Martin MAC Allure Lights National Theatre’s River Stage
Posted on: 23rd August 2019
LONDON, UK - The National Theatre’s River Stage is an annual free festival that runs throughout the summer on London’s South Bank. Featuring leading arts and performance companies, the festival celebrates the best of British and International culture, drag artists and London’s green and blue spaces, including the River Thames. For this year’s season, the River Stage has benefitted from unique dynamic lighting effects thanks to Martin’s new MAC Allure Profile lighting fixtures.
Paul Hornsby, Lighting Resources Manager at the National Theatre explains, “When I saw the MAC Allure launched back at LDI, I was really impressed that such a small and lightweight unit could produce so many exciting opportunities for lighting music and events. When we knew our River Stage was coming back for another exciting season this summer – I knew they had to feature in our stage lighting rig somehow.’
The Martin MAC Allure Profile features a novel RGBW light engine with unique segmented beam control, allowing dynamic projection and mid-air effects previously not possible. The light & colour engine is divided into seven full colour pixels with pixels able to focus on projection or in the beam for aerial effects.
“The creative options they gave my team, led by Lighting Designer Huw Llewellyn meant they could cover all the different events over the 5 weekends of the River Stage with ease and look very impressive for the audiences.” Paul continues. “I love the multiple split colours that feature in the beam and give the unit a distinctive look on the stage. When they light the haze above the audience it looks quite magical and alive!”
Huw Llewellyn, Lighting Resources Supervisor and Lighting Designer for the River Stage, is equally impressed by the unique effects the MAC Allure can create. “We have 12 on the River Stage this year. With a good zoom, essential when the rig is at 3 metres, and the unique effects that the Allure has built-in, it gives the stage a look we have not been able to achieve in previous years.“
Whilst the National Theatre are using the MAC Allure’s via DMX, the MAC Allure is also the first lighting fixture to incorporate Martin's P3 protocol control. This allows a rig of multiple fixtures to deliver cohesive content that blends with video content on panels or creative LED products.
Huw Llewellyn concludes, “Bright enough for gobos to register in haze on a sunny day, and versatile enough to cope with everything from a crazy Pride disco to contemporary dance and moody spoken word, the MAC Allures have excelled at the National Theatre’s River Stage 2019.”
River Stage 2019 runs until 4th August with the full schedule available at the National Theatre website.
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For 30 years, Martin has been pushing the limits in the world of lighting - a trusted brand for lighting designers, rental houses and installers across the architectural, commercial, and entertainment worlds. With professional lighting fixtures, atmosphere effects, and LED video equipment, Martin by HARMAN products are designed to visually transform any experience into an inspiring one.
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