South Africa - Lighting designer Oliver Hauser first saw Joseph in 2017, and he recalls leaving the theatre humming its melodies long after the final curtain. The spirited score and choreography, intertwined with themes of hope and forgiveness, struck a chord.
Eight years later, he had the opportunity to light the 57-year-old musical himself, collaborating with Pieter Toerien and LAMTA on a fresh production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat - directed by Anton Luitingh and Duane Alexander at Theatre on the Bay, Camps Bay, running until 13 July 2025.
“The sheer joy of working with such a fantastic cast and production team was what made it for me,” says Oliver Hauser from HLDesign, who jumped at the opportunity when Niall Griffin, responsible for the set and costumes, reached out to see if he’d be interested in working on the production. “The energy of this show is so infectious. Anton and Duane allowed for a great deal of creative freedom while sharing ideas from their wealth of musical theatre knowledge. The real magic stems from creating as a team.”
While remaining true to the heart of the original, the team set out to give the show a South African perspective. Oliver, programming on a MA Lighting grandMA3 onPC command wing, aimed to create a look that honoured the legacy. Having grown up with MA, he adds: “MA is one of the best all-around consoles. I light a variety of entertainment genres, so versatile control is key for me as a programmer.”
Oliver appreciated how adaptable the set design allowed him to be. “The great thing about Niall is that he doesn't only think about the set he's creating; he also considers all the other creative elements. From the very beginning, we collaborated to create a range of looks that would transform the set and transport the audience to different locations without necessitating any changes to the scenery. Essentially, we created one canvas that is shaped by light, producing unique visuals for each scene to help guide the audience through Joseph's journey.”
The production traditionally uses followspots, but Theatre on the Bay doesn’t have a followspot bridge. To mimic the effect, Hauser had to programme all the ‘tracking’ cues using moving lights, which, needless to say, increased the time needed for programming. “We considered using digital followspots or live motion tracking, but due to some constraints, those options weren’t feasible. In the end, though, everything worked out really well.”
Oliver also incorporated two AX3 Light Drops with an Astera transmitter, integrated into Niall’s custom headpieces. “We chose Astera because we needed a wireless, bright light to illuminate Niall’s ‘lampshade’ headdresses. They were the only readily available option that could deliver the output and colour quality we required.”
This production marked Oliver’s first time working with LumenRadio’s MoonLite. They are compact, wireless CRMX transceivers built on the latest TimoTwo technology. “The Moonlites were a great tool to wirelessly merge Artnet from Resolume and transmit it to Joseph’s Pixel Coat. The connection has been consistently reliable, and setting them up was a breeze. These nodes are great because they serve as both transmitters and receivers, adding another layer of flexibility.”
