On 15th June, Disney’s Broadway smash Aladdin transferred to the Prince Edward Theatre in London’s West End where it opened to rave reviews. Following the press night, there was an after-party held at the National Gallery in central London. Along with supplying the lighting to the production itself, White Light was called upon to provide support for this celebratory evening.
Phil Marfleet of Marfleet Events was Event Manager for the evening. He comments: “This was a great event to work on. Not only did we have to cater for some very high-profile guests but also ensure that we rewarded the incredibly hard-working cast and crew. The fact that the event was taking place at the National Gallery was also really exciting as this space hadn’t held an event of this size before”.
With Aladdin being one of the most anticipated West End shows for years, Phil worked with WL to ensure the magic of the production was present throughout evening.
He adds: “Obviously we couldn’t feature anything as extravagant as a flying carpet; particularly as we were surrounded by some of the oldest and most valuable paintings in the world! Therefore we decided to use the gallery space to its full potential. This not only meant enhancing the beautiful architecture with uplighting but also working closely with the Disney Theatrical Group team who supplied us with some fantastic artwork and video mapping”.
The occasion was attended by the show’s stars including Dean John-Wilson (Aladdin), Jade Ewen (Jasmine) and Trevor Dion Nicholas (Genie) along with several high-profile figures from the entertainment industry including Cameron Mackintosh, Luke Evans, Andrew Scott and Tom Fletcher. There was also 300 staff working on-site meaning that preparation was key.
Phil comments: “The gallery is a public space so we had to wait until it was closed to load in all of the equipment – something which had to be set up in less than an hour. Due to the restrictions within the National Gallery, along with the fact that we had minimal floor space, we decided to go for an entirely battery-powered rig – something that WL was able to provide”.
Similar to the show itself, the evening was a huge success.
Phil adds: “Everyone on the night said what a great time they had and how impressed they were with the overall set-up. I was lucky enough to be surrounded by a great team including James Robinson, Production Manager, along with Kyla Owen, Event Manager at the National Gallery. I was also fortunate enough to have the support of WL who, once again, were professional, efficient and managed to delivery exactly what I required”.