The Festival uses about 20 unusual performance venues in and around Avignon, including cloisters, churches, an old stone quarry and school halls. However, the most prestigious performances of the Festival are staged in the Honor Courtyard of the Palace of the Popes and it was here that éric Lacascade directed Maxim Gorki's The Barbarians.
The Palace of the Popes was completed in 1355. Providing lighting in this ancient monument is difficult, so lighting director Philippe Berthomé was delighted to find that ETC's automated luminaire, the Source Four Revolution, was exactly the right size to allow pairs of them to be fixed on dollies inside the centre mediaeval windows high up on the courtyard wall. Given the constraints of being in a palace - preventing traditional spotlights from being deployed - the Source Four Revolution opened up a realm of possibilities. Not only is it a tungsten light source, but it can refocus the light remotely, allowing it to replace two conventionals - saving valuable rigging time.
By positioning the Revolutions inside the windows of the courtyard wall, Berthomé enabled the wall to be left clear of all equipment, except when it was being used for the show. It also meant that the equipment could be worked on from inside the building. Both the conventional and the Source Four Revolution moving lights were controlled by an ETC Congo control console, which the Festival purchased specifically for the 2006 season.
Berthomé says: "The motorised Source Four Revolution was the ideal solution, bearing in mind the constraints imposed by the courtyard and the need for a perfect mix with the traditional lights on the site. They provided great versatility and superb light quality over long throws, providing three-quarter lighting correction on the actors. We made a lot of use out of them, because they were so highly effective!
"The Congo lived up to my expectations and more importantly to those of the directors: it provides excellent performance for what is a traditional theatrical production but one that uses automation. Great precision!"
(Chris Henry)
