Robe celebrates 20 years of disco with Alcazar
- Details
Palle, who works worldwide on theatre, ballet and musical shows, was asked to imagine something special for this landmark occasion. It was the first time he’s worked on an Alcazar tour and also the first time he’s specified and used MegaPointes in a design.
At the start of his career as a lighting professional, he wanted to work at the Swedish National Theatre and also to light legendary singer Ulf Lundell, both of which he had achieved by 2002. After that, one of the bands he most wanted to light was Alcazar - because they took ‘disco’ to a different level and he thought they would be huge fun, as well as their shows having a reputation for high production values.
The 90-minute set is a colourful collage that careers through a mash of greatest Alcazar hits plus medleys of some of the disco sounds of the last half-century. It also includes a moving tribute to the late Avicii, “We Love You DJ”.
Palle reveals that he’d been wanting to use the MegaPointe ever since he’d first seen a demo at the end of 2017. He was just waiting for the appropriate show, and Alcazar was an ideal opportunity.
His starting point for the lighting design was the slick contemporary set design created by Tino Rivero which includes risers, a central staircase and a large upstage LED screen.
He decided that a “massive lighting rig” was needed, not just to compliment the LED screen, but to ensure the band had a great send off. “In the true spirit of disco, it is all about music and lights, so I wanted a big focus on lighting and how it could shape and treat the presentation of a pumping disco set.”
The MegaPointes are positioned all over the overhead trusses with 18 on the floor, including a row in front of the set risers and two lines either side of stage to provide cross lighting for the three members of Alcazar and seven dancers.
In addition to the MegaPointes, there are eight profile moving lights, four Minuit Une laser effects, LED battens which are back-lighting the set facias and central staircase and two 9-lites are located behind the video wall which opens in the middle for the stage entrances and exits. The lighting equipment is being supplied by the Live Production Group (LPG).
The show is run on a greandMA2 light, operated on the road by Marcus Nordenberg, who also programmed with Palle. The two have worked together on various productions for 10 years.
(Jim Evans)
