West End Musicals

[lampieman]

Hi, I am trying to find a list of shows in the West End that do not use strobe lighting, basically I went with a friend a few weeks ago to see WWRY and my friend had a couple of her friends, and it wasnt till we got the theatre that one said oh I cant go as there is strobes, and due to a condition of her having water on the brain she can not risk it , so shehad to miss the show, now to make it upto her we are going to book a show.

 

So can people list what shows they know that does not use Strobe Lighting.

 

Many thanks

 

Gareth

 

PS if in wrong forum please place in right forum

[GridGirl]

As far as I remember, Lion King doesn't use strobe and neither does Les Mis or Guys and Dolls. Stomp I don't think does either. Don't take that for gospel truth though! I'd suggest phoning the box offices and asking, they'll have the correct information.

[Oovis]

The Rat Pack had no strobe effects in it when I programmed it

[lifeisacabaret]

I was tempted to say Phantom, but then I remembered the very brief flashes in the major parts of the show involving the chandelier (top and bottom of act one, the phantom on the false pros. shaking the chandelier etc.).

 

How about 'Sunday in the Park With George', as already mentioned, 'The Lion King', maybe 'Les Miserables'?

 

I'd say 'Billy Elliot' is definately out, as is 'We Will Rock You'. Im sure there are many shows which dont use strobe lighting though.

[Just Some Bloke]

neither does Les Mis

... although Les Mis does have o/w floor cans flashing out into the audience for the "storming the barricades" scene (to simulate explosives going off). Could be a problem if someone was particularly sensitive to this.

[paulears]

There's a big difference between a few par cans flashing and strobes. At the moment, the current rearch suggests that 1 in 40,000 suffer from photosensitive epilepsy, and in those cases, flash rates of less than 5Hz are unlikely to result in a seizure. So your friend may have been perfecly fine at things like WWRU, where the use of strobes - mainly egg strobes in and around the truss and set, to me is spasmodic and random in nature. As far as I'm aware, the issue with strobe lighting is where there is a blackout and then the audience are subjected to a longer period of non-random flashing - as when people ty to simulate the flicker from an old fashioned movie screen, or attempt strobing slo-mo effects.

 

In the case of brief effect like strobe use, it is usually subtle enough that the audience member with photosensitve epilepsy is able to simply cover their eyes. A few years ago, I had one of these kind of seizures - you get loads of tests, including strobe lighting which they use to find out what is going on, brain wise. I was lucky, never having another, but for the first few months, everytime I was involved with a production that used strobes, I simply avoided looking. Eventually realising, that for me, strobing isn't a problem - but I still automatically shut my eyes, just in case.

paul

[lifeisacabaret]

your friend may have been perfecly fine at things like WWRU, where the use of strobes - mainly egg strobes in and around the truss and set, to me is spasmodic and random in nature.

 

The biggest instance of strobe lighting in WWRY is at the top of the show in 'Innuendo', where there are a great many Atomic 3000's going off repeatedly. These are all around the theatre and are a very cool effect, but more than a little bit intrusive.

 

:) Quote cut down to amount required. PLease avoid repeating the whole post in your reply as it eats up bandwidth and makes the thread harder to read. Mods

[Just Some Bloke]

There's a big difference between a few par cans flashing and strobes.

True, but I once lit the musical Godspell using two trusses of Par cans, one vertical flying in from above and one horizontal flying up from the stage to make a cross. In the walkdown I brought these back and chased the pars for a short while. This was enough to set off one member of the audience who had a fit in the theatre. She was very apologetic afterwards, especially since it was more my fault than hers!

 

Hence my use of the phrase:

 

Could be a problem if someone was particularly sensitive to this.

[paulears]

incandescent lamps when strobed shouldn't do this? Strobe lighting is a known trigger, however the 5Hz low limit isn't possible as the filament can't cool down this quickly. The audience member, if this susceptable wouldn't be able to watch TV, use a computer, or walk down the average high street. I'm no medical expert, just a person who had it happen to them, who did loads of research to find out why - but I suspect this could have just been a coincidence?

[Just Some Bloke]

I'm afraid I haven't done that much research on the matter. I just know that the lady involved in the incident referred to above said that she had been affected before by fast chases pointing directly at her. She stood up to leave as soon as it started but didn't get very far before falling and fitting. Could easily be a different condition.

[timpman19]

I believe Lion king does have strobes. They are used as he falls into the stampede in slow motion.

 

Correct me if im wrong but having seen it many times I don't think I am.

 

It is best to phone the box office of your chosen show before buying tickets.