Writing
Rob spent eighteen months stalking the spectacular, £60million refurbishment of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane so that he could tell the story of the spectacular re-birth of this remarkable theatre.
The story is out now, in this month’s edition of LSi magazine. You can read it online here: [link]
Forty years ago today, a new musical with an unlikely subject reflected in its single-word title opened in London: Cats.
It would be fair to say that in the run-up to its opening, no-one gave it much chance of success.
Twenty-one years later, as its London run finally came to an end, it proved those cynics wrong - and it continues to do so, with performances still running around the world.
To mark the show’s anniversary, Rob set out to talk to the people who put the show together - and in doing so established much of the way shows are done today, and indeed much of the basis for the live entertainment industry as we know it now. Quite an achievement.
You can read all about it in the latest issue of LSi magazine, out now.
Cats in LSi: [link]
Cats in The Stage: [link]
The original lighting plan for Cats: [link]
One advantage of lockdown has been time to get caught up on long-standing ‘background’ projects. For Rob that has meant the chance to complete the power study of Les Mis that he’s been carrying out gently in the background since the start of the year.
The project started with a question: how much power are we actually saving by moving our lighting to LED? This came partly out of the Save Stage Lighting campaign of a few years ago, trying to persuade the EU that while we wanted to keep the magic of tungsten light available to us we weren’t stuck on old technology and were actively moving to more efficient sources. And partly just out of curiosity: intuitively we know newer rigs are using less power than older ones, but exactly how much? We know that a new LED light uses less power than an equivalent tungsten light, but we also know it’s less bright, so we run it at a higher level. In show use, it doesn’t use as much less power as you’d think from just reading the label…
Fortunately Rob already had a tool in place to analyse this - the PowerTrack function in his FocusTrack show documentation software. What was harder to find was one show lit using older (tungsten, arc) equipment, then re-lit by the same designer to look the same using newer (LED) equipment. But a conversation with lighting designer Paule Constable suggested the new production of Les Misérables might provide such a case study, the rig having evolved over the years with, in the new London production, all of the tungsten lighting fixtures replaced with LED.
The Les Mis team were able to supply all of the data for three versions of the show. The result is an in-depth look at three versions of the show’s rig, with detailed comparisons of the moment-by-moment power use and then the overall energy use. The end result confirms we are now using less power than before. The surprise: not as much less as we might have hoped!
The article can be found in the current issue of LSi: [link]
Rob, and the other writers for LSi magazine, produced a piece about the immediate effects of coronavirus, the lock-down and the shut-down of the entertainment industry for the current issue of the magazine. It includes the shut-down experiences of and thoughts from many leading industry figures from lighting, sound, video design and more.
“In these strange and unusual times, it was great to hear, and to be able to share what others in the industry, peers and colleagues and friends, were going through. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there was a real sense that the world will survive, and we will bounce back - but also a keen sense that perhaps this pause was a good moment for a spot of reflection on the things that are really important,” Rob comments.
The current issue of LSi is available online now. [link]
Rob’s article about the hit Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen, part of a new wave of original new musicals from Broadway, is out now in the new issue of LSi magazine.
In writing the piece, Rob was lucky enough to get to talk to the show’s lighting designer, Japhy Weideman, projection designer, Peter Nigrini, and sound designer, Nevin Steinberg, about their work on this remarkable show, the success of which it feels has rather taken everyone by surprise - but which is nonetheless entirely deserved. As ever, Rob was delighted to be able to talk to three professionals at the very top of their game, about a show they clearly adore.
Rob also has a second piece in the same issue, about the re-opening of the Fairfield Halls in Croydon after a protracted refurbishment process, as well as his regular Classic Gear and Tools from Beyond columns.
The February 2020 issue of LS is available now in print or online. [link]
Sometimes the most fun jobs are the most unexpected. Case in point: Rob was surprised and delighted to receive a phone call from Glyndebourne early in the year, asking if he’d be interested in writing a piece for the 2019 season programme.
With the ‘new’ Glyndebourne Opera Hosue building turning 25, the Glyndebourne technical team are looking to how to upgrade their building to better handle the style and scales of shows it is now producing, and to provide safer and more efficient working conditions. A key part of this plan is to replace the traditional counterweight flying system with a new automated flying system. Since this would involve fund-raising from Glyndebourne’s supporters, they were looking for an article that could clearly explain the current system and why there was a need for a new system.
Karen Anderson, Glyndebourne’s Head of Content Production, had seen the piece about the refurbishment of the Sydney Opera House in the March 2018 issue of LSi magazine, and felt it provided the perfect model for the Glyndebourne piece.
For Rob researching the piece allowed for a fascinating lunch with Glyndebourne’s Technical Director, Eric Gautron, to discuss the project. It also allowed him to combine his love of new technology with his fascination with the old, including conversations with lighting designers including Paul Pyant and Mark Jonathan who worked at the ‘old’ Glyndebourne early in their careers, and a a good rummage through Glyndebourne’s archive to find pictures to illustrate the article.
The final article appeared in the gorgeous season brochure.
Glyndebourne Opera: [link]
Rob has been a fan of the breathtaking Sydney Opera House even before he first set eyes on it for real back in 1997. In the time since he has been privileged to visit it, to provide console training to the staff in it - and, most recently, to write about the recent refurbishment of the building’s Joan Sutherland Theatre.
Having been in use since the building opened back in 1973, the theatre was closed for the second half of 2017, during which time it underwent comprehensive upgrades to just about every part of its technical infrastructure - re-opening in time for a New Year’s Eve gala performance by Opera Australia.
Rob visited the theatre just a few days after this, to hear about the project from those who led it and to take a look at the new systems that are now in place.
You can read all about it in this month's edition of LSi magazine, available online or in print. [link]
Having been involved with Chester’s Storyhouse for the last three years, firstly as technical advisor for lighting and then as the lighting designer for the opening three shows, Rob has now written about this remarkable new theatre for Light &Sound International magazine, which is available in print or online. [link]
This article its just one of several written by Rob to appear this month. The others are:
