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Lighting designer Sune Verdier of b-ql.dk and scenographer Benjamin La Cour collaborated to produce a thrilling, raw and hugely dynamic lighting aesthetic for a new production of Green Day's uncompromising American Idiot rock musical staged at Den Grå Hal (The Grey Hall) in the vibrant Christiania area of Copenhagen, Denmark.
They chose Robe moving lights - DL7S Profiles, DL4S Profiles and Spiider LED wash beams - to be at the core of the lighting, which was developed as a co-design for the show, which has received rave reviews and got tongues wagging with its aesthetic daring!
Benjamin’s almost bare stage set features three large moving scenic pieces initially making up the stage floor, which resemble giant slabs of concrete ... symbolically representing the crushing of individuals refusing to conform to the norm. These move constantly throughout the show, each rigged on four half tonne vari-speed motors - creating different spaces, rooms and locations as the story – of life, individuality, expression and being someone - unfolds.
The stage ‘box' is surrounded on three sides by a stark metal (aluminium) framework conjuring up images of skeletal unfinished buildings ... with the cranes gone, left to rot in the economic crises against which the action is set.
Sune has become a big Robe advocate since he started using the brand more extensively a couple of years ago – for both his theatre work and rock ‘n’ roll clients. His company b-ql.dk has enjoyed a busy year – he’s lit no less than six high profile musicals to date - and he specifies Robe when possible for his moving lights.
As the set design took shape for American Idiot, it was...