UK - While British rockers Iron Maiden's days of being almost constantly on the road may be over, that doesn't mean the band is in any way scaling down the spectacular nature of its live shows. Much of the show's theatrical elements come from the set, designed since 1984's Powerslave tour by scenic specialist Hangman. With Maiden playing venues from 3,000-seat theatres up to vast outdoor arenas, the sets have to be both visually stunning and versatile. This year's Dance of Death tour is no exception, with Hangman's Alan Chesters bringing LiteStructures in to work on several elements of the set. Forming part of the main stage set, twin 'Grim Reaper' towers are custom-built, framing the main backdrop, which changes regularly.

"The backdrops are different for every tour," says Chesters. "The audience never sees anything that it's seen before. 'Eddie' is usually depicted on the backdrops, but always in a different context than previously. In fact, this tour is the first time we've done a backdrop without an Eddie on it."

Although the production team behind Iron Maiden is reticent to give too much away for those yet to see the show, the current 'Death Eddie' complements the Dance of Death theme and it's well known that the latter-day walk-on figures have been only part-human at most although, as Chesters notes with a wry smile: "Half the Japanese audience knows the walk-on Eddie is real!"

Working to Chesters' designs, it took LiteStructures just a couple of weeks to produce the towers and structural elements to house the Eddie figure and the designer is full of praise for the company's input: "Designing memorable stage sets gets more difficult every year, so the people we work with have to be adaptable, imaginative, practical and able to work against impossible deadlines." says Chesters. "We've worked with LiteStructures on some of our most impressive stages and they've always gone the extra mile to help create the impossible. Working with them over the years has enabled us to realize the most extraordinary projects for some of our most valued clients."

(Sarah Rushton-Read)


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