The brief from set designer and Butlins' creative director, Phil Peacock, was for a series of lightweight, durable set elements, of the highest possible quality, able to take the strain of repeated installation and dismantling to fit in with Butlins' busy entertainment schedule.
"We worked very closely with our client from the design stage right through to manufacture to ensure that the finished products would match their aspirations," said Phil Green, senior project manager. "This was achieved, utilising our interpretation team's traditional hand painting skills alongside our steel fabrication and high-tech CNC workshop facilities."
The set, themed around traditional toys, consisted of a 3m high, 7m wide 'alphabet block' proscenium arch flanked by a giant die on one side and an oversized packet of crayons on the other.
Many of the set elements were trucking. These included a 2m high 1950's inspired Robot Box; a magic Chalk Board; a red and yellow circus-style lion cage; and a pink and yellow striped 'Cow's World' truck complete with sparkly pink curtain. A large Toy Box was given a 'Victorian pine' paint finish and routed lettering, whilst a 'Surprise Box' was finished to resemble cardboard. Stage One also provided a scenic picture frame for another illusion along with various masking frames with black wool serge curtains, silver glitter hand mirrors and an LED staircase.
Green concluded, "Our interpretation team thoroughly enjoyed the fun side of this project, drawing on their extensive skills and experience to produce three imaginative, colourful sets that appealed to the inner-child in all of us."
(Jim Evans)
