LONDON – HSL supplied lighting equipment and crew for Alexandra Burke's UK tour for Production North, All Night Long. It was Burke's first solo headline tour, and Phil Wiffin provided the lighting design, working with Helena Spencer's video content, Sisco Gomez' choreography and Burke's energetic performance. Dominic Crookes was out on the road operating the show, working with HSL tech Jason Dixon. Crooks and Wiffin programmed the show during one production day ahead of the first gig at Rhyl Pavilion in Wales.
The set featured a wide set of steps at center stage with a walkway at the back and two sets of side stairs feeding off left and right.
Up above, the lighting rig was based on three trusses. Wiffin kept to a minimal approach, which helped the show look raw and spare one minute and large and dynamic the next, with careful positioning and intelligent programming.
On the front truss were two Vari*Lite VL3000 Spots and eight Robe ColorWash 2500E ATs.
The mid truss had eight GLP Impression Zoom LED washes and a kabuki drop, which came down at the top of the set, half way through the intro.
On the back truss were nine VL3000s and 10 more GLP Impression Zooms. Hanging on wires from it were five panels of Pixled F15 LED screen supplied by XL Video, and rigged on drop pipes positioned so they were in between the video panels were four Robe ROBIN 300 Beams.
On the floor, there were another six Robe ColorWash 2500E AT – two downstage left and two downstage right on each side, plus two more in the upstage corners. They were joined by four ROBIN 300 Beams downstage and upstage left and right.
Four petal-shaped i-Pix BB7s were positioned on clamp points on the set handrails, pointing directly forward and helping to add visual depth of the performance space.
Twelve vertical Sunstrips were distributed evenly between front and back trusses and the floor. These were used for subtle "creeping" chase effects and also as blinders.
Wiffin strived to ensure that all numbers in the set looked different, with something new popping up in every song. The set ranged from ballads with subtle key lighting and a starcloth to full-on dance numbers with beamy lighting to grungy urban looks with edgy and sparse illumination, plus a Destiny's Child medley mid way through.
"It was a great tour to work on, lots of nice friendly people, sold out shows and an excellent vibe. The tech support from HSL has been brilliant as always," said Crookes.
The technical stage manager was James Kelly and production coordinator Jill Aram.
For more information, please visit www.hslgroup.com.
