Leading Belgian design practice Painting with Light has supplied lighting and video
design for the current Stage Entertainment tour of cult 1970s musical “Hair’ which is
currently touring the Netherlands.
The production united the same creative team with whom Luc Peumans worked on
2015 hit ‘The Bodyguard’, and Painting with Light was also selected because they
could supply an integrated lighting and video design package which worked both
creatively and commercially, offering good continuity between the two mediums.
It is a two truck tour so the basic design elements factored in this logistic, and
Carla Janssen-Hofelt created the scaffolding-based set design to bring a temporary
pop-up feel in a rapidly changing world with little stability and often no palpable
rhyme or reason!
The 10 x 4 metre high screens are made up from 10 mm Glux LED product, chosen
by Peumans and video content producer Michael Al Far for its light weight and
adaptability, ideal for touring. These are all on separate house fly bars in the
theatre and move subtly through the show.
Embedded in the scaffolding set structure are 16 panels of 3.9 mm Unilumen screen
product – all the LED is supplied by CT. These are used as video driven lightsources
as well as taking supporting scenic content.
A Barco SLM R9+ video projector is used to project onto the cast at the end of the
show and onto a front gauze during the interval.
All the content is run through one of Painting with Light’s Pandora’s Box media
servers, programmed by their video control specialist, Katleen Selleslagh.
Peumans chose a “direction’ for the lighting in every scene, and the moods ranged
from intimate, minimal and stark to larger and more colourful for the big production
numbers with the full cast onstage.
Six side towers are positioned in between the screens, loaded with a total of 56 x
LED wash lights which are invaluable for focusing light into the tighter parts of the
set. URC Ledzoom 210 washes – a proprietary product made for lighting supplier
Phlippo Showlight – are rigged above the set and on the theatre’s portals for
illuminating the scaffolding.
Twenty Martin MAC Quantum profiles are fitted with two different custom breakup
gobos that were designed by Peumans especially for Hair to satisfy the need for a
very specific textured look that he wanted to create.
Five MAC Viper Performances – with the shutter module – are rigged to the theatre
portal and used for all the specials and key lighting.
URC Citywash LED floods also illuminate the scaffolding all around the sides and
back and in the floor.
High up on the scaffolding is an original 1000W Strand Beamlight which is used
throughout the set and is integral to the audience interaction when it’s moved
around by various cast members.
Some Chauvet COLORDash Accent LED fixtures – a small birdie-like fixture – are
dotted around the set and used to light the band.
The lighting picture is completed with two follow spots which are installed in the
FOH positions.
A grandMA2 light console programmed by Jeroen Opsteyn and operated on the road
by Bryan van Beek is running lighting and triggering the video cues.
So far, it’s been a big hit and is currently scheduled to tour until April 2017.
