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Billy Elliot: from Film To Stage with White Light
White Light has been selected as the lighting supplier to the forthcoming stage production of the smash-hit British film Billy Elliot.
The story of a boy from the north of England who discovers the joy of dance, Billy Elliot became one of the highest successful British films ever made upon its release in 2000. The film was nominated for three Oscars and thirteen Bafta awards, breaking box office records around the world.
The film is being turned into a stage musical by its original creators, director Stephen Daldry, choreographer Peter Darling and writer Lee Hall; the music for the show is being written by Elton John. To create the stage production, Daldry is working once again with the team behind his acclaimed, long-running stage production of An Inspector Calls, designer Ian MacNeil and lighting designer Rick Fisher.
To light the show, Fisher has specified a rig featuring a mixture of the very latest automated lighting equipment, some older automated lighting equipment plus conventional lanterns. The latest equipment consists of eleven Vari*Lite VL3500 framing spotlights and nine VL3000 Washlights, both in the low-noise 'Q' version, as well as 24 ETC Revolution spotlights with framing and rotating gobo modules. Complementing these are 36 Martin MAC600 washlights, six Strand Pirouette PCs and five DHA Digital Light Curtains.
The conventional rig includes ETC Source Fours and PAR Cans, many fitted with Rainbow Pro colour scrollers, Strand Coda-4 and Nocturne floodlights, and even vintage Strand Patt 23 and 123 lanterns used for lighting within period scenes. White Light is also supplying additional dimming (three Anytronics 12-way 5A racks and one BakPak single dimmer), Look Solutions Unique haze, Tiny Fogger and Viper smoke machines, Le Maitre LSG and Look Solutions Viper Low smoke machines, and followspots from Robert Juliat - one 2.5k Aramis and two 1.2k Manon. Control is from a Strand Lighting 520i console with a 510i backup.
The show also sees the debut of a number of White Light's new vari-speed snow machines developed by White Light specifically for the show.
Working with Fisher on the show is a team including production electrician Paul Franklin and lighting programmer Vic Smerdon; the show's production manager is Stephen Rebbeck.
Billy Elliot opens at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London on March 24th. It is produced by Working Title and Old Vic Productions.
11th February 2005
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