With a work roster ranging from pure theatre to lighting the dreamy, ethereal post-
rock music of Icelandic cult band Sigur Ros, Bruno Poet’s skill-set embraces many
disciplines.
And in GLP’s award-winning impression X4 Bars he has found an LED batten with a
versatility for all occasions that gives him far more than a conventional light
curtain.
Introduced to the Bars by White Light’s Dave Isherwood he was instantly impressed.
“I have always loved the DHA digital light curtains but they are impractical for
concert touring. The GLP Bars felt like the first products I had seen that produce a
similar effect, since others I had tried did not deliver the dense curtain of light that
I wanted.’
While prepping the Sigur Ros tour Bruno was simultaneously designing the lighting
for Brian Friel’s play, Faith Healer at Donmar Warehouse in London’s West End,
successfully deploying 16 of the X4 Bar 20s to light a rain curtain.
“They only perform one function in Faith Healer, but they do so extremely well,
lighting the curtain of rain that surrounds the stage. We chose them because
nothing else could produce such an intense, tight curtain beam with so little spill.’
But it is with Sigur Ros that it is really making waves. Bruno started working with
the band after lighting a solo tour for lead singer Jonsi Birgisson in 2010. Following
the success of the initial 2012-2013 tour he was re-engaged for the current tour.
In lighting a show of this nature, the biggest challenge, he says, is the lack of
narrative. “Nearly all the other work I do is for a production that tells some kind of
story, and lighting becomes part of that storytelling. For Sigur Ros the lighting is a
direct response to the music. The band is in the centre of a world of light and video
that should feel naturally driven by the sounds they are making.
In a video heavy show, the collaboration both with Sarah Hopper and Damien Hale,
the video creators, and set designer, Chiara Stevenson, had been key, he said.
Complementing the high use of video are 18 X4 Bars (mostly Bar 20s), sourced
from Neg Earth — nine on each of the two trusses forming versatile curtains of
light. “Sometimes they are flickering, and sometimes static — sometimes they are
used as air looks and sometimes to backlight the band,’ he explains.
Bruno has again been collaborating with his reliable and long-term touring lighting
director and programmer, Matt Daw for whom he has high praise. “His input is vital
and the look of the show is as much to do with him as me.’
This may be the first time Bruno Poet has used the impression X4 Bars — but
following the successful induction, it will be far from the last. “These are great units
and we are already in negotiations to use them on several future productions.’
