Woodchester Mansion is an enchanting, unfinished Gothic revival mansion house that was created by William Leigh, abandoned by its builders in 1870 and never completed. It is also one of the most haunted houses in the UK - allegedly.
The house provided an atmospheric site specific location for the show created by youth theatre group Dramarama, based on stories and folklore from the Mansion. It was a promenade performance taking place in 13 different locations on three levels around the rambling shell, including the chapel, the cellar and numerous galleries and unfinished rooms.
Tigz was asked to provide lighting and all necessary technical support - including power and distribution.
Lighting was an essential component of the performance, almost taking an acting role as the dramas unfolded. With all the production's requirements and services having to run off one 150 KVA generator, LED lighting was an obvious choice for its expedient power consumption.
Webb also wanted to highlight Woodchester's stunning architecture, including the moody vaulted ceilings, long corridors, interconnecting galleries and staircases, arches, all steeped in the slightly spooky, ecclesiastical charisma of the house - left with a myriad of floors, rooms and spaces missing.
The mix of ArcLine 36s and 12s were ensconced in a plethora of nooks, crannies, corners, stairwells, window sills and Victorian 'builders gaps' left to let history take its course. They were used to up, down and cross light various areas around the house. "ArcLine was an extremely versatile option" says Webb, whose design accentuated the quirky geometry, fabulous lines and natural aura of each individual space.
For the two main performance spaces on the ground floor the Tigz crew rigged two sets of Zenith wind up towers, each with a minibeam truss to provide additional high level lighting positions. The dining room featured four Robe ColorWash 750 AT Tungstens. "I needed an absolutely super-silent rig in this room," explains Webb, "As many of the actors were very young, so it was essential their voices could be clearly heard."
The building's exterior was lit with combination of blue MBI fixtures, overlaid with gobos from four Robe ColorSpot 700E ATs housed in weather domes.
(Jim Evans)
