The facility has enabled Belinda King Productions to rehearse the shows working with all the relevant scenery from the start, a crucial part of the process considering most of the show's scene changes are either automated or executed by the performers themselves. With limited rehearsal time once on board, it seemed logical to get the productions as close to the finished article as possible prior to embarkation. The rehearsal space at Stage Electrics has given both companies an opportunity to iron out the show's potential technical hitches ensuring that they hit the stage dancing and singing with little necessity for re-blocking of scenes to accommodate scene changes.
Stage Electrics has not only provided lighting design, rehearsal space and set building services for this project, but has also been instrumental in the recruitment of technical staff for the ship's theatre, as well as providing production and technical management for the pre-production and fit-up periods on shore.
The contract was the result of a past affiliation between Nick Ewins of Stage Electrics and Martin Lilly, now producer for Cunard. Lilly had worked with Ewins on refits for previous ships and also on projects with David Whitehead, MD of Stage Electrics and a lighting designer in his own right. Lilly also knew of Belinda King Productions and had recently worked alongside them in Portugal. When he became director of entertainment for Cunard he felt it would be advantageous to put the two companies together. Between them they came up with the concept of offering a one-stop facility providing a full production package, thus giving Cunard a single point of contact for all its production needs.
The cast leaves to join the ship in France on 20 November 2003, with on-stage rehearsals starting on 1 December 2203. The Queen Mary 2 is the biggest liner ever built and the shows are the first to go into its new purpose-built theatre, making this something of an historic event. The ship cost around $880m to build, and with first class cabins priced at somewhere in the region of $40,000 for a 10-day cruise, passenger expectations will certainly be high.
The three shows are crisp, well produced musical reviews each taking on an individual genre as its theme. The shows are of an LA musical extravaganza style, utilizing effects such as mirror balls, chandeliers, moon boxes and incredibly glamorous and ornate retro style sets. L&SI will look forward to following the productions onto the ship in December and will report on the transposition from shore to ship in early 2004.
