Christie® and Dead Puppet Society, an Australian based production house and design company with international reach, have collaborated again to deliver true-to-life visuals for its latest theatre performance, The Wider Earth.
The award-winning story of a rebellious young Charles Darwin and his daring voyage onboard the HMS Beagle to the far side of the world, premieres on February 5, 2022, at the Princess Theatre in Brisbane. This highly anticipated event features an ensemble cast, remarkable puppetry, cinematic projections and an evocative original score. This is the second consecutive year that Christie is providing integrated solutions support for Dead Puppet Society’s acclaimed live performances following the tremendous success of Ishmael in September 2021.
Among the highlights of The Wider Earth are stunning projections made possible using three Christie DWU1075-GS 1DLP® laser projectors equipped with Christie Mystique™ automated camera-based alignment and recalibration solution. Content management and processing are accomplished by Christie Pandoras Box Players, Pandoras Box Manager and Widget Designer running the versatile and powerful Christie Pandoras Box Version 8 software.
“We are very proud of the large-scale projections in The Wider Earth that immerse audiences into the storyline, where they can experience Darwin’s life-altering journey through phenomenal images achieved by the Christie laser projectors,” said David Morton, Creative Director of Dead Puppet Society, and Director/ Co-Designer of The Wider Earth. “We’re thrilled to once again bring our creative vision to life with Christie’s dependable laser projectors fitted with Mystique auto-calibration solution. The ability to seamlessly align, calibrate and maintain images from the three projectors in a matter of minutes, instead of hours, is just incredible.”
Nicholas Paine, Executive Producer, Dead Puppet Society, and Creative Producer of The Wider Earth, added, “The Christie solutions have elevated our show to an entirely new level with bold and colourful images. Apart from the astounding visuals exhibited by the DWU1075-GS laser projectors, the new Pandoras Box Version 8 also works exceptionally well with the Pandoras Box Players, Manager and Widget Designer to heighten the storytelling process. Displayed contents on the large screen beautifully complement elaborate models, miniaturised landscapes and live performers onstage to deliver this gripping story behind one of the most important discoveries in history.”
Greg Spence, senior business development manager for Australia and New Zealand, Enterprise, Christie, commented, “The Wider Earth is a visually stunning and sophisticated stage performance that combines masterful puppetry, live performances and immersive projections to deliver a multisensory theatrical experience. We are delighted to continue our collaboration with Dead Puppet Society by equipping the production team with a suite of our projection and integrated solutions that are capable of opening up a world of creative possibilities.”
The professional-grade Christie DWU1075-GS laser projector delivers premium performance and reliability in high-usage environments, and eliminates the need for lamp and filter replacements by providing 20,000 hours of low-cost operation. Featuring 10,875 lumens, advanced colour reproduction, wireless connectivity, a small footprint, quiet operation and a full suite of lenses, the DWU1075-GS is ideal for theatre as well as boardrooms, conference rooms, education, houses of worship and other similar venues.
Designed to simplify and automate the process of warping and blending multiple projectors into a single and seamless canvas, Christie Mystique saves both set-up time and costs, while delivering freedom to projects almost anywhere. It takes the guesswork out of multi-projector systems, so that the focus is on delivering an amazing experience for audiences.
Christie Pandoras Box Version 8 is the ideal software solution for real-time video processing and show control. Packed with professional features in a high-performance and budget-friendly platform, users can access the entire suite that includes NDI, SDVoE, Dante (Digital Audio Network Through Ethernet), and Notch with just a single license. Pandoras Box Version 8 offers the high-level media processing performance required for fixed installations, live events, theatres, and other entertainment environments.
Performing daily from February 5-19, 2022, at the Princess Theatre (Brisbane), The Wider Earth is jointly presented by Dead Puppet Society, Trish Wadley Productions and Glass Half Full Productions. It will subsequently be staged across Australia in Darwin, Alice Springs, Cairns, Canberra, Wollongong, Hobart, Launceston, and Devonport.
Photography by Prudence Upton
