Blackout France's project manager, Damien Slaney, headed up the team and was responsible for designing and supplying a massive 27m x 9m drop cyclorama, which played a central role in the set design. Fabricated out of ecru-filled cloth at Blackout's UK headquarters in South London, it divided the set between a jazz combo downstage centre and a 40-piece orchestra behind.
Offering a huge semi-circular blank canvas, the cyc was used by Lenchampt, to create a stunning barrage of lighting effects for the show's opening sequence; it was also central to the climax of the reveal of Salvador's orchestra. Blackout France's team under-slung the cloth from curved 50mm aluminium tubing, suspended from the main curved truss. A second bar of curved tube weighted the cloth and held it into its curved semi-circular position.
To create the reveal sequence, 28 solenoids in line were used to trigger the Kabuki drop. The cyclorama was fabricated in two pieces overlapping centrally, which after the reveal of the orchestra allowed its evacuation stage left and stage right. Blackout also supplied and rigged its innovative LED STARled starcloth for the upstage backdrop.
"We really enjoyed working on Henri's tour, and working with Alain Lechampt and the team at TS3 once again was a great experience," says Damien Slaney. "We were faced with a number of logistical challenges and a tight timeframe, but as usual the British and French teams pulled together to ensure timely delivery and quality of service for which Blackout are renowned the world over."
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
