The Brief

NW Group were appointed as the full-service production supplier for MADIBA the Musical theatrical tour around Australia and New Zealand for our client, The Prestige Presents. MADIBA the Musical is a soul-stirring celebration of the visionary leader Nelson Mandela.

As well as providing the full audio, lighting and vision component we were asked to provide the creative design for the visual and audio aspect of the show. Being an adaptation of the original French production, NW Group designers worked closely with the Director and Producer to help create their vision and reproduce it for the Australian and New Zealand market.

Solution

The production consisted of a wide projection onto a scrim at the rear of stage displaying images and sketches telling the story of the troubled history of South Africa’s apartheid era. Hidden beyond the scrim was a two-storey scaffold structure representing jail cells that, through the use of custom projection content and clever lighting were revealed at different times to show Nelson Mandela and others in prison.

The lighting rig consisted of Quantum Profiles and Aura XB washes over the stage and the new Sola Flare 1000w LED framing fixtures for front wash, producing a spectacular result. Audio comprised of DVDocs line array with all the amps and processors needed to maintain a high theatrical audio quality in a vast range of venue sizes, assisting in adding suspense and drama to the impressive show. For the visual component, we provided 2 x Panasonic 8K ansi lumen projectors with ultra-short throw lenses and a Barco PDS902 3G switcher. The end result was described as visually stunning.

Outcome

The company and promoters have been hugely impressed with the production and service from our team who worked with a “can do” attitude and provided high-quality, professional service throughout the creative process and the tour itself.

“The dedication of this team to the development and presentation of this musical has been outstanding, they have worked within our budget, and been very flexible in adjusting the show as it was developed by both our Director and their own input, to the point where both audience and critical reviews of the productions have been extremely positive.

Creating a new work is a collaborative process and NW Group have been a key part of this process and should feel proud of their achievements.              – Neil Croker – Director, The Prestige Presents”