Award-winning Lighting Designer Philip Gladwell has worked on theatre, musicals, opera, circus, live television, events and genre-defying productions around the world. Here, he talks about the practical craft behind live performance, the excitement and challenges of touring, and how he supports storytelling through lighting. 

Lighting look and feel are so important to how an audience experiences a production. How do you keep the atmosphere consistent on tour?

For certain shows, like when I work with Strut and Fret (an Australian company known for immersive, innovative theatrical experiences) I design the set as well as the lighting, which means I can build lighting positions into the scenery. That way, wherever the show goes, there will always be certain lights in certain positions to keep that initial character. The variables of touring are huge, so the more you can control within the set, the better. 

When you first join a new production, what are you trying to understand before you start thinking about the rig? 

I work closely with the set designer, the director, the choreographer and the whole creative team to work out what we want to show the audience. What is the feeling, the mood, the storytelling? Things have to be worked out logistically, eventually, but in the early stages it is more conceptual. Reality hits later, and then you have to think about practicalities like space, kit and budget.  

Lighting design is fascinating because lighting designers are artists, but they also have to be practical and technically minded. A painter has to know the difference between watercolour and acrylic, because they affect the end result of their work. It’s the same with lighting. You have to know what each light is going to do when it hits the set.  

When a show moves between venues, cities or different touring productions, how do you keep your lighting design true to the original idea? 

Magic Mike is a good example. Over every stage, we have a grid of Robe Spiiders: in Magic Mike world, it’s called the Spiider grid. The grid size varies, depending on the particular stage and production, but when Magic Mike rolls into town, the Spiider grid is non-negotiable. We use the moonflower effect for a couple of moments in the show, and it looks great Many other lights in the room can be discussed, but the Spiider grid has to be a Spiider grid. That is one aspect that keeps consistency. 

What is the hardest part of taking a show with a strong visual identity, like Magic Mike, into lots of different venues? 

Magic Mike is tricky because each time we do it, it’s bespoke. That’s why the original creative team is involved in each production. We’re not just taking the show into a traditional venue: we take over nightclubs, spaces in casinos, music venues, and then we renovate them to fit the show.  

As each venue is bespoke, the show has to adapt. So, while there are some things that stay the same – like the Spiider grid, and 12 MegaPointes that sit in sets of three in each corner of the stage – the rest of the lighting is different in every venue. 

Are there any Robe fixtures that have become particularly useful tools in your work? 

I really like the Robe Spiider. I think it’s the best wash light in that size range. You also can’t beat a Robe MegaPointe for what it does: if you want that very bright, intense beam, there is nothing else as good in my opinion (although I haven’t yet tried the new GigaPointe, but am looking forward to). The Robe LEDBeam 150 is also one of my go-to smaller fixtures. 

What does the Robe difference mean to you? 

With Robe, the manufacturing is all in-house and very few component parts come from anywhere else, which I think is admirable. If I was doing a project in a venue that had a load of kit I didn’t know, and a lot of it was Robe, I would think, “well, it’s going to be fine, Robe made it.” 

I also think Robe is one of the most proactive in this space at reaching out to end users and people who use the kit to ask their opinions, listen to how we’re using the products, hear what we have to say. They take our advice, and that for me is probably the biggest difference, that collaborative contact with end users. I have trust in the brand in that sense.