White Light’s Regional Focus: The North West

At White Light, we pride ourselves on being able to deliver a range of diverse projects, whether that’s West End shows, international broadcasts, state-of-the-art installations or live conferences; to name but a few. We also proud to work work across the entire UK, ensuring that, whilst we are based in London, we are a company that serves every region. As such, we have decided to put together a series of blogs which look at some of the work we’ve delivered throughout Britain, how this has benefitted our clients, along with the impact it has had within their wider community. This first blog focuses on the North-West of England.

The North-West of England is home to two of England’s most iconic cities – Liverpool and Manchester– along with one of its most renowned entertainment destinations in Blackpool. Over the years, WL has been fortunate enough to regularly work at some of this region’s most renowned entertainment venues, such as the Manchester Opera House, Manchester Palace Theatre, the Royal Exchange Theatre, Liverpool’s Royal Court Theatre, the Everyman Theatre, Royal Northern College of Music and Bolton Octagon. WL’s Business Development Manager Jonathan Haynes spends a lot of time in the North West, where he works with a plethora of clients, and comments: “The live entertainment scene is thriving in the North West and it’s great to play a part in supporting this; whether that’s from the hire and sales of equipment, installation, consultation or technical service. Only earlier this year, we worked with Liverpool’s Royal Court Theatre, who invested in a series of ETC SolaFrames along with an ETC Gio, following a series of on-site demonstrations. What’s great is that the venues are aware of the range of services we offer and feel they can approach us as a one-stop technical base in which we can fulfil their specific requirements”.

One such venue that Jonathan recently worked with was Storyhouse in Chester. Storyhouse is a theatre, cinema and library based in Chester’s historic city centre, presenting the best home-produced and internationally acclaimed work. The Technical Manager is Andy Paterson, who oversees the venue’s Technical and Facilities department. He’s also someone who has a long history with WL, having drawn on the company’s services ever since the venue opened. He comments: “Back in 2017, we approached WL to supply our entire loose kit stock, which included Source Four Profiles, Philips Selecon Rama and Arena fresnels, Robe DL7S profiles, Look Solutions fog and haze, RJ Super Korrigan Followspots, ETC Gio and Ion consoles, Yamaha QL5 and QL1 consoles, EM acoustics amps and cabs and Sennheiser radio mics and receivers. The fact that we were able to acquire all of this kit from one place made life much easier and also meant that we could be fully confident that we were opening a venue that was equipped with the very latest technology”.

Since it opened, Storyhouse has continued to produce the best theatre it possibly can yet there is now a conscious effort to do so in a sustainable way. Over the past couple of years, Andy and his team decided to move away from traditional equipment such as tungsten lighting to LED in order to reduce the venue’s energy consumption. And whilst they knew this would require a significant investment, they once again approached WL to come up with a plan in which they could gradually make this change. Andy explains: “With the move to a more sustainable set-up, it was initially the case of making lots of ‘little’ purchases in order to keep our stock relevant before eventually committing to larger investments. Over the past year or so, WL has been able to provide all the LED technology we needed, including 8x High End SolaFrame 1000 High CRI fixtures, Source Four ColorSource PARs, ColorSource Linears, Elation SixPar 200s as well as power tiny fogger and a plethora of lamps, gobos, colour lenses and accessories! This kit has now become the backbone of our main theatre, studio theatre, cinema as well as performances taking place across our entire building”.

It’s also the impact that Storyhouse has on the local community that really makes it standout as a venue. Andy explains: “Storyhouse brings the city library into a building that also houses a theatre, studio, cinema, restaurant and coffee shop. It’s open 8am to 11pm 364 days a year – the longest opening hours of any library in the country. The benefit to the community is vast with a large youth programme, a varied theatrical offering, 364 days of cinema screenings as well as offering a community hub for people to meet socially or as part of clubs and organisations. As such, when WL is helping ensure that our facilities are completely up-to-date, they are also helping the local residents who will be able to benefit from this”.

So what does it mean for Andy and Storyhouse to have a working relationship with a company like WL? He explains: “WL feels like an organisation you can have an open and honest conversation with and who will work hard to get the most out of your purchase. Having Jonathan Haynes as a contact has been invaluable, in the sense that it makes such a difference knowing you can pick up the phone and someone will not only answer but go above and beyond to help. Similarly, as the company is now a B Corp, this shows they have a clear commitment to being environmentally-friendly; hence recognise the importance of sustainability in the same way we do”.

Like many other regions across the UK, sustainability is an important issue for venues throughout the North West. So much so that, earlier this year at PLASA Focus Leeds, WL actually hosted a seminar called ‘The Light Path Towards Sustainability’ in which the company spoke to Storyhouse, Liverpool’s Royal Court and Leeds Grand to discuss their recent technical equipment upgrades; all of which were borne out of a desire for sustainability and all of which were delivered by WL.

Jonathan remarks: “Sustainability is now at the forefront of most venue’s minds and it was great to demystify the process into what goes into making a venue more environmentally friendly. It was particularly great to hear how venues within the North West have been pioneering this way forward and we were delighted to have played a role in supporting them with this”.

Alongside working with clients in the North West, WL actually has a base there – with Manchester being the home of its sister company, ELP. ELP has an unparalleled reputation for supplying the latest lighting technology to television broadcasts and live events. The company has worked on some of the most watched television productions of all time, from King Charles III’s Coronation to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Funeral and regularly works on high-profile shows such as BBC Breakfast, Question Time and the BBC Proms. The Managing Director is Manchester-native Darren Fletcher, who began his career on Stars in Their Eyes at the old Granada Studios. He comments: “Whilst we work on projects all across the UK, we are very proud to be a Manchester-based organisation and relish working on the growing number of broadcasts taking place in our region; whether that’s Steph’s Packed Lunch or the new Channel Four News Studio. Working on these shows in this region also allows us to employ local freelancers and ensure we’re able to draw on the expertise of our local talent”.

So, as the North West continues to thrive as a region producing a range of exciting live entertainment, WL will continue to work with its many venues, organisations and freelancers to ensure it receives the best technical support possible.