White Light supplies Tina Turner musical
- Details
The show is playing at the Aldwych Theatre in London’s West End and as a leading lighting supplier to some of the biggest shows in the country, White Light was called upon to provide the lighting equipment.
TINA – The Tina Turner Musical is directed by Phyllida Lloyd and features a lighting design by Bruno Poet. Bruno comments: “My brief for the show was to help tell this extraordinary story and make the performers come alive within Mark Thompson’s elegant design. The set frames the actors beautifully and is very stripped back, with the focus being on the human story. There are also around 40 scenes in different locations, and the lighting needs to support that sense of time and place. Added to this were several concert scenes so I had to create a design that matched this energy.”
To achieve this, Bruno approached WL in order to draw on his ideal rig. He explains: “It was a combination of experimenting with new units that I felt might be useful in combination with tried and tested favourites. I was really keen to move away from discharge light sources and more towards the latest LED fixtures. I also needed a really flexible rig that could offer a full-on concert experience at the end of the show, but also work with the more nuanced, delicate scenes. I was also determined to have a very quiet rig. Even a musical has quiet moments and hearing fan noise is a personal pet hate of mine.”
The equipment Bruno drew on included the LED MAC Encore Cold, the VL550, the MAC Aura XB, GLP X4 Battens and the ETC Source 4 Lustr 2s. He explains: “With the MAC Encore Cold, this is the first LED source I’ve found that gives the cold discharge look of something like a MAC Viper but can also do a convincing tungsten warm. With the Auras, these have great zoom range, brilliant colours and can be used for punchy, beamy looks.
“The set design cried out for curtains of light and the GLP X4 Battens allowed me to achieve this, while taking up virtually no space in the grid. I also drew on Portman P2s for the big concert finale, along with Clay Paky Sharpys. The desk I drew on was an Eos which I often draw on for theatre productions.”
(Jim Evans)
