The Swan Theatre in Stratford upon Avon, part of the Royal Shakespeare Company, recently purchased nine VARI*LITE® VL1000™ Tungsten Profiles. The units are already in service in this Elizabethan-style space as a permanent addition to the lighting (eight for the house rig and one spare). The fixtures were purchased through VLPS Lighting Services in the UK
Wayne Dowdeswell, lighting supervisor in the Swan Theatre, who chose the VL1000 units commented "They offer a broad appeal for us, not only as excellent versatile specials but for more delicate moving effects. It is vital that any fixtures we hang are totally silent, as the audience sits within just a few feet of the rig in our theatre space." Dowdeswell also likes the way the fixtures blend nicely into a tungsten rig. "I am really pleased with the color temperature," he says.
Wayne Dowdeswell of the RSC with a VL1000
VL1000TS luminaires have already been used in a number of productions by the RSC but these are the first units they have purchased. Dowdeswell continued: "They offer astounding value at present which was a key factor in our decision." The first outing for the new fixtures is in a production of the Bard's Othello at the Swan, with lighitng designed by Tim Mitchell. This production marks the first time that the RSC has produced Othello in the Swan.