There’s a strong touring focus in this issue, as we report on the production behind the latest outings by Take That, Evanescence and The Mission. Few live tours warrant quite as substantial coverage as Steve Moles’ report on Take That - but this is a band that knows how to put on a show! For their Wonderland tour the boys perform in-the-round, complete with flying carpets, trips down the rabbit hole and a stage that blooms enormous petals before turning into a magical rotating carousel. Read how it all came together from page 32 of this issue . . .
From Wonderland to Storyhouse, another aptly-named venture. Chester’s new cultural centre brings together library, boutique cinema and theatre in one unique space. A common theme at last year’s Theatres Trust Conference was how theatres could engage with new audiences - Storyhouse tackles that head on. It provides a theatre with a foyer packed full of reading material; a library where you can nip in to see a production between chapters . . . Rob Halliday reports on the multi-million-pound project from page 56.
Also inside, we report from Showlight - the quadrennial lighting conference which this year took place in Florence, Italy. There’s plenty more great content inside too, including Tim Frost’s look at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, Phil Ward’s report on the pro audio systems in use for Brecht’s Life of Galileo at the Young Vic, and a round-up of some of the latest tech on show at the recent ABTT Theatre Show. Plus, on the tech front, JBL’s VTX A12 touring solution is reviewed by Mel Lambert, and Martin’s Rush MH 8 Mini Profile is put to the test by Mike Wood.
Enjoy!
