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Another Summit Steel Cirque du Soleil Record breaker
The previous record was also set by Summit Steel - for installation of the same show last year. The rigging process also had to be completed in and even shorter time slot of two days less than last year!
Summit continued its working relationship with Cirque du Soleil, with this, the fifth Cirque production they’ve installed into the RAH for Dralion’s fully sold-out five-week residency.
The show is a fusion of ancient Chinese circus traditions with Cirque du Soleil’s daring exploration of avant-garde performance. The name itself is an amalgam of the ‘Dragon’ of the east and the ‘Lion’ of the west.
Summit’s Chris Walker started work on the project in September 2004. Working closely with a team of people including Cirque’s rigging project manager Ewen Seagel; Marc-André Leclerc, technical manager for the “Dralion” transfer to the RAH; Adrian Bray, the RAH’s technical show manager; Gez Edwards-Web, the venue’s TSM responsible for the ‘Dralion’ rigging and Bob Stagg from consulting structural engineers Alan Conisbee Associates. “It has very much been a team effort,” explains Walker.
All Cirque du Soleil’s touring shows are designed around their own tent structures. Summit mimicked these support/anchoring structures and devices within the RAH by establishing an overall rigging infrastructure. This enabled Cirque’s complex show – a multi-colour collage of high octane acrobatics, split second timing and theatrical drama – to operate as ‘normal’.
Summit’s starting point for ‘Dralion’ was the installation of a number of ‘anchor’ points, using custom brackets, trusses and soldier beams. These were attached with extreme care to the RAH’s building fabric. The venue is Grade 1 listed, so this is a particularly delicate task to achieve without damage.
The anchoring structures were then ‘proof loaded’ to ensure that no damage would occur to the building once the show loads were applied. This section of the installation and testing was completed during a series of night shifts prior to Christmas.
Summit also carried out a pre-rig to relocate over 50 house hoists into the correct positions for the show in addition to suspending Cirque’s custom ‘cupola’ grid, which emulates the top of their tent, and sits above their circular technical grid.
The main load-in commenced with a shift of seven Summit riggers starting at 8 a.m. on Boxing Day, who were relieved by another shift of six riggers taking over at 8pm. These shifts were repeated on 27th December with final adjustments being made over 28th and 29th. The technical operational elements of the show were handed over to the artistic departments in time to commence rehearsals on 31st December. This was followed by an open dress and press night on 6th January.
The lack of backstage space at the RAH and the weight of the onstage scenic wall necessitated a flown mezzanine above the stage, complete with decking and handrails for dimmer and amp positions. The mezzanine also provided a position for ladder access up to a 20 metre long flown catwalk, constructed from 52 cm Thomas Supertruss, also fully decked and hand-railed. This was used to access Cirque’s central circular technical grid and for cable management. The catwalk connected to the technical grid via several custom fabricated sections.
Around Cirque du Soleil’s technical grid and another circular grid - the ‘anneau’ - Summit supplied a horseshoe shaped truss with custom-fabricated corners so it followed the venue’s ‘B’ ring of roof points. This horseshoe truss provided lighting positions and cable management for sound, lighting and automation as well as positions for pulleys and other elements of the artist’s rigging.
Summit also supplied LX trusses, hoists for the audio, various spreader and drapes trusses and tirfors for use in the show.
“Although we were installing the same show as last year, the biggest challenge was the reduced time available for the load-in,” states Walker. “Advanced and highly detailed planning was required to make this complicated show come together in a very short time-frame. Installing all the flown elements in the right order was also absolutely crucial to the smooth running of the build.”
Other suppliers include Britannia Row Productions (audio), Neg Earth (lighting), and Media Structures, who built several bespoke scaffolding constructions.
18th February 2005
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