Summit continued its working relationship with Cirque du Soleil, with this, the fifth Cirque production they've installed into the RAH for Dralion's fully sold-out five-week residency. Summit's Chris Walker started work on the project in September 2004. Working closely with a team of people including Cirque's rigging project manager Ewen Seagel; Marc-André Leclerc, technical manager for the transfer to the RAH; Adrian Bray, the RAH's technical show manager; Gez Edwards-Web, the venue's TSM responsible for the show's rigging and Bob Stagg from consulting structural engineers Alan Conisbee Associates. "It has very much been a team effort" says Walker.
All Cirque du Soleil's touring shows are designed around their own tent structures. Summit mimicked these support/anchoring structures and devices within the RAH by establishing an overall rigging infrastructure. This enabled Cirque's complex show - a multi-colour collage of high octane acrobatics, split second timing and theatrical drama - to operate as 'normal'.
Other suppliers include Britannia Row Productions (audio), Neg Earth (lighting), and Media Structures, who built several bespoke scaffolding constructions. A full review of the show's previous visit to the RAH appeared in the February 2004 issue of Lighting&Sound International magazine.
(Lee Baldock)
