UK - Stage One played its part in the lavish hour-long ceremony to name the latest ship to join the Cunard fleet - the Queen Victoria. The ceremony took place on the dockside at Southampton with the ship itself forming a stunning backdrop to the proceedings.

The company was asked by Robbie Williams Productions to carry out the scenic internal fit-out of a purpose-built temporary structure and was one of several key suppliers tasked with turning the space into a themed Victorian theatre fit for royalty, in this case: Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall.

Steve Dolan, account director, Stage One, said, "This project threw up several challenges, one of which was manufacturing timber to realistically resemble Victorian cast iron. Our art department and CNC workshop worked extremely hard to achieve exceptionally effective results."

Stage One's involvement included the construction of two raised VIP areas with intricate handrail fretwork; building specially shaped staging units to the front of the stage; double cladding the stage followed by a black gloss dance floor finish; providing treads and cladding to the front of the main seating block and mahoganyfinishes around the trims.

Inside the structure, drapes provided by Blackout formed the 'walls' of the theatre, through which Stage One built four entry portals - two into the auditorium and two into the VIP areas.

(Jim Evans)


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