UK - The National Theatre’s acclaimed production of War Horse takes audiences on an extraordinary journey from the fields of rural Devon to the trenches of World War One France. Filled with stirring music and songs, it has become renowned for its astonishing use of life-sized horses by South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company, who help bring this story to life on stage.
Having first been performed in 2007, the show is returning once again for an all-new UK and Ireland tour, featuring a lighting design by Rob Casey. Given the company’s long-term involvement with the show, White Light (WL), a d&b solutions company, was called upon to supply the touring lighting rig.
The original production of War Horse was lit by Paule Constable, who would also light subsequent touring productions. For these, Casey initially served as one of her associate lighting designers but is now taking full creative reins for this latest tour. He explains: “Paule was extremely encouraging and said I was welcome to lean into her existing visuals. That said, given how I knew the show and the rig in particular would have to adapt now it was going on tour, I decided to start again with a completely fresh perspective.
“As this is a touring show, logistically, we had to trim down the lighting rig from what it previously was. As we would be moving to venues across the country and requiring a quick fit up in all of them, we had to think practically about what we could physically take with us”.
Alongside the practical logistics of his lighting rig, Casey also had to consider the artistic brief he needed to achieve. He comments: “Tom Morris, the director, wanted the lighting to have the ability to close space down and then quickly open up again. Rae Smith’s set design is beautifully minimalist, mainly consisting of one projection screen so the lighting had a big role to play.
“Also, this projection screen is essentially on a big curve and historically, the lighting positions were on a similar curvature. Of course, this simply isn’t possible for the tour as we knew that, in most venues, we could only use straight bars that ran parallel to the stage and also hung off house counterweights”.
Knowing the specifics of his design, Casey worked closely with the show’s production electrician to compile a list of appropriate fixtures, before taking this to the Hire Department at WL.
He states: “The rig mainly consists of three components: the Martin MAC Ones, the Martin MAC Aura XIPs as well as the Macular Followspot System. In previous versions of the show, there were several Par Can units that were very much ‘in-view’ and became part of the show’s aesthetic. This look is continued with the MAC Ones, though I am trying to offer a newer, fresher version of the in-view picture of the world of the show. The MAC Ones don’t necessarily look too ‘digital’ and thus contrast with the time period the show is set in, but they are definitely more powerful, state-of-the-art units which deliver the looks I need.”
He continues: “The XIPs are the workhorse of the rig and provide the lion’s share of the coverage. Given their output, these were included instead of lots of washes and profiles which were previously used – again as a result of streamlining and ensuring we could easily fit up in every venue.
“The Macular System was a design choice as we wanted to have all 40 MAC Ones follow the puppetry horses when they’re on stage. This was the only system which meant we could do just that using only one operator, and which had the ability to do so whilst being completely brand-agnostic”.
WL’s hire business development manager Stuart Porter comments: “It was great to be able to work with Rob and his team and continue our long-standing relationship with War Horse. With a hire like this, it was all about ensuring we supply the exact fixtures that could help streamline his rig and make it suitable for touring – something we’re proud to say we were able to do.”
