MAC Flexibility on Royal Variety Performance 2008

A host of celebrities and artists from the worlds of music, comedy and theatre came together for Britain’s annual Royal Variety Performance. Lit by a flexible Martin MAC rig that included the new MAC III Profile™, the show returned to the iconic London Palladium and was performed in the presence of Their Royal Highnesses, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall.

Variety means flexibility
The Royal Variety Performance is of course a ‘variety’ show, and Bernie Davis, the Lighting Director for the show, describes the concept behind the lighting, “The key thing is flexibility. All the programming is done over three days on site, and we have to be ready for any plans to change. The only way to achieve the range of looks is to use moving lights.”

The decision of which lights to use was partly influenced by the venue. Bernie explained, “We took over the Palladium during the run of “The Sound of Music” (SOM) and inherited their lighting rig. Fortunately for us, Mark Henderson, the SOM Lighting Designer, had used a good healthy rig of moving lights. We then topped this up to suit our design and our event. Mark had used Martin MAC TW1s™, MAC 700 Profiles™ and MAC 700 Washes™ - all very good choices - and to match in with the rig we used more of the same.”

MAC III Profile™
Bernie talked about the new lights, “I was able to try out the new MAC III Profiles™ - four of these were used as floor lights. The beam work on the MAC III’s is excellent, and they proved themselves during the show, especially for Take That’s performance which needed good strong beams. The MAC III’s were excellent: they are phenomenally bright - it looks like a 3Kw on the stage instead of 1500w!”

The MAC III Profile is a profile luminaire with an output of over 33,000 lumens and a unique fat beam look that adds a welcome, new dimension to shows. It features an all new design and list of innovative features that includes advances in control, handling, service and more.

“I don't think we had a single failure in the show”, Bernie continued, “which must be against the odds for such a large rig! We had floor lanterns - TW1s, MAC 700 Profiles and MAC IIIs all being set and struck throughout the show during the backstage rush, and all survived even that treatment.”

A perfect fit
As much of the SOM set had to stay, there was little space to add anything else, but Bernie managed to squeeze in a downstage truss and a midstage truss, taking eleven MAC 700 Profiles and nine MAC 700 Washes in total. Designer Simon Kimmel came up with a solid surround set that blocked off all the SOM wings, but then offered slots for side light booms and a rail at the top of the set. Bernie fitted a TW1, a MAC 700 Profile and a MAC 700 Wash into each of the six boom positions, and then dressed the top of the set with nineteen MAC 300s™.

Six more TW1s on the floor helped with face lighting and six more MAC 700s were used for floor beams when needed. Moving light control was by Nigel Catmur; generic lighting by Oliver Lifely; and media server control by Ross Williams. The main contractors were ELP, with crew chief Paul Tibbles. Bernie interjected, “I should also mention the excellent Palladium lighting crew headed up by David Draude.”

Bernie Davis’s experience in television is extensive and the Royal Variety is no exception. He adds, “This was my eighth Royal Variety, which I think is a record. And they don't get any easier. People have a higher expectation of the lighting than ever, and you can no longer settle on a simple look for an act. It takes a lot of planning, a good crew, and good equipment to make it all come together - especially in the reduced schedules that we now have.”

Celebrating its 80th anniversary, headlining 2008’s show were Take That, alongside artists such as Pussycat Dolls, Duffy and Leona Lewis. Recorded on December 11th, the show was transmitted on BBC1 on December 17th.

Equipment:
36 x Martin MAC 700 Profile™
37 x Martin MAC 700 Wash™
45 x Martin MAC TW1™
19 x Martin MAC 300™
4 x Martin MAC III Profile™
5 x Martin LC Series™