Infra E-resource pack 2018

PHYSICAL SETTING
92
LIGHTING DESIGN
Lucy Carter designed the lighting for Infra and all of Wayne McGregor’s
previous works. The lighting has a symbiotic relationship with Wayne
McGregor’s choreography, meaning that without the lighting the choreography
would be incomplete; they depend on each other to survive.
Lighting is used in an intelligent way throughout Infra, revealing and hiding
dancers on stage. It creates a sense of foreground and background to direct
the audience’s attention and it divides the stage into different areas/scenes for
the different vignettes. It is also used to suggest and change the mood of the
piece, particularly the use of colour: stark whites give high definition, greens
suggest tension, warm oranges create ambience and lift the mood, and cold
blues show pain and grief.
The early climax of the piece involves six blocks of light representing windows
into six couples’ lives. This creates a very clear visual effect, showing lots of
separate encounters happening simultaneously, sometimes involving the same
activity and sometimes completely different activities, but each couple is
unaware of what’s happening through other windows.
When designing the lighting Lucy Carter had to consider the other aspects
of the physical setting such as the digital backdrop and the colours of the
costumes in order that all elements worked together and was shown to its
fullest capacity.
‘It is the most difficult part of the job – explaining
and developing lighting ideas with no way to ‘show
and tell’ or experiment. It is very cerebral 10 and the
dialogue between the collaborators is extremely
important. The more you discuss and exchange
thoughts and ideas on the work before you go into
the theatre the better because, then as you make
your choices and begin your journey in the theatre,
the more your instinctual choices will be embedded
in and inherent to the ideas and themes of the
piece. I form my lighting designs from mutual
research and discussions with the collaborative
team. That way there are always other ideas and
lighting concepts to try when something doesn’t
work in the moment. It’s very much about flexibility
and responsiveness.’
Lucy Carter
in interview about her lighting installation
as part of the multi-installation work
No Body (2016) at Sadler’s Wells
Sarah Lamb and Artists of
The Royal Ballet in Infra
©ROH/Bill Cooper, 2010
10. Cerebral – Defined by
intelligence and logic rather
than emotions or instinct.
See Appendix A for full glossary.