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The specifications

For such a spectacular and famous show, a very special display was required to do justice to this production. The initial brief included a giant 3D model of a can of hairspray, neon logo’s, effective graphics with the option to make changes shortly after opening and multi coloured festoon lighting to all of the main signage areas.

The problems

The initial problem was the sheer scale of work required in a short space of time while always having an eye on making sure the project comes in on budget. Added to this the fact that the Shaftsbury theatre is a listed building with one of London’s largest display areas. As such all new signage had to comply with existing display’s and any additions needed to be installed with out any damage to the main building or hiding any of it’s beautiful architecture.

When dealing with the practicalities of placing a giant can of hairspray on the existing signage of course weight was a factor we had to take into account to ensure the safety of the installation, along with the electrical requirements for the neon and the festoon lighting there were many factors to take into account of this entire project.

The solutions

With careful planning and the coming together of some close contacts we managed to bring in the installation both on time and budget of the client.

The spraycan model

The spraycan was produced by creating a negative wood and foamex mould. Using this we could create the thinnest gel coat outer skin possible. Braces were then cut from carbon fibre sheets to bring maximum strength to the structure while adding almost no extra weight. With foam top and bottoms added the result was a 6m x 1.5m lightweight model ready for neon logo’s and installation.

Lighting

Using Lumisphere low voltage lighting we were able to create the desired effect of alternate coloured lights in a very short space of time. Each light was set out at it’s determined distance and placed into a 50mm square housing with just the bulb protruding through the face to hide all the cables and fixings, each string was then wired to individual transformers above the canopy. In total there have been over 600 individual lights installed on this project