South Africa – South Africa’s uplifting Lifted – Let the Blind Sing production is back by popular demand this season, playing at the South African State Theatre in the capital, Pretoria, with perfectly video mapped imagery driven by tvONE’s Green Hippo brand of Hippotizer Media Servers.
The production and visuals have been designed by Wilhelm Disbergen – a multi award-winning production designer designing theatre productions for more than 20 years – who was appointed to deliver a dynamic visual backdrop for the show. The staging features a white cyclorama with suspended plastic corrugated sheets that are painted white, adding visual texture and an unusual projection surface, onto which Disbergen is projecting content using a 12,000 lumen Panasonic PT-RZ12K laser projector.
Zakhele Mabena, band leader and composer on many of the biggest theatre musicals staged at the South African State Theatre, assembled a blind bus stop sextet from the streets of Pretoria, where they were busking independently. His vision was to showcase enabled performers, as opposed to disabled ones. The performers came from all walks of life and showcased immense courage as first-time performers.
“The amazing talent that was assembled cannot be overstated, and the earnest and heartfelt rendition of original as well as spiritual songs, makes for a wonderful, uplifting and inspiring performance,” says Disbergen. “The production features a large ensemble cast of 20 performers, along with a six-piece band and two back-up singers. Most of the performers and musicians are enabled performers, some are blind, some amputees, or some albino. Although albinism isn’t classified as a disability, in an African context, they often fall victim to social phobias and are ostracised. Having said that, the show is filled with humour and joyous singing.”
Disbergen specified a Hippotizer Nevis+ to manage the video elements, supplied by DWR Distribution, with all media triggered via a grandMA2 lighting console connected via ArtNet. The content was mapped separately on the cyclorama and the corrugated sheets, allowing different layers of video to be used, with the corrugated panels isolated when required. The pellucid plastic corrugated sheets were painted on one side, which means that they respond well to projection from the front as well as illumination from the front or rear.
Magical moments like an unexpected showstopper was presented with bells and whistles, the corrugated sheets dressed as large LED panels, and the performer, Snow White (her stage name influenced by her albinism) bedazzled in a sequence gown, belting out a gorgeous and achingly personal song.
Disbergen then utilised Hippotizer’s effects engines to transform archival material into a visually exciting and cohesive whole. The lighting is focussed and isolated, with the Nevis+ delivering rich and enriched content through colour and effects manipulation.
“I’m astounded at how many layers the Nevis+ can handle concurrently, without a loss of fidelity or a lag in output performance,” says Disbergen.
The production is a veritable Gesamkunstwerk with all the elements in service of the performers and their performance. Each scene and look are tailor-made through music, lights, and audio-visual elements to aid the storytelling and the song, building to an emotional crescendo.
“Lifted – Let the Blind Sing is an example of how these brave individuals and groups can be presented, supported, and fortified through forward thinking music and theatre arts, making their testament and performances an uplifting celebration of life,” adds Disbergen.
Each original episode in the production tells a personal story of physical adversity and how it was overcome. “What is clear is that the performers are not to be pitied,” he says. “They have all managed to live and grow stronger, older and wiser, and are living proof of indominable strength that have shaped courageous lives, regardless of what they may have lost or been born without.”
Some of the video content was sourced from news channels and archives, with all content chosen as relevant to the featured performer and their personal story. “The simple concept of the bus stop was used as it is a daily hub where people meet, wait, talk with one another, and depart from,” explains Disbergen. “Our narrator is a street hawker, peddling her sweets and crisps to commuters; a chatty, personable person whom everyone engages with easily and openly. The performers are supported by a fabulous band and back-up singers, as well as dancers and fellow performers who are all quick to raise a song – the combined energy is roof-raising and infectious.”
Lifted – Let the Blind Sing is being staged as part of The Mzansi Fela Festival, which has grown in the last few years from a five-day event into an almost month-long celebration of art and culture held at the South African State Theatre. It is a vibrant and dynamic arts and culture festival that integrates social and cultural diversity. It is the largest theatre complex in Africa with more than 2,700 seats. The music production was created with the intention to embrace, bring awareness of, and promote musical artists living with disabilities. It is showing from December 18-22.
Credit: © Wilhelm Disbergen / Lifted – Let the Blind Sing
