In an intimate monologue performance, Collins recalls autobiographical elements and details of her legendary career, which spans five decades as actress, author, entrepreneur and accomplished producer. XL supplied two Barco SLM G8 projectors, and a 16 x 12ft rear projection screen, hung in portrait 4:3 aspect ratio. The projectors and screen were set up each day by tour manager Claude Taylor who remarks that it was a very quick, easy and reliable system to deal with, and proved perfectly adaptable for even the smaller venues.Effectively, the screen and the video material took on the role of second actor supporting Collins' performance. Several comic moments were triggered by video, and used in this simple and highly effective way, it was an absolute key to the whole style and feel of the presentation.
Director Percy Gibson (also Collins' husband) comments: "Joan has always had a relationship with screens - both small and large - so video was an obvious and flexible dramatic device with which to work onstage."
Oli Sones has a background in film and TV. For him, the project involved the massive and precise task of researching and sourcing extensive appropriate archival footage of Collins to fit the storyboard. This was stored on and in a myriad of different original media and formats. Both Collins herself and Gibson were integrally involved in this process. "They wanted to create a show that they owned," explains Sones.
The tour was project managed for XL by their theatre, arts and performance specialist Malcolm Mellows, who says: "We gave Claude a crash training course on the projection system, and he was fine for the duration of the tour. It was also a pleasure to continue our work with Jeff and Sensible Music, affirming his faith and recommendations of XL."
Edited in Premier Pro, the video show was designed to be dynamic, informative and contextual. The stills and video clips were all stored on an external hard drive and run from a laptop via a 3-channel mixer. Cues were called by Gibson and executed manually by Sones and everyone was very happy with the results. Joan Collins' special guests on the tour were Four Poofs & A Piano.
(Lee Baldock)
