With Clapham's existing library facilities due to relocate to a new building, part of a leisure and residential complex, in 2012, future plans for the traditional library building have been uncertain. Omnibus is a group of local people determined to see the building retained and transformed into a vibrant local arts centre.
To support their campaign, Omnibus is running a series of events in the library featuring famous local residents -so far, acclaimed actress Miriam Margolyes and author and broadcaster John O'Farrell.
To help transform the library into a makeshift performance space, Omnibus' George Owen turned to another local resident, lighting designer Rob Halliday, who brought White Light on board to supply a simple, quick-to-install lighting system of Source Fours to light the speaker, Fresnels to light the audience and LED battery powered uplighters to light the room. For each event setup, overseen by Tom Davis takes place quickly between the library closing and the performance time.
"The lighting for these events gives them an enormously professional feel, really helping to create a sense of occasion for the sell-out audiences at our two shows so far - Miriam Margolyes performing Dickens, and John O'Farrell sharing the highs and lows of writing comedy," comments George Owen, Omnibus chair. "We thank the team at White Light for making this possible - and look forward to working with them again on future events."
"We've been delighted to support Omnibus with their performances," comments White Light's managing director, Bryan Raven, "and wish them all the best in their efforts to transform this building into a new social hub for Clapham."
(Jim Evans)
