It’s Panto Season Again for White Light. Oh Yes It Is!
White
Light is supplying the lighting equipment to more than 25 pantomimes and
Christmas shows this festive season.
For
many theatres, Christmas marks their busiest time of the year, as stages up and
down the country fill with dames, beanstalks, ugly sisters and flying carpets.
A firm favourite in the panto world is Peter Pan and WL is supplying
productions at Birmingham Rep, Brighton Metropole, Epsom Playhouse and
Tunbridge Wells’ Assembly Hall Theatre. The production at Epsom Playhouse is
being lit by Simon Banks, who comments: “My brief for the show was actually
very open, with the only request being that we managed to get across a period
feel for the more traditional story elements whilst being able to go ‘full
panto’ for the big production numbers and set pieces. When working on
pantomime, I’ve often found that less is more and you can really play with the
audience’s responses by more traditional creative means such as shifts of mood
and emphasis”.
In
terms of other popular productions, WL is going to the ball with Cinderella
at Norwich Theatre Royal, Cambridge Arts Theatre and The Hexagon, Reading,
whereas Jack and the Beanstalk is entertaining audiences at Harlow
Playhouse, Eastbourne Theatres and The Harlequin Theatre, Redhill. Snow
White is playing at Pavilion Theatre Rhyl and the Beck Theatre, Hayes
whereas Aladdin is at The Anvil, Basingstoke. Mother Goose is
thrilling audiences at the Millfield Theatre and The Marlowe, Canterbury,
whilst Robin Hood is on stage at Salisbury Playhouse. WL is also supplying
several versions of A Christmas Carol, including an immersive production
at IMMERSIVE LDN along with a version at the Old Vic, which WL is supplying for
the third year running.
Having
previously lit Jack and the Beanstalk at Salisbury Playhouse, lighting
designer Nic Farman is back at the theatre this year to light Robin Hood.
He comments: “With Robin Hood, I
was tasked with using bright and bold colours to help create the world of
Sherwood Forest and the Sheriff of Nottingham’s Castle. With the design relying
on saturated colours and bright beams, I knew I wanted a flexible and dynamic
rig. Overhead was a combination of Mac III Profiles and GLP X4 Washes which
gave me great options for colour and gobo washes. A side light and pipe end rig
of ETC ColorSource Profiles allowed me to have a fully flexible stage wash
which was combined with Chroma-Q Color Force 12 and 72s to light the portals
and cloth tops. At front of house, there were a number of Martin MAC Viper
Performances to give me a full stage and cloth gobo wash. All of these allowed
me to achieve the bold looks I wanted; something that lighting a panto often
encourages you to do”.
Alongside pantomimes, many theatres are also
staging more traditional Christmas shows. One of these is Treasure Island,
which is a Bolton Octagon Theatre production being performed at the Macron
Stadium. The lighting designer is Johanna Town, who comments: “My brief for
this show was to light the piece as naturally as possible and treat most of the
song changes with soft shifts. The venue,
which was obviously not your traditional theatre space, had a false stage with
no access equipment allowed. As such, all the overhead rig had to be moving
lights and due to power requirements, had to be almost all LED. I chose ETC LED
profiles and Auras as my main wash lights and then had some GLP X Bars as
overhead toplight to work in the songs and give a soft wash for the
scenes. I also added Vipers for additional atmosphere. Similarly, the
scenery was a large landscape flatage representing walls and clouds and
mountains, which was then washed using Robert Juliat Dalis 860s due to their
incredible short throw”.
For
Johanna, working on a show like this not only varies from a standard theatrical
production in terms of the creative brief, but also due to the impact it can
have: “For Christmas shows, it’s vital that you make it exciting for its young audience, introduce lots of
looks and images they can take away, and hopefully initiate a love for theatre
and live performance. I think any show for children should feel exciting and
have lots of imagination for them to enjoy; which is the pleasure of designing
a Christmas show”.
Another show that WL is
supplying the lighting for is The Nutcracker which is currently running
at the Theatre Royal Portsmouth. Lighting Designer Adam King takes us through
his process: “Part of my brief is transporting the
audience into the world of the Nutcracker from the moment they walk into the
auditorium; something I’m able to achieve by softening the house light
system and adding more colour. In terms of the show itself, my main role was to
make each location featured feel ‘magical’ every time the characters
visited. As the set remains largely the same, it’s my job to make
sure the audience followed the narrative through the changes in light; as well
as offer those moments of magic throughout”.
Whilst WL is supplying a host of Christmas shows this year, the company is still extremely busy with non-festive productions. In the West End alone, the company is providing the lighting for a multitude of newly-opened shows, including Teenage Dick at the Donmar Warehouse, Amélie at The Other Palace, Touching the Void at the Duke of York’s, Cyrano de Bergerac at the Playhouse along with the soon-to-open Les Misérables at the recently refurbished Sondheim Theatre. The company is also supplying a range of festive events, such as the numerous outdoor ‘Christmas at’ which include Bedgebury, Belton, Blenheim, Dunham Massey, Edinburgh, Kew Gardens and Stourhead.
WL’s Managing Director Bryan
Raven comments: “It’s been another incredibly busy year here at WL in which we’ve
cemented our position as the leading lighting supplier to West End and UK
touring theatre. It’s a fitting end to a great twelve months to be working
across the country on a range of festive shows, supplying lighting designers
with the exact equipment they need. We’d like to say thanks to all of those
who’ve drawn on our services in 2019 and we look forward to working with you
once again in the new year”.
Photos courtesy of The Other
Richard and Natalie Gee.
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