The Mentalists opened at London's Wyndham's Theatre this week (© Helen Maybanks)
UK - The Mentalists opened at the Wyndham's Theatre in London's West End this week. Written by Richard Bean, the award-winning writer of the international hit One Man, Two Guvnors, the play stars The Office co-creator Steven Merchant in his West End debut alongside Steffan Rhodri, best known for his role as Dave Coaches in Gavin and Stacey.

After providing the lighting equipment for the Wyndham's Theatre's previous show American Buffalo, White Light makes an immediate return to the venue to supply the lighting support for the new production.

Rich Mence, production electrician on the show, states, "For The Mentalists, I worked alongside David Plater, the lighting designer, who wanted to create a very naturalistic feel. As the play takes place during different times of the day, we had to reflect this on what was a static set."

White Light's role was to supply the equipment specified by David, which included the ETC Source 4 LED Series 2 Lustr and the Vari-Lite VL1000TS ERS moving light. Rich states: "The ETC Source 4 LED Series 2 Lustr was vital for this show. As it is a newer version of the previous Source 4 Lustr, it is much more advance and allows for more creativity when lighting a space. Similarly the Vari-Lite VL1000TS ERS Moving Light meant that we could really get the most out of lighting the action on stage."

Andy Cullen, senior hire co-ordinator at White Light, comments, "Working on a lot of West End shows, we're starting to see a trend towards the Lustr. Unlike scrollers which have been used for many years now, Lustrs do not require you to change anything in order to alter the colour. It makes things much easier for the lighting team as they are essentially working with one unit."

(Jim Evans)


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