Opening tonight at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, The Goat, or Who is Silvia? is a revival of Edward Albee’s Tony Award-winning masterpiece. Starring Damian Lewis and Sophie Okonedo, the play is directed by the former Artistic Director at the Royal Court Ian Rickson. As one of the leading lighting suppliers to West End theatre, WL was called upon to provide the equipment.
Winner of the 2002 Tony Award for Best Play, The Goat, or Who is Silvia? tells the story of Martin, a middle-aged, hugely successful architect whose seemingly perfect life is thrown into complete turmoil when he confides in his best friend that he has fallen in love with a goat named Silvia… The lighting design was created by Neil Austin, who is nominated for an Olivier Award for his work on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
Neil comments: “The Goat is a funny, poignant and thought-provoking play which the cast really get the most out of. The brief for my design was to portray a successful architect’s Chelsea Brownstone House in New York. The first two acts are treated naturalistically as they are set on a sunny Spring afternoon. However, act three is much more expressionistic as the protagonist’s life begins to fall apart”.
To achieve his design, Neil drew on WL’s extensive inventory. This includes the ETC Revolutions, ETC Source Four Series Two Lustrs, ADB Fresnels and Martin MAC Aura XBs, all of which were controlled by an ETC Ion 2K Console.
Neil adds: “The Haymarket is one of the most beautiful theatres in London but, having been built in 1820, it lacks a comprehensive array of front of house lighting positions. So, I positioned a series of ETC Revolutions on the Proscenium Boom to get the most out of the positions that existed. I drew on a range of other equipment to serve the show including large banks of par cans outside the windows to recreate the sunlight and daylight during the naturalistic scenes”.
The play opens this evening and will run until 24th June 2017.
Neil adds: “This has been a great play to work on with a fantastic crew and cast. My Production Electrician Martin Chisnall, my programmer, Dan Haggerty and I would like to thank WL for their help throughout and providing us with the exact equipment we needed”.
Photos courtesy of Johan Persson.