Storm are delighted to be supplying the lighting equipment to Once On This Island. Currently playing at Southwark Playhouse until the 31st August. The universal tale of Ti Moune, a fearless peasant girl in search of her place in the world, and ready to risk it all for love. Guided by the mighty island gods, Ti Moune sets out on a remarkable journey to reunite with the man who has captured her heart.
Once On This Island is a captivating calypso-flavoured re-telling of the Little Mermaid fairy tale. The story begins on a Caribbean island where villagers comfort a little girl with the legend of the romance of the peasant orphan Ti Moune, and a rich city boy whom she saves from death. The Island Gods have different plans for her story. But, Ti Moune is destined to love too much for the human heart to bear.
The 1990 musical written by Lynn Ahrens (book and lyrics) and Stephen Flaherty (music) recently received a revival on Broadway (which won a Tony Award) directed by Michael Arden. Starring none other than Lea Salonga as Erzulie, Goddess of Love. Now, choreographer and director Lee Proud brings the heartwarming musical to Southwark Playhouse. Presented by the British Theatre Academy in a vibrant and tireless production that introduces an array of emerging talent.
It features a lighting design by Andrew Exeter (ALD, Rock of Ages UK Tour, LD & Set Designer, Bad Girls UK Tour) who comments: “This show has been a really exciting project to work on. It is a musical with an incredible tropical location and the most beautiful score. In early conversations with Lee we understood that the storytelling should never look the same for more than 5 seconds. This required the ability for a rig to create everything from intimate shadowy moments to songs of bold colours and at times, several thunderstorms. Staging the show in traverse meant that there were further great challenges for me and Simon Wells (Set + Costume). Creating textures and a depth from a relatively thin space.”
The lighting rig mainly featured ROBE fixtures, including BMFL Blades and the new LEDBeam 150‘s. Andrew explains: “It was key to have a fixture that had shutters and was able to create an animated textured effect without settling for less output. The BMFL Blade was the only fixture I could have both key features I was looking for without comprimise. The LEDBeam 150’s were ideal as they are a really compact fixture with a huge output. They also have a wide zoom range which was ideal for highlighting small but key moments in the show.”
Andrew concludes: “It has been a great pleasure working with Storm on this production of Once On This Island. They have been incredibly supportive throughout the pre-production process, their attention to detail and equipment prep is brilliant. Supplying all the requirements needed for this production and equipment to create a rig that is versatile and bold.”
Director / Choreographer: Lee Proud
Set / Costume: Simon Wells
Lighting Designer: Andrew Exeter
Lighting Programmer: Nick Steer
Photography: Eliza Wilmot