THEATRE AND STAGE
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After its popularity in London, Stranger Things: The First Shadow headed across the Atlantic for its American debut on Broadway
An example of this is one of Australia’s leading performance arts companies, Bangarra Dance Theatre. It is a contemporary-dance-focused Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance company. Founded by African- American dancer and choreographer Carole Y Johnson, Gumbaynggirr man Rob Bryant and South African-born Cheryl Stone, Bangarra means ‘to make fire’ in the Wiradjuri language. When developing the company, Johnson had a three-part plan for Aboriginal dance in Australia. The first part was to establish a school that would train dancers as members of a student and graduate performing company, which would teach and give them academic qualifications as well. It would also seek to provide a path for dancers to other creative areas such as choreography, tour management and all front- and back-of-house skills. The third key aim was to maintain authentic cultural continuity, friendships and close ties to traditional communities. So, while Stranger Things harnesses LED technology to conjure up the supernatural, Bangarra Dance Theatre uses it to explore cultural connection through contemporary movement. Bangarra’s recent production, Illume , demonstrated how technology is no
“The use of LED screens in theatre is no longer just about adding digital effects,” explains Ed Cooper, director of Blue-i Theatre Technology. “It’s also about enhancing the storytelling and amplifying the audience’s emotional connection to the performance.” That philosophy emphasises The First Shadow ’s design approach. Rather than appearing as a screen, the LED wall acts as an extension of the set – a textured, responsive part of the world of Hawkins, Indiana, circa 1959. The display’s high contrast and smooth tonal control allow for sudden lighting shifts and shadowy transitions that make the supernatural elements feel alive and immediate. Blue-i Theatre Technology chose InfiLED’s AR Series along with Brompton Technology processing as the backbone of the system. Offering high dynamic range, deep blacks and painterly colour rendering, the AR Series (now upgraded to the ARmk2) could deliver the team’s demanding brief, with 10-bit colour depth that gave smooth transitions. “The 10-bit colour depth is essential,” says Cooper. “It makes transitions much smoother and is critical for seamless visual effects in a live theatre setting.” In addition to visual fidelity, the AR Series offers practical advantages. It’s lightweight, quiet and easy to maintain,
which is crucial in theatre environments where space can be tight and quick turnarounds are the norm. Cooper notes that these features let the LED blend effortlessly into the stage while providing flexibility for complex cues and adjustments mid-performance. “We’ve always been an InfiLED house, and for good reason,” Cooper adds. “InfiLED stands out in the theatre world, especially when paired with Brompton processing technology. Together, they meet the unique demands of live shows.” Following its success at London’s Phoenix Theatre, the same visual strategy was taken across the Atlantic to Broadway’s Marquis Theatre, maintaining aesthetic continuity while adapting to a new venue. Audiences and critics alike have praised the production’s haunting visuals, which serves as proof that LED systems can evoke both cinematic grandeur and theatrical intimacy. BEYOND THE BACKDROP Theatres are called home by many art forms, and one particularly familiar resident is dance. Be it a musical number, ballet or backing for a musical act, the subjective nature of dance demands that theatres are readily equipped to help accentuate a variety of performance models.
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