Lighting Designer, Andy Webb specified Robe moving lights for two high-profile pantomime shows in the United Kingdom, The Further Adventures of Peter Pan staged at the Waterside Theatre in Aylesbury and Sleeping Beauty at the Festival Theatre in Malvern – two of 11 pantos presented this season by UK Productions.
In Aylesbury, the infrastructure needed to make this happen meant a few production compromises, and the lighting department lost several ‘standard’ positions in this 1,200-capacity venue due to the installation of the flying systems, a fact that informed Webb’s general approach to lighting the show.
A large track from theatrical flying specialists Flying by Foy traversed from stage left to the upper circle enabling actors and props to fly out above the audience in a series of thrilling scenes that had everyone on their feet, gasping with wonder, while Webb was challenged to find new lighting positions to compensate for those that were now unavailable.
Another task was to conceal as many flying wires as possible, amplify the impact of those seat-edge moments, and deal with the additional flying onstage, all of which reduced the already squeezed tight tech time and resulted in some intense overnight programming sessions for lighting which Andy and his team took in their stride. “Every challenge is also something else that drives us to deliver a great show,” he elucidated.
“Panto will often be the first theatrical experience for so many kids, so our job includes making it all as magical and mysterious as possible, so they really do believe it’s happening,” he noted.
For his spot-wash fixture ‘backbone’, Webb chose Robe ESPRITES and Spiiders, with 11 and 18 fixtures respectively, to which he added 10 MegaPointes and six ParFect 150s all supplied by rental specialist, CEG, together with the lighting kit for Malvern and two other UKP productions.
With the two main overhead lighting bridges lost to the audience flying track, Webb compensated by utilising the pros arch drop-down bars and the side ladders more, with 14 fixtures rigged each side. “I really appreciated the power of the Spiiders and ESPRITES here” he commented.
When combined with additional moving lights positioned on the front-of-circle bar, moving lights came into the stage from all angles so everything was fully flexible. The ParFect 150s were also positioned in these high side angled positions, great for lighting the forestage and cross-stage activities. He also specified 16 LEDBeam 150s, which were scattered around at all levels and all angles, their small size perfect for filling any gaps.
ESPRITES on the side ladders zoomed out, with a variety of gobos added and an animation wheel dropped in which made up the “perfect” cover for flying elements as actors zipped above the audience – both highlighting them and simultaneously concealing with wires. Webb also mimicked the automated flying speed and movement with the lights.
Webb cited Spiiders and ESPRITES as the “workhorse” fixtures of the show. Colour is hugely important in lighting Panto as the different worlds of the show are usually fantastical, offering designers the chance go wild when getting imaginative. Webb was “grateful” to have all the power and versatility of the Spiider at his disposal, known for its colours and colour-mixing properties. “Spiiders enabled me to add layers of depth and bring a huge visual warmth and sense of vividness to the different pictures,” he remarked.
ESPRITES were selected for key lighting and specials, while MegaPointes, positioned onstage, produced bright shafts of light, with additional prism effects concealing the auditorium flying wires. “There is nothing to beat a Robe MegaPointe in a magical situation,” quipped Webb.
In addition to 51 Robe lights, Webb used a sprinkling of generic fixtures and plenty of special effects including low fog. Programming – completed by Josh Gallagher – had to be accurate due to the tight timing and address all the challenges of lighting a panto with flying elements. Gallagher also operated the show for the five-week run of performances, a role he’s taken on at Aylesbury for the past 3 years.
Lighting for Sleeping Beauty at the Malvern venue saw Webb opt for a more old-school aesthetic, and with all the flying contained onstage, it was more about creating the right dynamics and narrative treatments with the lighting, for which he used Robe DL4S Spots, ParFect 150s, ParFect 100s and Spiiders, along with other moving lights and a collection of generics.
Both shows have a full narrative arc that incorporates lightness, brightness and good contrasted to the gloom, doom and darkness of the sinister characters. Webb utilised plenty of green and purple looks for her scenes to underline Carabosse’s personality.
“I took a much more musical theatre approach with this show,” he stated. “Having these Robe lights in the rig also gave me an edge, and increased the scope of what I could properly achieve with lighting.”
He programmed the Malvern show using an Avolites Tiger Touch II console which he found “extremely quick.” Both shows had over 300 lighting cues. Webb noted how familiarity with the fixtures – and the console – was a huge advantage in maximising the available tech and programming time. On the Tiger Touch II, utilising features like the Shape Generator and being able to set up very user-friendly theatre-style Cue Lists was another benefit.
His LX1 at Malvern was ex-NRG student Ben Oakey, who had worked with him and the Robe team at the 2024 TPi Awards. The sets for both productions were designed and produced by the UK Productions in-house creative team, with The Further Adventures of Peter Pan directed by Chris Nelson and Sleeping Beauty by Paul Boyd.
