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Snowing in Elsinore: White Light's Snow Machine at Hamlet
The phenomenally successful West End season produced by London's Donmar Warehouse Theatre - which since the middle of last year has featured Ivanov starring Kenneth Branagh, Twelfth Night starring Derek Jacobi, Madame de Sade starring Judi Dench - has now reached its final production, Hamlet, starring Jude Law.
White Light has been involved throughout the season, providing the core rig shared by lighting designers Paule Constable and Neil Austin - including Martin TW1 and ADB Warp moving lights and Rainbow colour scrollers - and then the variations of equipment demanded by each show. For Neil Austin's design for Hamlet this meant supplying six DHA Digital Light Curtains, a set of Aero Par units with individual transformers and a selection of L&E battens mounted in the show's floor.
For Hamlet, White Light was also called on for one extra at the last minute: six of the award winning White Light Snow Machines.
Originally designed for the musical Billy Elliot and now built for White Light by City Theatrical in New York, the Snow Machines are compact, reliable, odour-free, offer DMX control of snow fall, and are very, very quiet. These virtues saw the Snow Machine win Special Effect Product of the Year award at the 2008 LDI Show; they were also the virtues required by Hamlet, where they replaced two foam snow machines which were too noisy and distracting. A further benefit of the White Light Snow Machines is that much of the snowfall can be collected and re-used in subsequent performances.
Directed by Michael Grandage, designed by Christopher Oram with lighting by Neil Austin and music and sound design by Adam Cork, Hamlet runs at the Wyndham's Theatre in London until August 22nd. As with the rest of the season, Patrick Molony was the show's production manager and Steve Reeve the production electrician.
photo Johan Persson
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16th July 2009
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