*Lite, our global team is committed to bringing designers the very best results and the Vari*Lite VL2600 does just that”.

10. White Light in the Frame for The Comedy About A Bank Robbery

    4 October 2018 10:43 Leave a Comment

    

    From the team behind the Olivier Award-winning The Play That Goes Wrong, The Comedy About A Bank Robbery is an hilarious and dynamic show focusing on the robbery of Minneapolis City Bank – and everything that goes wrong in the process. The play has run in the West End for three years now at The Criterion Theatre and has been a smash hit with audiences and critics alike. It is now embarking on a UK tour and White Light is supplying the lighting equipment.

    A Mischief Theatre Company production, The Comedy About A Bank Robbery is produced by Kenny Wax and Stage Presence in association with Birmingham Rep and features a lighting design by David Howe. David comments: “Bank Robbery is a play where the situation really brings the comedy to life. You have an escaped convict set on capturing a priceless diamond from the bank and with him his eccentric sidekick, trickster girlfriend and the maintenance man. The brief for me was to support the writing, which is extremely fast paced, as we swiftly move from one location to another, often by the way of musical montages. I worked closely with the other brilliant designers David Farley (Set Designer), Roberto Surface (Costume) and Jon Fiber (Sound) to create the world our writers envisaged. The writers were the performers in the original West End company and therefore the show evolved massively in rehearsals and it was very much an organic, collaborative process”.

    Whereas the script remains the same as that performed in the West End, there were some changes to the production that needed to be implemented for the tour due to both space and logistical requirements. David comments: “Structurally, the set is quite complex. It may look simple but contains much trickery to help achieve the visual and, often, gravity defying effects. David Farley produced a range of visualisations for each venue which proved invaluable to both producers and myself when planning the show.  When I originally laid-out the West End design on paper (yes I use paper!), the show hadn’t even started rehearsals, so I had to design-in as much flexibility into the rig as possible; knowing the script would evolve. Coming back to the production for the tour I’ve been able to pare back and make stronger statements which give it vibrancy and set the tone from the start.

     

    He continues: “The West End’s rig is a mixture of Viper Performance Spots, Revolutions, MAC Auras and TW1s. For the tour, we have a simpler package of MAC Encore (Cold) and MAC Auras as the basic spot/wash combination, a couple of LED Lustrs for a low angle cross light and Colour Force Battens to provide a colour highlight on the set. I’ve been really impressed with the MAC Encore’s flexibility – not only with the quality of LED light, but also the really great colour mixing which has meant I’ve been able to replicate some of the warmer colour tones I use in the West End version.  It used to send a chill through me when people requested ‘bright for comedy’ lighting, but not on this show. In fact, darkness and shade in many ways are key to creating the ambience and location in our world of ‘The Robbery’. If anything the darkness plays against the insane comedy action of the play”.

    

    The Comedy About A Bank Robbery opened in Birmingham in September and is currently at the Theatre Royal Plymouth and will tour until mid-2019. As with most touring productions, the tight schedule meant that David had to work closely with his team to ensure his intricate design could be recreated across the country. He comments: “The show closes on a Saturday night before loading in on Monday and opening Tuesday. I remain indebted to my team who manage to make it all work – the initial team from Birmingham Rep led by Andy Fidgeon, Programmer Alex Boucher along with my Touring Production Electrician Sonic Harrison who re-focuses/updates the show each week”.

    Photos courtesy of Robert Day.