Lighting designer Jon Eirik Sira took an unconventional approach to solving a complex visual challenge in the recent and acclaimed production of Skulerevyen (School Review) at Det Vestnorske Teateret in Bergen.
The show delivered a raw, visceral, and direct look at the issue of violence in educational environments over the decades, sprinkled with wit, dark humour, and stark truths, presented as “The revue for those who survived school life!”
Jon has been head of lighting at the theatre — located in the centre of Norway’s beautiful second-largest city, nestled between shimmering sea and majestic rocky mountains — since 2019, and he also takes part in other local theatre projects.
He has been instrumental in the theatre’s investment in 24 Robe LEDBeam 350 fixtures, which have been added to the lighting inventory over the last four years. But for Skulerevyen, he creatively turned to a much more “classic” Robe product: the MediaSpinner 50 AT, which proved to be the perfect technical solution.
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Launched in 2006, the legendary MediaSpinner 50 AT is a motorised device designed to rotate advertising banners, scenic elements, signs, and more.
This was exactly the piece of equipment Jon needed to rotate seven backdrop panels measuring 450 cm tall by 110 cm wide, allowing the production to switch between three different surfaces and helping to create four distinct settings with the help of projection.
Not only was this an ingenious and cost-effective solution for the production; once Jon had the idea, he embraced the logistical challenge of locating eight units (seven plus one spare) of MediaSpinner and bringing them together in Bergen. The fact that the product was discontinued didn’t worry him at all. Over several weeks in the spring, he activated his network of industry technicians, scoured eBay, posted on Facebook, browsed obscure websites and sifted through multiple subreddits to track down the sought-after devices scattered across Europe. He eventually managed to gather 8 new or lightly used MediaSpinner 50 AT units from Norway, Estonia, Germany, and Austria.
Once they arrived at Det Vestnorske Teateret, Jon worked with the theatre’s set workshop team, led by Isabelle Wolny, to integrate them with the moving backdrop panels that were a key component of Lise Christensen’s scenographic design for the production.
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We found the perfect timing and speed that the MediaSpinners could handle with a load of 35–40 kg. And now I have these devices for future use, and they will be perfect for all kinds of scenarios, Jon explained.
The different Skulerevyen backdrops helped illustrate how attitudes toward and ways of dealing with antisocial and disruptive behaviour in schools have evolved over the years. They offered three surfaces: a green chalkboard-style side; a retro-lit, pixel-mapped ‘disco’ mirror look; and a series of stylised windows created with projection canvas edge-lit with LED tape. The chalkboard surface also served as a fourth option when combined with projected images.
Jon appreciates Robe’s straightforward approach to designing and building products that are “compact, lightweight, and price-competitive”. The LEDBeam 350s are another great example that meets these criteria, he notes. The first batch of LEDBeam 350 units arrived around 2021 after a tender prepared by Jon and his colleagues to replace their previous moving wash lights. The LEDBeam 350 provided wash functionality plus added versatility in beam/spot modes and effects, and the number of units has grown each year to the current total of 24. Fourteen LEDBeam 350s were used in Skulerevyen for various roles, including overhead lighting, set washes, key lighting, and effects.
“They do exactly what I need and deliver a very tight beam with minimal spill, even without using top hats”, he said. He added that he also values their compact size, which allows him to keep the fixtures discreetly hidden in Det Vestnorske Teateret’s three intimate performance spaces.
Show photos: Andreas Roksvaag
