Featured

The Last Ship International Tour

James Price 27th December 201928th December 2019 Featured, Theatre, Tours

Storm are pleased to be providing Production Management services to the international tour of Sting’s musical, The Last Ship. Having toured the UK in 2018. Now following on from a successful run in Canada in early 2019. The Last Ship will be arriving into the port of Los Angeles, California on the 14th January 2020. The US Tour will continue to San Francisco, California, Washington D.C, St Paul, Minnesota and Detroit, Michigan.

The Last Ship, inspired by Sting’s 1991 album “The Soul Cages” and his own childhood experiences. It tells the story of a community amid the demise of the shipbuilding industry in Tyne and Wear. With the closure of the Swan Hunter shipyard. Sting will star as shipyard foreman Jackie White. He will perform the role at every performance. When a sailor named Gideon Fletcher returns home after seventeen years at sea. Tensions between past and future flare in both his family and his town.

The local shipyard, around which the community has always revolved, is closing and no one knows what will come next. Only that a half-built ship towers over the terraces. With the engine fired and pistons in motion, picket lines are drawn as foreman Jackie White (Sting) and his wife Peggy fight to hold their community together in the face of the gathering storm. This personal, political, and passionate musical from multiple Grammy Award®-winner Sting. It is an epic account of a family, a community and a great act of defiance. The Last Ship features an original score with music and lyrics by Sting. As well as a few of his best-loved songs.

Storm On Board with Titanic

James Price 10th November 201928th December 2019 Featured, Theatre, Tours

Storm are pleased to be providing a full Lighting & Rigging equipment package for the current International tour of Titanic the Musical. With a truly creative Lighting Design by Howard Hudson. The show tells of the final hours of the maiden voyage of RMS Titanic from Southampton to New York.

In the final hours of 14th April 1912 the RMS Titanic. On her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. It collided with an iceberg and ‘the unsinkable ship’ slowly sank. It was one of the most tragic disasters of the 20th Century. 1517 men, women and children lost their lives.

Based on real people aboard the most legendary ship in the world. Titanic The Musical is a stunning and stirring production. Focusing on the hopes, dreams and aspirations of her passengers. Who each boarded with stories and personal ambitions of their own. All innocently unaware of the fate awaiting them. The Third Class immigrants dream of a better life in America. The Second Class imagine they too can join the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Whilst the millionaire Barons of the First Class anticipate legacies lasting forever.

With music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and a book by Peter Stone (Woman of the Year and 1776). The pair have collectively won an Academy Award, an Emmy Award, an Olivier Award and three Tony awards. The original Broadway production of Titanic The Musical won five Tony Awards. Including, Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book. This brilliant new production direct from London won sweeping critical acclaim across the board.

“A feast of remarkable theatricality – this totally enveloping, completely thrilling production gave one a chance to experience the kind of masterly theatre that has been absent in Birmingham for far too long.”
Birmingham Post

Once On This Island

James Price 20th August 201923rd August 2019 Featured, Theatre

Storm are delighted to be supplying the lighting equipment to Once On This Island. Currently playing at Southwark Playhouse until the 31st August. The universal tale of Ti Moune, a fearless peasant girl in search of her place in the world, and ready to risk it all for love. Guided by the mighty island gods, Ti Moune sets out on a remarkable journey to reunite with the man who has captured her heart.

Once On This Island is a captivating calypso-flavoured re-telling of the Little Mermaid fairy tale. The story begins on a Caribbean island where villagers comfort a little girl with the legend of the romance of the peasant orphan Ti Moune, and a rich city boy whom she saves from death. The Island Gods have different plans for her story. But, Ti Moune is destined to love too much for the human heart to bear.

The 1990 musical written by Lynn Ahrens (book and lyrics) and Stephen Flaherty (music) recently received a revival on Broadway (which won a Tony Award) directed by Michael Arden. Starring none other than Lea Salonga as Erzulie, Goddess of Love. Now, choreographer and director Lee Proud brings the heartwarming musical to Southwark Playhouse. Presented by the British Theatre Academy in a vibrant and tireless production that introduces an array of emerging talent.

It features a lighting design by Andrew Exeter (ALD, Rock of Ages UK Tour, LD & Set Designer, Bad Girls UK Tour) who comments: ” This show has been a really exciting project to work on. It is a musical with an incredible tropical location and the most beautiful score. In early conversations with Lee we understood that the storytelling should never look the same for more than 5 seconds. This required the ability for a rig to create everything from intimate shadowy moments to songs of bold colours and at times, several thunderstorms. Staging the show in traverse meant that there were further great challenges for me and Simon Wells (Set + Costume). Creating textures and a depth from a relatively thin space.”

The lighting rig mainly featured ROBE fixtures, including BMFL Blades and the new LEDBeam 150’s. Andrew explains: “It was key to have a fixture that had shutters and was able to create an animated textured effect without settling for less output. The BMFL Blade was the only fixture I could have both key features I was looking for without comprimise. The LEDBeam 150’s were ideal as they are a really compact fixture with a huge output. They also have a wide zoom range which was ideal for highlighting small but key moments in the show.”

Andrew concludes: “It has been a great pleasure working with Storm on this production. They have been incredibly supportive throughout the pre-production process, their attention to detail and equipment prep is brilliant. Supplying all the requirements needed for this production and equipment to create a rig that is versatile and bold.”

Director / Choreographer: Lee Proud
Set / Costume: Simon Wells
Lighting Designer: Andrew Exeter
Lighting Programmer: Nick Steer
Photography: Eliza Wilmot

2019: A Space Odyssey

James Price 24th July 201924th July 2019 Events, Featured

Storm were delighted to provide full production services to the Stanley Kubrick gala evening at London’s The Design Museum. The theme was Space and the Stanley Kubrick film, 2001: A Space Odyssey. The event featured all things space themed, including, unique Moon light centre pieces on every table, a space themed menu as well as dinner served under a full moon seen on the Parabola roof.

We provided a full production package including Lighting, Sound, Video & Set for this very unique and special gala evening, celebrating the brilliant works of Stanley Kubrick. The evening marked the offical opening of the Stanley Kubrick Exhibition at The Design Museum.

The Stanley Kubrick exhibition runs until the 15th September. Find out more details about the exhibition and to book tickets, here. It has already been hailed as one of the must-see cultural events of 2019 according to the BBC, Time Out London and the Evening Standard. It celebrates the work of one of the greatest filmmakers of the 20th Century. It’s arrival at The Design Museum marks the 20th anniversary of Kubrick’s death. It brings together around 700 objects, films, movie props, costumes, scripts, interviews, letters and photographs to present an in-depth insight into the unique command Kubrick had over the creative design process of film making – from storyteller to director to editor.

EE & Stormzy Launch 5G in London

James Price 2nd June 20192nd June 2019 Featured, Latest News

Storm were delighted to work with Smyle Creative to provide lighting for EE’s launch of their 5G network with Stormzy. EE lit up London’s iconic River Thames tonight in celebration of the launch of the UK’s first 5G network. The UK’s number one mobile network marked the occasion by hosting a 5G-powered gig with platinum-selling UK artist, Stormzy, set against the stunning backdrop of Tower Bridge.

Fans in attendance and those tuning in online saw history in the making as the Glastonbury 2019 headliner’s performance became the first event of its kind to be live streamed over EE’s new 5G network, which was hosted by Radio DJ, Clara Amfo.

Using 5G and remote production technology, EE broadcast the event on Facebook / Twitter / YouTube to thousands of fans. The Highlights of the 5G-powered audio-visual extravaganza can be seen below.

To accompany the show, a 5G-powered performance was created in collaboration with Stormzy. Celebrating the six cities that EE has connected with 5G. Over 200 state-of-the-art LED fixtures were affixed to the stage. With over 100 beams of light projected 1,000ft in front of the Tower Bridge. The 5G-powered display, which was connected via EE’s 5G network, supported the powerful lyrics and music of Stomzy’s bespoke set.

Fans in each of the other five launch cities were treated to the best seat in the house via a 360-degree VR experience. The experience was available in Stores in Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast, Birmingham and Manchester. Guests attending the in-store events were invited to use VR headsets to watch the performance in 360 degrees from the front row, just metres away from where Stormzy was performing on the floating stage in London.

Stormzy comments, following his one-off gig; “Big up EE, thank you for letting me launch your 5G network in the UK. Tonight was sick, I’m honoured to be part of history.”

Read more about the launch at EE’s news room here

Storm goes for Breakfast at The Cereal Cafe

James Price 20th April 201921st April 2019 Featured, Theatre

We were pleased to be given the opportunity to provide lighting on the new musical, The Cereal Cafe. Working closely with Lighting Designer Michael Fox we supplied a complete lighting package utilising some of the latest Robe and ChromaQ equipment from our expansive inventory. Including the Robe MegaPointe and Robe 150 LED Beam along with ChromaQ ColorForce MKII.

When asked about his choice of fixtures for the show LD Michael Fox says, “The MegaPointe’s were a must have for this show. Their ‘Mega’ output and ability to create sharp parallel beams was a great advantage, particularly for the riot scene. They pack a huge amount of features which makes this fixture invaluable for rigs of any size. There is, in short no other unit available that offers everything the MegaPointe does in one fixture. The 150 Beam’s were another fixture I was keen to use for the production. Their compact size, super bright output and wide zoom range were all reasons why this fixture was perfect for the show.

Part of the set was a concrete block style wall which was full of features that I really wanted to be able to show off. So I specified ChromaQ’s ColorForce MK2’s for the ground row. I knew they would be up to the job and I wasn’t disappointed.”

The show is based on an extraordinary café opening on the vibrant streets of East London. Centred on the childhood dreams of two young brothers, where its presence will result in unimaginable consequences. In a threatened neighbourhood, fighting to survive, something so simple as cereal will divide the community. Inspired by the Cereal Killer Café and the Shoreditch riots of 2015, this musical is based on a remarkable true story.

Michael goes on to say, “I knew when I was approached to design this show that Storm were the rental company to go to. The quality of their equipment, prep and support is second to none. I had complete confidence in their equipment. Combined with Robe and ChromaQ’s excellent record for reliability, it certainly was the perfect match!”

Storm’s Rental Coordinator, James comments: “It certainly was a pleasure to work on this new exciting musical with Michael. His creative lighting design and full use of every fixture in the rig made for some really powerful & special moments. With our continued investment into new equipment, for instance, most recently ChromaQ ColorForce MKII’s and expansion of our Robe stock. It therefore allows us to consistently provide the latest fixtures to meet the needs of Lighting Designers.”