Dido and Aeneas

The Bristol Proms, Bristol Old Vic

Director Tom Morris tasked me with lighting this Opera using the 17th century technology available during Purcell’s era! I designed sconces for floor lights and stage lighting and prayed that the beeswax candles would last for the show’s duration - no time for a run through. Fire buckets were the light source for back projection. Branches, fabric and a structural shadow frame shifted during the performance. A pure, inverted, flame was projected with a massive lens for the finale.

• Role Shadow projection and lighting design

• Client Bristol Old Vic

• Photography Andy Squire