LONDON — Key members of the Batman Live production team joined Tait Towers staff to reveal the details behind the show at a seminar Sept. 12 during this year’s PLASA exhibition in Earls Court, London. Production director Jake Berry and set designer Es Devlin, who sought out Tait Towers for the ambitious live touring production, were joined at the seminar by James “Winky” Fairorth, president of Tait Towers, along with Dana Bartholomew from Fisher Technical Services (FTSI), also part of the Tait Tower’s group.
Tait designed and supplied the visual, scenic and flying effects for the production, with a mix of circus-style stunts, video animation and special effects. The show premiered at Manchester MEN Arena in the UK on July 19, 2011 and is now touring arenas across the globe for the next two years.
Helping to turn set designer Es (Devlin) and executive producer Nick Grace’s ideas into reality, Tait supplied over 20 different technical elements produced specifically for, and integrated into, the set.
The production centered around one main stage, which Tait created with visual impact and ease of assembly in mind.
Matt Hales, project manager at Tait Towers started working on the project in May 2010. He said: “The rolling main stage is comprised of Tait proprietary system which magnetically locates the decks. We set up parts in different sections of the arena floors, which allows the aerial mother grid and stage to be simultaneously worked on. Once the grid has been lifted each stage section can be rolled into place, aligned with total accuracy and assembled very quickly.
“The stage contains some very complex elements including prop lifts, circular lifts, video integration and a pantographic staircase. The staircase, located at the front end of the stage, is a flat surface, which becomes a staircase when lowered, which saves a huge amount of performance space. It’s also spring loaded meaning it can be operated by just one person.”
The main stage incorporates a LED floor, which was developed specifically for the show by the Tait design team and Frederic Opsomer at Tait Technologies in Europe. Made from custom aluminum, all LEDs are embedded into the deck structures – offering significantly better durability and integrity.
“It’s a much higher-capacity system,” said Hales, “which is needed for a production of this scale to cope with elements such as the 800 kilo Batmobile and the high pressures excerpted on the stage by stilt performers and acrobats.”
The track that the Batmobile travels on is integrated into the structure of the stage, with the Batmobile travelling at up to 16 feet per second. This is incredibly fast for a theatre show effect, but it was vital to incorporate this capacity.
Tait also developed a 25-foot Joker mask, which was moved onto the stage from the rear and used by performers for tumbles, climbing and acrobatics. The freestanding structure had to be durable enough to withstand up to 16 or more performers moving around on it at any one time.
“Set designer Es Devlin did the original (normal size) sculpture of the mask which we scanned and turned into a 3D CAD image,” explained Matt Hales. “Each section of the mask was then created using a bespoke aluminum frame, with custom CNC machined foam to within 2mm, providing an exact up-scaled replica. It was then hard coated for durability. It was a huge feat and was effectively a 25ft jungle gym with ladder rungs and in-built performer access points.”
The show incorporated spectacular flying effects, which required a multifaceted mother grid.
Matt said: “The mother grid was incredibly complex as there are a lot of flying elements critical to the show which we needed to control. We integrated all tracking winches for the flying gags and suspended from that was the lighting and PA, along with an integrated catwalk structure to give performers safe, easy access. All lights are on spring-loaded mechanisms that float out of the main truss. The lights fold in and travel within the truss of the catwalk, saving a huge amount of time when loading in and out, as well as saving valuable truck space when moving the set from location to location.”
For more information, please visit www.taittowers.com
