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PRG Europe Helps Moscow Join in Cats Chorus
With PRG Europe having provided the lighting for the Madrid production of Cats and when the Madrid show closed in January, the most practical solution for lighting the Moscow production was to use the same rig. However, it had to be re-configured to suit the new venue. Under the direction of lighting designer Howard Eaton, the revamped rig includes 81 moving heads, a range of conventionals, six strobes, two hazers, two follow spots, 72 and 48 way Avolites dimmers and two WholeHog II control desks - one as a spare.
Alan Thomson, managing director of PRG Europe’s Croydon operation, has been involved with many different productions of Cats, including its London debut over two decades ago, but the Russian version presented challenges that even he hadn’t faced before.
“Working in temperatures down to minus 16ēC you have to be equipped for all weather, but the biggest challenges came because Russia isn’t an EU country. We couldn’t just ship the lighting direct from Madrid, we had to ship it back to Croydon and then out again, using the old – but tried and tested – Carnet system,” said Alan.
In only ten days, the entire lighting rig was shipped from Madrid to PRG Europe’s Croydon office, re-prepped and re-packaged for shipment to Moscow. James Hall and Craig Bennitt of the Croydon PRG Europe office needed to pay close attention to detail, knowing that once it arrived in Russia, the authorities would scrutinise the shipment, paperwork and package weights to ensure that they matched for tax purposes.
This was just the beginning, however, because the show’s run is currently open-ended and Alan’s team had to address the issue of spares and repairs.
“The authorities look to see if you’re selling what you’re bringing in and trying to avoid paying the import duty. They check everything, so it’s very difficult to supply things quickly,” said Alan. “You can’t just courier a replacement piece of equipment in and swap the faulty one out, like you can in an EU country.”
Compounding the problem is the lack of experience of the latest lighting technology in Russian commercial theatre. “The technology is there in the clubs, but it’s not widespread in theatres,” said Alan. “So Russian theatre technicians don’t yet have the skills to service all the equipment that we’ve delivered.”
To get round this problem, PRG Europe also supplied a large quantity of spare parts, with the creative team of Alan, Howard Eaton, associate lighting designer Frazer Hall, production electrician Jonathan Badger and moving light programmer Stuart Cross teaching local technicians the required servicing techniques. In addition, a PRG Europe technician will visit Moscow every 6-8 weeks to run training and maintenance sessions.
This also clearly has a longer-term benefit for the venues themselves, which Alan is happy to provide: “Russian audiences aren’t used to production values of this complexity, so shows like Cats and We Will Rock You will inevitably set a trend for higher production values. By providing equipment and training, we’re also able to help raise standards and make the theatre experience more compelling for all.”
Muscovites seem to be thoroughly enjoying a taste of Lloyd Webber, aided by a stunning visual production and a venue which has undergone a huge refurbishment.
Under the direction of managing director Dmitri Bogachev, production company Stage Holding Russia has created the MDM Theatre within the city’s Palace of Youth, a vast concrete pentagonal building built during the Soviet era for speeches and choir performances. It still features a ring of interpreter booths for the many different languages from the countries that made up the former USSR. However, these have been masked off and audiences just see the expected junkyard of the Cats set.
“A lot of time and effort has been spent on the venue,” said Alan. “Production company Stage Holdings Russia has done a fantastic job. I can’t think of anywhere else like it. After the Moscow run finishes, I’d really like to see it move to St. Petersburg.”
19th April 2005
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