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Stage Technologies with the ENO at Coliseum

The exciting new season planned at the ENO, the first in the restored Coliseum, left the Technical and Production Department at the English National Opera looking for a new solution to allow them to update their flying system. With a technically ambitious season ahead the system needed to enable them to stage some of the company’s largest shows to date, such as their current production of Phyllida Lloyd’s Ring Cycle.

ENO approached Stage Technologies for a solution with the view to purchasing a Nomad control console and renting 36 Big Tow winches. This would allow them to move very heavy loads quickly and safely, including a 2 tonne suspension bridge, which is part of the set of for Rhinegold, and allowing them to stage some very complicated and impressive effects for productions such as Valkyrie and Midsummer Night's Dream.

As with all best laid plans, there was a delay in the completion of the building project which resulted in Stage Technologies engineers having to rig all 36 hoists and load test them on a series of over-night calls. At the same time, six flymen who had never operated a Nomad before needed to be fully trained, whilst simultaneously running stage rehearsals! Never known to shy away from a challenge, Stage Technologies completed the installation within the final tight time-scale and to the required budget.

Paul Clay, head of production for the ENO, commented: “Anyone who has been through a large building project knows the difficulty of marrying building works with complex technological systems, yet despite this the system Stage Technologies’ installation has been very successful. It is a tribute to their hard work, professionalism and talent that all of this was achieved at all, let alone with humour and good grace.”

http://www.stagetech.com

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Stage Technologies with the ENO at Coliseum

4th May 2004

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