Rob has been writing about the technical and production side of the entertainment industry for as long has he’s been working in it, in particular for the magazine Light+Sound International, for which he’s now been writing for more than thirty three years out of the publication’s forty year life. He’s also a regular contributor to The Stage, and has contributed to a wide range of other publications including Lighting Dimensions, Theatre Crafts, Live Design, Sightline and Focus.
He has also written, co-written or otherwise been involved with a number of books…
A Sense of Theatre is the final book by the pioneering lighting designer and theatre consultant Richard Pilbrow. It charts the complete history of Britain’s National Theatre - both the company and its home on the South Bank of London’s River Thames and the three theatres the building contains. This is a story Richard was uniquely placed to tell, having lit the opening shows for the National Theatre company and then helped design the new building as its theatre consultant. But this is just the starting point for an exploration of everything Richard learnt about designing performance spaces in the decades after the National Theatre.
Rob worked with Richard over the ten year development of this book. He ultimately acted as the book’s editor and co-publisher, bringing the book to completion after Richard’s untimely passing in 2023. Having been a lover of the National Theatre for his entire life, he is honoured to have played a small part in recording its history.
A Sense of Theatre website: [link]
Making A Sense of Theatre in Live Design: [link]
Designer Flora Cox on A Sense of Theatre: [link]
A Sense of Theatre in The Stage: [link]
Direct Purchase: [link]
Theatre Lighting Design: Conversations on the Art, Craft and Life is pretty much exactly as its title says: fifteen conversations with fifteen lighting designers, talking about their work: their thoughts on lighting, how they approach new shows, dealing with the challenges of different designs, working with new directors and other members of the team and so much more. It’s interesting when they agree, really interesting when they disagree!
The designers cover quite a collection of work and are at different points in their careers: Neil Austin, Natasha Chivers, Jon Clark, Paule Constable, Rick Fisher, Richard Howell, Howard Hudson, Jessica Hung Han Yun, Mark Jonathan, Amy Mae, Ben Ormerod, Bruno Poet, Jackie Shemesh and Johanna Town. Since, as they all say, lighting is a team effort, a fifteenth interview features members of the lighting team who have remade the hit musical Billy Elliot around the world over the years.
The book was a wonderful collaboration with the lighting designer Emma Chapman. It is published by Bloomsbury.
It’s a fascinating read for anyone with any interest in lighting, whether working in the field or just watching the results on stage.
Theatre Lighting Design, a preview: {link}
Reviews: [CX Magazine Australia] [ESTA Protocol US] [ABTT Sightline UK]
Direct Purchase: [link]
Direct from the Publisher: {UK} {US}
Via Amazon: {UK} {US}
The Entertainment in Production books, two volumes, collect together the best of Rob’s stories about the making of shows in the period between 1994-1999 (volume 1) and 2000-2006 (volume 2), from a range of publications including Light+Sound International in the UK and Lighting Dimensions, Theatrecrafts and Live Design in the US.
Productions and events covered include:
- Many of the pioneering shows of Cirque du Soleil, including Mystère, O and KA.
- West End and Broadway musicals including Oliver!, Tommy, Martin Guerre, Chicago, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mamma Mia!, Seussical, Fosse, Les Misérables, Miss Saigon, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Woman in White, Aida, Hairspray, Mary Poppins and Baz Luhrmann’s Broadway production of La Boheme.
- Events such as the 1996 US Political Conventions, the Academy Awards, the use of projection for the NY Knicks, and the Grand Central Station Christmas Show.
- Remarkable permanent shows including the Fremont Street Experienc, the Bellagio hotel, and the Wynn hotel’s Lake of Dreams, all in Las Vegas.
- New or refurbished venues including London’s Lyceum Theatre, Star City in Sydney, the 42nd Street Studios in New York
- the remarkable and humbling 9/11 Tribute in Light in New York.
The books now form a fascinating historical record of this period of show production when shows at epic new scales drove the creation of innovative new technology - and vice versa!
Entertainment in Production website: [link]
Purchase from the publisher, ET Now: [volume 1] [volume 2]
Kindle e-Books: [volume 1] [volume 2]