As we’re now well into October, this means we’ve officially entered ‘Spooky Season’. With Halloween slowly creeping upon us, it’s a time for carving pumpkins, wearing scary costumes and, of course, trick or treating. It’s also that time of year when several scary-themed shows/events take place, whether that’s a ghostly theatrical production or a scarily brilliant immersive event. As such, we’ve put together a list of some stand-out spooky projects we’ve worked on over the years, proving how, as a company, it’s sometimes a good thing if a job is an absolute horror story…

The Rocky Horror Show (1973 – Now)

What better place to start than at the very beginning? The Rocky Horror Show started life at the Royal Court Theatre back in June 1973. It was one of the first-ever shows that WL supplied the lighting for and continues to do so to this very day. For those who’ve not seen it, Rocky Horror tells the story of a newly-engaged couple getting caught in a storm and arriving at the home of mad scientist, Dr Frank-N-Furter, who unveils his new creation, Rocky… Written by Richard O’Brien, it has since become a cult classic, with many audience members dressing up as the show’s characters when attending a performance. We’ve provided the lighting for practically every revival and incarnation and are currently supplying the latest tour, which features a lighting design by Nick Richings.

Night of the Living Dead LIVE! (2019)

Based on the iconic George A. Romero film, Night of the Living Dead LIVE! was performed at The Pleasance Theatre in London and told the story of a group of strangers holed up in a farmhouse in rural Pennsylvania as they try to fend themselves off from the ‘undead’. The show featured a lighting design by Nic Farman whose brief was to remain true to the Romero original. He explains: “The interesting thing about this show was that we tried to recreate it as if it were a black and white film. The Designer Diego Pitarch created a monochrome set of the interior of the farmhouse in which the action is set and the costumes are all black and white and the actors in make up to appear greyscale. My brief was to buy into that concept and to keep us in a black and white world”.

For other related articles, please visit:

White Light Brings Night of the Living Dead to Life

Scarily Good: Nic Farman’s Top Tips for Lighting Horror Shows

Goosebumps: Alive (2016)

A chilling modern update of the 90’s cult horror series, Goosebumps: Alive was an immersive experience situated in The VAULTS, beneath London’s Waterloo Station. Audience members were guided through the dark abandoned tunnels where they witnessed the brilliantly re-imagined classic tales of R.L. Stine brought to life. The show featured 19 rooms populated with spine-tingling scary scenarios and had a lighting design by Charlie Morgan Jones. He comments: “The great thing about Goosebumps: Alive was how inventive I could be with the lighting. For instance, in a scene involving the sun, we created this out of 40 birdies. Paul Walmsley, our production electrician, created some square LED tubes which could only happen on a show like this! Similarly, we had extremely limited power down in the tunnels hence had to draw on as much LED as we could.”

UNICEF Halloween Ball (2018)

One of UNICEF’s flagship fundraising events, The Halloween Ball took place at Banqueting House and was delivered by our Event Production Services (EPS) team. The evening had a Twisted Tales theme and the core objective of UNICEF was to elevate the importance of their work to the 300 guests in attendance. WL and UNICEF decided to make the venue’s stunning architecture play an integral part of the evening by project-mapping the windows with video footage of the incredible work UNICEF carries out. The result was a truly immersive atmosphere. The Halloween Ball also included live performances by Rita Ora and Neneh Cherry, for which we supplied all of the audio support. We also supplied atmospheric lighting and a bespoke soundscape for the Twisted Tales theme.

Ghost Stories (2020)

Written by Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman, Ghost Stories has been terrifying theatregoers across the globe for over a decade. The show invites audience members to enter a nightmarish world, full of thrilling twists and turns, where their deepest fears and most disturbing thoughts are imagined live on stage; offering a theatrical experience like no other. Its latest West End run featured a lighting design by James Farncombe, who approached WL to supply the fixtures. He comments: “What was clear from the outset was that the design needed to be as much about the absence of light as much as anything else. I really liked this idea that it’s more of a darkness design and that, due to the nature of the staging and the various tricks therein, I had to hide as much as I revealed. Ultimately it was all about creating that atmosphere for an audience”.

So, to conclude, even if the script does contain elements of horror, that doesn’t mean your equipment hire needs to! As a company with bases across the entire UK, we’re always ready to supply a plethora of projects and services, from the hire and sale of equipment to pre-rig space to on-site support when needed. If you’d like to discuss any upcoming work you have then please don’t hesitate to contact our friendly, knowledge team today

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