New to the West End, Shrek The Musical brings the hugely loved characters of Donkey, Princess Fiona, the evil Lord Farquaad and Shrek himself to life, in a spectacular new London production based on the story and characters from the Oscar-winning DreamWorks films. An all-singing, all-dancing, fairy story brought to the stage, Shrek The Musical reveals to the audience, whatever their age, an irresistible melting pot of a magic, mystical world where dragons meet talking gingerbread men amidst the land of three little pigs and the big bad wolf.
Contracted by highly renowned West End Production Manager Richard Bullimore and Playful Productions, Creative Technology (CT) is delighted to have been chosen to provide full video solutions for the musical adaptation of the hit DreamWorks animated film.
CT’s Barco 20K FLM R20 projector is located on the front of the Circle and positioned side on to ensure the audience’s view is not restricted. With the beam deflected 90° via a mirror, the images are projected onto various stage elements providing life and texture to the set components and props. A 13m2 10mm LED screen, also provided by CT, is flown upstage to add to the visual elements of the show representing the passage of the sun and the moon, an integral part of Shrek and Princess Fiona’s story.
The entire video system is based around a pair of CT’s Hippotizer HDs and ultimately controlled from the show’s lighting desk.
Working with Creative Partner Laura Frank of LuminousFX who worked on the Broadway version of Shrek and Media Associate Duncan McLean, the images projected provided scenic support enhancing the stage sets and lighting. Contributing to the atmosphere of the different scenes, whether in the bog-ridden marshes of Shrek’s home or at the fire breathing dragon’s castle where Princess Fiona is held captive, the images are instrumental in enriching the scenes played out before the audience.
The West End of London is no stranger to CT’s Business Development Director Scott Burges. CT has been involved in many productions in recent years, with hit shows such as Wicked, Cameron Macintosh’s Betty Blue Eyes, Mathew Bourne’s Cinderella and Avenue Q being just a few that have benefited from CT’s experience and expertise.
Very satisfied with the Company’s involvement in Shrek, Scott comments: “It’s gone really smoothly and exceptionally well to plan. Building on the experience from the various theatre productions that CT has been involved with over the years has enabled us to feel quite at home here in the Theatre Royal.”
Chris Higgins, CT’s Project Engineer has also been involved from the start. “The kit went in in March and has been maintained and managed by us since then. As Shrek is expected to become a long-running production, reliability is at the forefront of our minds, but we’re very happy with how our equipment is performing here.”
An adaptation of the story of the first film in the Shrek series, the London production of Shrek The Musical previews until June 14th when the show is formally launched. A romantic story of good overcoming evil mixed with laughter and adventure, Shrek can be seen at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Further information about the show can be found at www.shrekthemusical.co.uk.
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