More details from ADLIB (http://www.adlibsolutions.co.uk):
LIVERPOOL, UK – Liverpool-based ADLIB finished out the year supplying lighting, sound equipment and crew to the final leg of comedian Russell Howard’s “Right Here Right Now” UK arena tour.
ADLIB first worked with the high profile funny man in 2008, and have followed his career trajectory encompassing a steadily increasing amount of live work in increasingly larger venues.
ADLIB’s award-winning LD Ian Tomlinson designed the tour’s lighting, operated on the road by Andy Rowe and working with technicians Chris Neary, Shaun Moore and Mike Summerfield. FOH sound was engineered by James Neale, with the redoubtable Marc Peers on monitors, who was also crew chief, working alongside ADLIB’s systems tech Kenny Perrin and George Puttock.
Tomlinson’s original design was such a success on the previous leg of the tour that Howard’s production asked for an exact repeat.
With just Howard and a single chair onstage, the challenge was on to make it an intimate and friendly environment for the delivery of a comedy show in a series of large venues.
Tomlinson created a basic architectural structure to shape the performance space with four 30 ft high by 2 meter diameter scenic columns made from white sharkstooth gauze. Inside these hung four 30 ft high by 1m wide drapes made from Polyester canvas, printed with ‘Russell’, ‘Howard’, ‘Right Here’ and ‘Right Now’ and lit from top and bottom. (Made & printed by Halifax based J & C Joel).
Five trusses were flown in the roof, three for lighting and two for drapes and soft goods, with the two offstage columns hung from the mid truss and the two onstage ones flown off the back lighting truss.
Behind these were two 20 x 30 ft black drapes each side, with a central gap, and upstage of these, the ‘final’ rear truss, complete with a full black drape to create an entry/exit point onto stage.
On the front truss were eight Martin Professional MAC 700 Wash moving lights for general stage washes, together with a dozen 2-lite Moles for audience illumination and interactive moments.
On the mid lighting truss were six MAC 301 LED wash lights clustered around the two outer columns positioned toward the end of the trusses. All four columns were also internally lit by a MAC 301 mounted inside at the top and bottom, the small dimensions of the fixtures making them perfect for the task. Also on the mid truss were three MAC 700 Profiles, used for beamwork and backlighting the upstage area.
On the third most upstage lighting truss were another six MAC 301s lighting the two columns flown from that truss, together with six MAC 700 Profiles, used for big back-lighting looks and high-impact beam work.
On the floor just in front of the drapes was a set of 9 Sunstrips. Combined with an additional Sunstrip either side of the entrance way, these helped make a razzamatazz entrance with Howard appearing in silhouette.
Two follow spots were used to highlight Howard and contrast him against the subtly changing set colors and textures of the clean, contemporary backdrop that morphed slowly as the performance unfolded.
Atmospherically, this really captured the spirit of the show, and made a hand-picked selection of well positioned and intelligently used fixtures go a long way.
ADLIB account handler Phil Kielty said, “We’ve been following Russell’s live career for many years and it’s been amazing watching it develop. We’re all genuine fans here and we keep the same team in place so Russell feels at home on the road. He’s a down to earth and loyal guy and it is a real privilege to work on his tour alongside James Taylor and all the Avalon team.”
