Fusing the disciplines of rock 'n' roll and theatre has always been a central production platform for Oh What a Night, with it's hectic touring schedule and itinerary encompassing a myriad of different types and sizes of venue. This leg of the tour also included several back-to-backs, necessitating an even more streamlined technical fit-up and operation.
Current production manager Danny Spratt has been onboard since 2001. Spratt chose Entec to supply lighting for the project because he wanted "A reliable lighting company with a great can-do attitude, excellent gear, crew and support, plus a sensible attitude to budgeting."
Simon Tutchener, who has also overseen all the re-lights with each new leg of the tour, provided the original lighting design. Lighting is a vital visual and narrative element of the show, which carries a minimal set, leaving lighting to convey much of the location information and the storyline. Tutchener's design recreates the authentic 'retro' feel of a 1970s disco in terms of lighting, which was very much pre moving lights. However the show today also needed elements of 21st century technology, so moving lights are on the kit list, but rarely seen or used in the conventional way. The big flashy dance numbers are lit with fast moving conventional chases and sequences.
Entec's rig consists of 12 Vari*Lite 2000s, four washes and eight spots making up moving light elements. Then, as you'd expect, there's plenty of PAR cans - 10 bars of six, plus four bars of ACLs and some additional loose cans dotted around the stage and trussing bridge. Twenty-five Source Four profiles are used for key lighting, the majority of them with 19 degree lenses, and then there's eight 2K fresnels, two smoke machines and - naturally - a mirror ball - without which any self-respecting 1970s disco wouldn't have a shred of credibility! Szabo is running the show from an Avolites Diamond 3 console - one of his favourite lighting desks, and originally specified by Tutchener. The audio supplier is Wigwam, with Steve McManus mixing FOH and Nipper on monitors.
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
