Hosted by David Tennant and Catherine Tate who, as well as appearing together in Doctor WhoMuch Ado About Nothing, the show took place in front of HRH The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, and a specially selected audience.
Shakespeare Live! was also broadcast live on BBC2 in the UK, and was recorded for later screenings on TV and in cinemas worldwide.
Working with RSC production manager, David Tanqueray, production designer Robert Jones, llighting designer Vince Herbert, video designer Alex Uragallo and BBC Television lighting director, Nigel Catmur, PRG XL Video provided some key elements of technology for Shakespeare Live! including their GroundControl Remote Followspot system, and LED for a flown back wall and proscenium arch.
The GroundControl Remote Followspot system allows a specially customised PRG Bad Boy spotlight to be rigged and flown above the audience, whilst the control unit is situated on the ground. The light fixture includes a camera, and the control unit includes a live feed from the camera, enabling the operator to have local control of lighting intensity, iris, zoom and edge.
Peter Marshall, account director for PRG XL Video, was contacted by lighting designers Vince Herbert and Nigel Catmur to discuss the best options for adding followspots for this one-off event, and Marshall recommended the innovative GroundControl system. Peter comments, "We were pleased to be able to contribute to this special event, and to demonstrate the difference that the GroundControl Remote Followspot can make in a theatre environment.
Peter continues, "We gave Vince, Nigel and David a demonstration at our warehouse in Longbridge, and they were sold on the concept."
David Tanqueray explains, "The Royal Shakespeare Theatre does not usually have a requirement for roving high brightness followspots, but the nature of this unique production, including lighting it for television broadcast, meant that we needed to bring in spotlights, as they were a vital part of the show design.
"We do not have traditional followspot positions in the auditorium, so this new GroundControl technology, enabled us to include bright spotlights in the production without having any seat-kill. It really helped us achieve the result we wanted without adversely affecting the production."
Nigel Catmur agreed, "The GroundControl Followspot is a genius concept. We couldn't have done the show without them."
Production designer, Rob Jones created a versatile layered environment for the performers. With the orchestra located upstage, during several performances it was masked by a flown LED screen, formed from PRG XL's ROE MC-7 high resolution blackface LED.
Slightly downstage, Rob Jones' design included a proscenium arch, which was also populated with the MC-7 LED both to the front face, and with an angled reveal on both sides and across the underside of the arch beam.
Oliver Luff, senior account manager at PRG XL Video commented, "We were delighted to help the Royal Shakespeare Company with this very special celebration event. Our MC-7 LED is a versatile product, and the combination of live theatre performance and television broadcast showed that it is ideal for many different uses. Alex Uragallo's content looked fantastic, and we were happy to contribute to making this historic occasion a success."
(Jim Evans)
