Project managed for HSL by Lee Farrell, this year's clutch of productions saw HSL working with a host of talented theatre lighting designers, including Nick Richings, Ben Cracknell, Matt Clutterham and others.
Some intense logistics included dispatching 23 trucks from HSL containing approximately 1013 moving lights, 838 generics, 74 standard strobes and over a thousand egg strobes fitted into festoon.
This year HSL purchased 1051 new moving light gobos and 234 new generic gobos to supplement the already massive Qdos gobo stock managed by the company. Over all the 21 shows, HSL fitted in excess of 2000 gobos into moving lights and dispatched over 800 generic gobos both for their own stock and for venue in house fixtures.
In addition to the lights, HSL provided 704 lengths of Socapex cable, 2223 lengths of TRS, 3010 data cables and 704 x 15A to 16A adaptors. With a large number of motors, trussing and rigging equipment, 615 derig arms were provided, together with 117 assorted scaffolding bars ... plus a load more kit ... to the 21 destinations the length and breadth of the country.
The various productions played between three-eight weeks each. The largest ones included Cinderella at the 3,000 seater Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow starring John Barrowman with The Krankies and lighting designed by Nick Richings; and the colourful and beautifully detailed Aladdin at Edinburgh Kings Theatre, with lighting designed by Ben Cracknell. Other notables included Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs at the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford, starring Billy Pearce and Joe McElderry in another show-stopper with lighting designed by Matt Clutterham.
Cinderalla at the Clyde Auditorium was the largest in terms of production on the Qdos list this year. HSL supplied a full trussing and rigging system and the first task saw the rigging crew led by Paddy Neilly install a substantial mother grid flown off the building's structural steelwork, and a Kinesys automation system which was used to fly all the scenic pieces, Foyes personnel-flying track and a plethora of cloths.
The riggers and the Qdos LX crew then installed five LX trusses, two pros trusses, an advance truss and six ladders - three in each wing, all of which provided lighting positions.
The mother grid was constructed from 52cm heavy duty Tomcat trussing, measured 12 metres wide by 11 deep and was designed by Paddy and HSL's Rupert Reynolds. It was all about maximizing height, and in the 25 metre high space to the building's roof they were able to gain 19 metres of travel for the Kinesys elements.
Around 200 lighting fixtures were supplied to fulfil Nick Richings' vibrant design, and as is the oeuvre of panto lighting, everything is colourful, near-psychedelic, slightly off-the-wall and extremely pacey! Great for the imagination to run riot!
The side-ladders were rigged with 22 x Martin MAC 700 Profile moving lights, there were six MAC 3s on the front of the circle and nine MAC 2K Washes, two each on the left and right pros / side trusses and the rest on the advanced truss.
Twelve Robe Pointes were divided into four on each pros truss and four on the advance bar, and these were used for various bits of eye-candy and doubled as audience illumination.
Fifty miles eastwards on the flying carpet in Edinburgh, the Kings Theatre was the venue for their annual Qdos production in the city, which this year was a sumptuous full Technicolor version of Aladdin starring panto legends Allan Stewart, Andy Gray and Grant Stott.
Lighting was designed by the prolific Ben Cracknell, bringing a flourish of the colour and vibe of the orient to the wintry Scottish days.
Ben's own production LX Nick Mumf
