Large format projection specialists E\T\C supplied two PIGI projectors with double scrollers to the spectacular festive Peter Pan – A Musical Adventure production, staged at the Royal Festival Hall in December and January. Peter Pan was a collaboration between the venue, production and design specialists Imagination and promoters Raymond Gubbay.
Projection design was by Chris Slingsby of Imagination. He joined a formidable creative team including Ian Talbot (director), Will Bowen (set), Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen (costumes), Durham Marenghi (LD) and John Del Niro (sound design).
Projection ran for the whole show, overlaying the top and sides of the impressive scenic false proscenium arch, covered in grey gauze, that was specially installed for the production by Unusual Rigging. This transformed the Royal Festival Hall from a concert hall into a more ‘traditional’ style theatrical venue for the duration.
For Peter Pan’s first scene, a full front cloth was flown in front of the whole stage, and the projection also worked right across that surface.
All projection material was researched and created at Imagination before being sent to E\T\C for processing into scrolling artwork. The projection films were made in black and white, and were based stylistically on the engraved illustrations found in Victorian children’s books, some were referenced to original pictures, others specially created for the piece.
The projection artwork brought the show alive with a wide variety of magical and intriguing subject matter including jungles, trees, crocodiles, ships, skulls and crossbones, etc.. It acted as a powerful in motion location changer and a journey and time passage indicator as dictated by the stage action. Colour was added to the monochrome images via the lighting, the two visual mediums merging to imbibe the stage with a rich and textured layering. | Click on the pictures for the large version |
