It is Scottish Ballet’s most lavish production ever, and the ‘unsung heroes’ behind the stage revealed some tricks of the trade to stv.
“We run around like mad things,” Tim Palmer, the production manager, joked while explaining one of the most challenging elements of The Sleeping Beauty - the first interval scenery change.
They have to remove huge pieces of the set to change to a conservatory interior. With all the things on wheels it should go quite quickly but, as Tim explained, they don’t have a lot of time.
“The whole interval lasts 20 minutes,” he said. “That leaves my team 10 minutes to change the scenery. The electrician then has five minutes to do the lighting. Then we get the dancers on stage who have five minutes to warm up. And then we start the orchestra again.”
The Sleeping Beauty features artistic director Ashley Page’s spectacular choreography and international designer Antony McDonald’s lavish sets and costumes.
It is also performed live by the Scottish Ballet Orchestra and is liberally sprinkled with surprising twists and special effects.
Matt Strachan, chief electrician, is in charge of the special effects that happen on stage. One of the things they had to create in the show was a camera flash.
Matt explained: “The old ways of doing a camera flash was using magnesium in a tray and then you’d ignite it. The problem is, if you actually use any powder on stage, the dancers would end up spilling it, so we had to look at different options.”
And what did they come up with?
“Magic wool,” Matt revealed. “It’s normal cotton wool that has been specially treated and when you ignite it, it bursts into flame and disperses.”
“I have a great job,” he agreed. “Absolutely.”
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