Norway - Lighting designer Jon Eirik Sira thought outside the box when tackling an interesting visual conundrum for Det Vestnorske Teateret in Bergen’s recent production of Skulerevyen (School Review). The show was a raw take on the issue of violence in schools through the decades, billed as “The revue for those who have survived school!”.
Jon has been head of lighting at the theatre – located in the centre of Norway’s second largest city – since 2019, and is also involved in other locally based theatre projects. He was instrumental in the venue investing in 24 x Robe LEDBeam 350s, which have been added to the house lighting rig over the last four years.
For Skulerevyen, he looked at a more ‘classic’ Robe product – the MediaSpinner 50 AT – to provide an imaginative technical solution. Launched in 2006, the Robe MediaSpinner 50 AT is a motorised display device designed for rotating advertising banners and scenic elements.
After considerable research, he eventually achieved the goal of acquiring eight new or once/lightly used MediaSpinner 50 AT products from Norway, Estonia, Germany, and Austria.
Once these arrived at Det Vestnorske Teateret, Jon worked closely with the set workshop team led by Isabelle Wolny to get them working with the dynamic backdrop elements that were a cornerstone to set designer Lise Christensen’s look and styling for the production.
“We found the perfect timing and speed that the MediaSpinners could handle with a loading of 35-40kg,” explained Jon, “and now I have the devices for future use, and they will be perfect for all sorts of scenarios.”
The different Skulerevyen backdrops helped illustrate how thinking about and dealing with antisocial and disruptive behaviour at school has changed over the years. They offered three surfaces: a green ‘blackboard’ side; a back-lit/pixel-mapped mirrored ‘disco’ look; and a series of slick windows created with projection canvas edge-lit with LED tape. The blackboard surface doubled as a fourth surface in combination with projected images.
The theatre’s first batch of LEDBeam 350s was delivered around 2021 – based on a tender compiled by Jon and his colleagues to replace their previous moving wash lights. 14 of the LEDBeam 350s were used in Skulerevyen for several different tasks, including overhead lighting, set washing, key lighting, and effects. “They do exactly what I need and have a nice tight beam without excessive spill even without any top hats,” Jon stated.
Det Vestnorske Teateret’s current home – the Logen building in central Bergen – has a long and vibrant cultural history as a venue for music and entertainment, dating to 1883. Det Vestnorske Teateret has been located there since the start of 2016.
The theatre is primarily state-funded and owned by Vestland County. It regularly tours the Vestland region and also engages in productions catering to children and young people.