The Sound of Music is Alive with White Light

	The Sound of Music. Photo: Pamela Raith and Bill Kenwright Ltd.

The iconic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music is about to tour the UK in a new production presented by Bill Kenwright Ltd. Opened December 2 at The Broadway Theatre, Peterborough, the show will play at The Lowry, Salford, over Christmas before visiting various UK cities including Birmingham, Sunderland, and Canterbury in the new year. As a lighting supplier to both West End and UK touring theatre, White Light is providing the lighting equipment for the entire tour.

Telling the classic story of the Von Trapp family during WWII Austria, this new production features Lucy O'Byrne from BBC One's The Voice in the lead role of Maria. The show is being lit by Nick Richings, who also worked with White Light on The Rocky Horror Show, which is also currently on a UK tour.

Richings comments: "This is the fifth time I have worked on a production of The Sound of Music. It is such an iconic show and features a vast array of sumptuous settings, such as the Austrian landscape. Due to the large variety of set-pieces utilized throughout, this dictated the lighting style and equipment I used."

In terms of equipment, Richings drew on the Martin Professional MAC Quantum Spot, Robe ROBIN DLS Profile, Martin MAC Aura XB, and the Robe ROBIN 1200 LEDWash. He states: "We tried to use LED technology wherever possible. Not only is it much more energy efficient but significantly reduces fan noise -- something which is vital for the various book-end scenes in the show. As this is a busy touring production, practicality was a priority. It was all about balancing the right amount of equipment with the time it took to set up; something which White Light was extremely accommodating towards."

As well as drawing on its existing stock, White Light worked with Sam Wright, production electrician on the show, in order to make custom RGBW strips. Richings adds: "The strips help to soft light the portals, which are a crucial element of my design. It was fantastic that White Light could work with Sam to create this necessary feature as it really elevated the overall lighting of the piece and helped me achieve my vision."

The Sound of Music marks one of the many touring theatre productions that White Light has worked on this year, having also worked with Bill Kenwright Ltd on the critically-acclaimed The Shawshank Redemption UK tour. The production solution specialist will also be working on more than forty pantomimes across the festive season.

Bryan Raven, White Light's managing director, comments: "Over the past 12 months, we have supported multiple theatrical productions, whether this was the smash-hit Gypsy in the West End, one of the several immersive theatre shows such as Heartbreak Hotel, or regional touring productions such as Dirty Rotten Scoundrels."

"In a year that has seen the company rapidly expand both its staff and resources, we are able to offer theatre shows a greater level of support than ever before. Theatre is where White Light began and a field that is still very close to our hearts."