Mumford used 111 EvenLED panels to light a large cyclorama for the opera which played at the Palace Theatre. "I particularly wanted to use EvenLED for Prima Donna to achieve a perfectly even cover using a rear projection cyc behind a painted glass wall and have the possibility of numerous colour changes and 'wipes' of color," Mumford commented.
"In the finale aria of the show entitled Feu d'artifice I was able to animate an abstract 'fireworks display' through another huge glass window and the result was very beautiful." Working with Mumford was a team led by production electrician Keith Johnson and programmer Victoria Brennan.
Festival technical director Jack Thompson was looking for a spectacular and flexible cyc light to light the rear wall of the set which was see through, he says. Lighting supplier White Light made the suggestion to use EvenLED.
"We looked at several options and after seeing Rob Halliday demonstrate the EvenLED wall on Mary Poppins as part of an ABTT workshop, I was convinced that it would be perfect for this production. Not only could it produce a spectacular array of colors and seamless color changes, but it also, through some fine programming by Vic Brennan, produced some wonderful effects of fireworks exploding in the night sky, excellent rolling clouds, the French flag fading out of the night sky," Thompson stated.
White Light supplied the lighting to many of this year's Festival shows, including Prima Donna. "EvenLED is proving to be an increasingly popular product," stated David Isherwood, hire & technical director at White Light. "Designers who try it once always want to use it again."
For more on Prima Donna see the August/September issue of Lighting&Sound International magazine.
(Jim Evans)
