Set design, education & innovation: July 2012

Monday 30 July 2012

Olympics Opening Ceremony

What an amazing piece of theatre design went into the opening ceremony of the Olympics See how some of it was done at:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2180814/London-2012-Olympics-opening-ceremony-How-magic-moments.html

There are interviews with the Olympic Cauldron Designer, Thomas Heatherwick at:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2012/jul/30/thomas-heatherwick-olympic-cauldron?newsfeed=true

and at:

Friday 13 July 2012

Paul Simon in Concert at the 02, Dublin

Last night (Thursday 12^th July) I had the good fortune of being treated to see and hear Paul Simon in Concert at the 0². The concert featured the Graceland suite including the Ladysmith Black Mambazo, whose vocals, with their distinctive rhythm and cadence are only astonishing. The main feature was of course Paul Simon himself, who performed to the delight of his audience with great panache, energy and completeness. A live performance by an artist of the calibre of Paul Simon and his team could only be mesmerizing as this concert was and his performance was further enhanced by emotionally charged moments that bonded audience and performers in momentary unified entity.

From a Scenographer’s (Set Designer) the stage presentation was visually and logistically well thought out. Bearing in mind that this is a touring show, it was a visually appealing apparently simple and smart presentation. The stage surface had a light tonal finish which worked well with the coloured lighting and projected imagery.

Hanging over the back of the stage was a composition of three large panels onto which images appeared to be projected. They could have been large Plasma or LED screens with a queued programme of images fed to them interspersed with a feed from the onstage cameras. In all the presentation (despite some very jerky and abrupt lighting changes) worked well and supported the atmosphere and ambiance of the concert more than it hindered it.

Patrick Molloy for www.stagebrace.com

Tuesday 10 July 2012

Tom Murphy’s “The House” at the Abbey Theatre

Tom Murphy’s “The House” at the Abbey Theatre, Designed by Paul O’ Mahony a graduate of IADT P.Des and Motley Theatre Design School, London. http://paulomahonysetdesign.blogspot.ie/

Costumes by Niamh Lunny a graduate of Limerick College of Art & Design

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/niamh-lunny/35/166/746
This is a must see for students and professional practitioners alike of Scenography, Design for Stage & Screen and Theatre/Stage Craft.

I think this is the last week of its run at the Abbey, check it out at:

http://www.abbeytheatre.ie/whats_on/event/the-house/

Paul’s set design is a very clever, well thought through solution that is visually very satisfying and works extremely well in all aspects expected of a stage set. The sets lend an appropriate level of ambience to each scene, assigning a restrained supportive sense of place and period style to each act. The transitions from scene to scene are magical in themselves and speak volumes for the professionalism, technical wizardry and stag craft competence of the Designer, the Abbey team and the construction team.

Niamh Lunny’s Costume Designs lend credibility to the characters and supported the performances of the cast in doing so. Her costumes, supported by make-up and hair designers; Val Sherlock and Lorraine Brennan established the social standing and occupation of the characters and set them in a time and place.

Lighting Designer Chahine Yavroyan’s collaborative contribution, enhanced the ambience and atmosphere of the presentation and augmented the dramatic moments with her deft lighting