Based on the film starring Reese Witherspoon and Sarah Michelle Gellar comes Cruel Intentions, the ultimate ‘90s throwback. Drawing you deep into the manipulative world of Manhattan’s most tempting liaisons: Sebastian and Kathryn are seduced by revenge and fuelled by passion. Set out to ravage the virtuous Annette Hargrove and anyone who gets in their way, the siblings find themselves entangled in a web of secrets, temptation, and the cruellest game of all: love.
Although the show was written and staged overseas, this particular run of the show has been created in Australia by a full Australian creative and production team.
Director Alister Smith and lighting designer Declan O’Neill had a very collaborative approach to achieving this show. They explored the idea of combining a musical with elements of a live music concert.
“Being so collaborative, the technical elements are incredibly integrated between lighting, vision and set design,” commented Declan. “Running with the theme of the show, we explore the show through Sebastian’s psychological state of mind. We have a lot of abstract, fractured states that help create this feel.”
There are numbers in the show where it is very colourful, big, bold and moody, then there are other numbers where it can be stripped back to as little as a single light.
“What I wanted to achieve with this design was to make the audience incredibly immersed and feel the experience, not just watch a show,” said Declan. “Putting Covid behind us, it’s clear that people are making their way back to the theatres after being deprived for two years and want to have that interaction where it’s more than just watching something on a screen. It’s sometimes the little things like a classic audience sweep that hype a crowd and get the energy pumping in the room. We would often find half the audience singing the songs on their seats, again more interaction from them.”
Being different from most musicals, this show is incredibly moody and artistic so Declan has gone down this path, using Pablo Picasso, one of his favourite artists as an inspiration.
One of the biggest challenges Declan had is the show is only an hour and a half, however, there are over 25 songs in the show; some small, some large production numbers, however all full of energy and power. There are over 560 cues in the show and with a lighting rig of nearly all intelligent fixtures, it certainly takes time to create cues.
There are over 70 channels of LED strip integrated into the set. The set is fully self-contained as they move around the stage, so it is all wireless. They also had 64 Par cans which help make the back wall of light, integrated with the 2.4m high band riser up the back of the stage.
Set Electrics are supplied by Opto Projects and video elements are supplied by Optikal Blok.
The lighting rig was supplied by Resolution X and included 24 of their new Ayrton Diablos which Declan describes as an absolute workhorse in shaping the scenes, adding texture and aerial effects for bigger numbers.
Added to that were 18 x ShowPRO Pluto 4000, 20 x ETC Lustr2+ for front of house, 16 x Martin RUSH MH6, 22 x ShowPRO Quad 18 LED PAR, 8 x Prolights EclCyc 050 and the 64 Par 64s for that additional live music rock feel. An MDG Hazer provided haze.
Control is an ETC GIO with an ETC ION as backup, ETC Response SMPTE Timecode, ETC Response MIDI Triggering video (Watchout), Mif4 Timecode 2 and three Octoport nodes.
Declan is the lighting designer and programmer for the show, Oren McCoy, Head of Lighting, oversees the show.
“I used a lighting console and Capture to previs the show leading up to the production week, however being a brand new show, not just brought in from overseas, there were of course some changes to the show, so there was some on the fly programming, some of which are my favourite states in the show,” he added. “Execution wise we run timecode for a few of the larger numbers which are full of tight cues, and then we send midi triggering to the Video department to execute their content in line with the cues.
“My favourite moment would have to be the classic NSYNC Bye Bye Bye which is only one min 30 seconds, however on average, has a cue every second and complements the explosive energy on stage by the performers.”
Declan has been delighted to see people come out in large crowds to see theatre saying he thinks this show is good because it’s a hybrid of a live concert and musical so people who usually wouldn’t go and see a musical are coming to see the show.
“I think it also helps because it’s all 90’s music,” he said. “I was born in the 90s so it is definitely a trip down memory lane.”
