Richard O’Brien’s original classic, The Rocky Horror Show is touring Australia in 2014 with a 40th Anniversary Production. The touring production is from the UK but features a talented all Australian cast including Craig McLachlan, reprising the role of Frank N Furter.
Having gained an international reputation for theatre lighting direction, Mandylights were brought onboard to supply local support. UK lighting designer Nick Ritchings brought the entire Whitelight lighting production with him with Mandylights re-lighting the show every time it moves venues and providing a full time lighting operator / director Mickey Rice.
The lighting rig is designed to tour quickly with the entire show able to load in in one day. It’s not a massive rig and so every fixture works very hard during the performance. Consequently reputation and reliability were paramount and so 16 x Martin MAC700 Profiles, 2 x MAC700 Washes, 14 x MAC Auras and 8 x Clay Paky Sharpys were specified.
The set doesn’t change a lot and so lighting plays a large role in this production with LED strips in the set and 10 x Sunstrips do all of the reveal moments behind the main entrance point.
“The Sharpys are great at blowing the big looks out into the house,” commented Richard Neville, managing director of Mandylights. “The show is known for its audience participation so there are quite a few big audience looks we get out of the Sharpys. The MAC700’s and the MAC Auras are the workhorses of the rig. We also have 4 x Look Solutions Viper Foggers which are great with their Quick Fog Fluid – with a 3 or 4 second burst we can fill the whole stage.”
Lightening effects and big accents during the show are provided by 8 x Martin Atomic Strobes with colour scrollers.
The show is run off a MA Lighting MA2 wing with a bunch of NSP’s which has proven itself over eighteen months of touring around the UK.
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