The Threesixty° production, playing until 9 September, takes the audience on the fantastical and complex journey of siblings Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy.
Directors Rupert Goold & Michael Fentiman worked with scenic, costume, and puppetry designer Tom Scutt and lighting designer Tim Mitchell to create the magical and encompassing world of Narnia. The production, staged in the round, required versatile and powerful equipment to solve challenges unique to this production.
For the retelling of the classic tale, Mitchell made full use of White Light's comprehensive inventory of lighting and effects equipment. The rig featured Martin MASC III, MAC 700 Spot, and MAC 700 Wash units as well as Rainbow colour scrollers, which Mitchell used to achieve a variety of looks with limited rigging space.
Pulsar Chromaheart and iPix BB4 LED fixtures were used to add colour layers. Vari-Lite 3500Q and ETC Revolution moving fixtures added intensity and punch to the palette. To complement the moving fixtures, Mitchell chose ETC Source Four Profile and Source Four Par units.
Narnia would not be complete without special effects. The effects equipment and accessories supplied by White Light, included strobes, UV and fog. Mitchell specified Dataflash strobes, Pulsar Chromaflood 200 UV, and AmericanDJ UV LED Bar16 fixtures as well as MDG Atmosphere hazers, Le Maitre Freeze Fog Pro low smoke chillers and Look Solutions' Viper and Tiny Fogger smoke machines. One of the finishing touches to the magic was created with falling snow from CITC's Little Blizzard snow machines; distributed in the UK exclusively by White Light.
White Light touring dimmers and power distribution units support the production, which is controlled with an ETC Ion system and RPU backup.
Tim Mitchell's team on the show included production electrician Fraser Hall and programmer Andi Davis, with the production team led by production manager Richard Bullimore. The team had to deal with very wet conditions on-site at the start of the load-in, but did so successfully allowing the show to open to acclaim on 11 June.
(Jim Evans)
