LONDON — Steam locomotives from the Victorian era weren’t designed to run very well in reverse, so railroads would have turntables at the end of the line. One of these old train-turning sheds, now called the Roundhouse, has itself reversed course, serving as a theatrical and music venue since the late 1960s. The Roundhouse was recently filled with a large, curving set and lighting rig for the 2008 BBC Electric Proms, a five-day event co-produced by BBC and Metropolitan Music. LD Bryan Leitch worked with Nick Whitehouse on a changeable multi-layered visual backdrop for a wide variety of performers, including Oasis, Burt Bacharach and The Streets.
Leitch came up with the original design shaped to fit the curved architecture of the building. Whitehouse produced all the technical drawings, and the two worked together to program the show. They used 16 i-Pix BB7 LED wash lights and 20 BB4s from Siyan, the event’s lighting supplier for the third consecutive year.
The BB7s were primarily placed around the top tier of lighting behind the orchestra and choir, facing forwards and used for rear effects lighting. “Their distinctive shape and incredible brightness made them ideal for this application,” said Leitch.
Leitch and Whitehouse were able to add to the variety into the looks by changing the position of the BB7s on the rig. For Robin Gibb’s Saturday Night Fever show, highlighting Disco era glitz, the fixtures were scattered around the stage floor. For Glaswegian band Glasvegas, who opened for Oasis, the BB7s were rigged on stands placed in a straight line directly upstage of the band.
Eighteen of the BB4s were rigged vertically onto the six steel house pillars running parallel around the stage area, pulling the superstructure into the overall design and highlighting their form. The BB4s were used both as effects fixtures and also as crowd blinders.
Leitch lauded the BB4 for its smooth and uniform output, closer in look to a 4-way linear blinder than to a pixellated LED lightsource. “It’s a very good general purpose light and exceptionally versatile,” he said, adding that the vertical or horizontal rigging options were also an appreciated bonus.
Siyan purchased their first BB7s last summer to support the Killers and that tour’s LD, Steven Douglas. Since then the BB7s have been used for other shows. Siyan has also recently added BB4s to their inventory to help light the winter ice rink at Somerset House in central London.
For more information, please visit www.i-pix.uk.com.
