Book Marks: Theatre Lighting Design: Conversations On The Art, Craft And Life

"Theatre Lighting Design: Conversations on the Art, Craft and Life" provides an insight into the life of a professional lighting designer, through interviews with lighting designers at different stages of their careers plus a group interview with the designer and lighting team of the hit musical Billy Elliot.

Conducted by lighting designers Emma Chapman and Rob Halliday, the interviews are with a stellar list of designers — Neil Austin, Natasha Chivers, Jon Clark, Paule Constable, Rick Fisher, Richard Howell, Howard Hudson, Jessica Hung Han Yun, Mark Jonathan, Amy Mae, Ben Ormerod, Bruno Poet, Jackie Shemesh and Johanna Town. Their work has been seen all over the world on shows of every genre — collecting many awards along the way.

They share inspiration and practical advice, useful to anyone embarking on a career in lighting, fascinating to anyone who enjoys going to the theatre, offering insights into:

     • Approaching a new design;
     • Dealing with the challenges each new show brings, from working with a new director to being part of a creative team in realizing a piece;
     • The use of light and dark, color and texture;
     • Managing collaborations, with directors, designers and their own team of associate and assistant lighting designers, programmers and electricians.
     • Beyond the art and craft of lighting, the practicalities of a lighting career — moving from just getting enough work to pay the bills, to lighting the world's biggest shows.

As Chapman and Halliday note in their introduction: "the interviews were fascinating," and I imagine they found it really interesting to sit and discuss their art and craft with designers of various ages and styles; it's like the joke, how many lighting designers does it take to change a light bulb: one; there are never two lighting designers in the same place at the same time. But it this case there were, and you feel a sense of community. As Halliday says, his kids can read it and find out what Daddy does.

I enjoyed the Q&A format of the interviews as it really allows the designers' voices to be heard, as they recall their childhood or their family life, their approach to the use of color, collaboration, influences, how they became interested in the theatre; and ultimately pursued a career in lighting design.

The final interview breaks the mold as it features the lighting team for Billy Elliot: The Musical, which is nigh on celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2025. The team includes lighting designer Rick Fisher, associate lighting designer and programmer Vic Pyne, production electrician Paul Franklin, head of lighting (London) James Nowell, and the second associate lighting designer and programmer Rob Halliday, who admits to wearing two hats here: interviewer and interviewee. A great recap of the history of lighting for the show and how the rig has changed over the years for this unlikely hit about British miners and a ballet dancer named Billy; and the show recently opened in Tokyo!

Headshots of the designers and a smattering of production photos add to the interviews. As Shakespeare might say, if you are interested in lighting design, hie thee to a bookshop (or amazon.com) and get thyself a copy.

Photo by Johan Persson

Cover photo: Les Misérables, staged concert, Gieguld Theatre. Photo by Johan Persson.

Methuen Drama, Great Britain, 2024, ISBN978135029592, Bloomsbury Publishing