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

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.”

Book and Lyrics by: JACOB DORRELL & TOM LING
Music By: ADAM DICKINSON

Storm are pleased to have provided the lighting control system for Guildford School of Acting’s production of Cats. The production was performed at Guildford’s Yvonne Arnaud Theatre. The show was driven by one of Storm’s grandMA2 Light consoles giving true flexibility and control for the shows lighting rig. Lighting was designed by James Smith, Programmed by 3rd Year student Michael Fox and 2nd Year Chris Pearson with 3rd Year student Piers Illing as the show’s Production Electrician.

Storm’s Hire Coordinator, James says “Having a great relationship with GSA gives us great opportunities to work with the lighting students across a number of the school’s productions throughout the year. The 3rd Year / BA Musical Theatre production at the Yvonne Arnaud is a significant date in GSA’s calendar when students are given the opportunity to work on a large scale production outside of the school’s performance spaces.”

Storm is constantly investing in the latest technology from leading manufacturers including MA Lighting, Robe, ETC and Avolites to service the Theatre, Corporate, Music, Film & TV and Dry Hire Rental markets. Recent notable investment includes new fixtures from Robe and both consoles and fixtures from ETC.

James adds “We always want to be able to give students access to the latest technology to help develop both skills and knowledge to prepare them to enter the entertainment industry. Our continued investment in new equipment and technology really gives us the ability as a company to invest in the production students at GSA. It has been great working with the students on Cats, and seeing the results of the hard work and determination by the production team on Cats, has been really exciting. We’re looking forward to working with Piers, Chris and Michael going forward into their next productions.”

A fantastical tribe of feline friends gather for a night of midsummer madness featuring Andrew Lloyd Webber’s most memorable score.

Since its first London production in 1981 Cats has conquered the world, delighting audiences in more than 300 cities in 20 languages. It won Seven Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, two Grammy Awards, three Drama Desk Awards and ran for 21 years in the West End before triumphantly returning in 2014.

Featuring Gillian Lynne’s remarkable original choreography, GSA’s graduating musical theatre students performed this magical hit to full houses every performance giving audiences a memory to treasure forever!

Eugenius! – the most hotly anticipated new musical you’ve never seen has kicked off a strictly limited run at The Other Palace in Victoria, London, and you really have to be there to catch it.

There’s been plenty of underground word-of-mouth, and one off ‘concert’ performance – a sold-out, queues-round-the-block, one-nighter at the London Palladium. The show was lit by Andrew Ellis with Storm supplying the lighting equipment.

Written by Ben Adams and Chris Wilkins, this new coming-of-age musical follows sci-fi and fantasy enthusiast Eugene as he tries to create his own comic book movie. Eugene draws comic book stories in between being bullied at school and coping with a disappointing family life.

Eugene is a geek who spends his time creating a comic strip for an original superhero, Tough Man – catchphrase, “He’s tough but fair/And he has perfect hair!”. This muscle-bound prodigy travels through the universe with his sidekick, Super Hot Lady, but there is one chink in his armour.

His powers are weakened if he touches a woman.However after winning a competition, he leaves all that behind and soon finds himself in Hollywood writing a movie based on his ‘Tough Man’ and ‘Super Hot Lady’ characters.

Little does he know, his comic book villain actually exists and Evil Lord Hector turns up on set ready to kill Tough Man. Will Eugene be able to step into his hero’s shoes and save the world?

Thankfully Eugene manages to overcome his fears and reclaim his story, discovering the true origins of his beloved Tough Man along the way. Superbly enhanced by Andrew’s creative lighting design, which featured both bright & bold colours of Hollywood, some truly special moments between Eugene and Janey and to ensuring Ferris wasn’t forgotten about throughout the show which was beautifully lit. It really made the show a joy to watch and made sure you were engaged at all times.

Storm’s Hire Coordinator James comments: “We were really pleased to supply the lighting equipment for this brilliant show. It was great to work with Andrew to ensure we provided everything he needed to be able to do the brilliant work on the production. We aim to build a close relationship with lighting designers and be able to support them with any productions or projects they have and to ensure they receive the high quality service Storm is able to offer.”

#GoEugenius