Close

So how did the sound designers feel about a UK company doing their show in Holland? Shivers responds:

"It was really good to have Orbital on-board. Their level of expertise was compatible with the complexity of the show. There is a significant amount of technology on this show, plus we have 24 video cameras and an LCS surround system. From our point of view, having a company with such a great track record of West End shows was the kind of expertise we really needed."

In terms of live musicians this is no ordinary set up - to maximise bums-on-seats the production company, has reclaimed all but a 3ft strip of the pit. Add to that the extension of the stage and it's also pretty closed in.

Sound designer John Shivers discusses:

"The production company wanted to have more seats in the auditorium which was something we didn't know about beforehand. One minute we were working in the orchestra pit and the next the offstage wall moved in 3ft! Because we knew how much percussion there was we phoned the players and asked them to bring their stuff in and position it in the pit. Unsurprisingly, once all the instruments were in, there was no room for any people! As a result a sound-proof percussion room had to built under stage. This ultimately has a dual benefit. It gives more room for the musos plus the live music level can be more easily controlled."

The only instruments left in the pit are electronic keyboards and strings. Keyboards have two laptops each, one as a back up, and all connected via ADSL with the keyboard programmer in New York. Any trouble and he can re-program or troubleshoot instantly. Shivers continues:

"I'm really happy with this percussion booth, in hindsight it actually makes sense with the choice of speakers and the amount of sub-flow you hear. Phil Collins is very particular about how his show sounds, it's important to get good percussion and drum sounds; that's the base form which everything else grows."

All musicians have an Aviom personal mixer, which provides customisable submixes. Each unit has 16 adjustable channels. It's all run via CAT5 cabling. Chief engineer Schwithal comments:

"Musicians are not too careful about how they handle cables. We chose a different CAT5 than normal, more robust and therefore much more reliable."

An integral part of the design is the LCS system, there are ambiences played throughout the show. When you are sitting in the auditorium you really feel part of the action whether in a tropical forest or by the sea. Associate sound designer David Patridge explains:

"We have been able to expand locations for the surround and we have more surround in the ceiling and around the walls because the room is more open and much bigger. There is also a reasonably low ceiling FOH. I think sonically, the biggest challenge has been the shape of the room - semicircular - the walls tend to capture the sound and send it back into the room - fortunately not so much high end, but at the low end is definitely a problem. Because the low end cancels itself out in certain spots, even with only one sub woofer on, you know it's not an interaction of speakers. Of course it's physics which, try as you might, you can't overcome! We have put multiple subwoofers on various time alignments to try and move the nodes off to the sides so they are in the isles to get a smoother response - definitely a challenge."

Other challenges are the "bouncy castle" style set, Patridge discusses:

"It has a sound all to itself due to its inherent leakiness. The fans that inflate the wall are quite noisy plus there is a significant background noise level from moving light fans and scrollers. However the show is a pop musical and its level is way above the ambient noise floor. Obviously you could not do a straight play in this environment!"

The theatre literally envelops the audience - a sort of semi-circle canopy over people's heads which has been used as a effective metaphor for the canopy of the forest. Speakers overhead and around deliver the sounds of rustling leaves and birds. The jungle surrounds you as scenes play out in different parts of the theatre, the point is shifted so you feel it has a context and a place.

There is no denying this is a sound-heavy show and in the atmosphere where sound designers are constantly in the firing line when it comes to amplifying shows, (What is too much? - What is too little?) how do the duo feel about presenting such a sound heavy show? Patridge discusses:

"Yes, this is a sound-heavy show, but essentially it's a pop musical. We are presently working on The Little Mermaid, which will be much more orchestral and lush as opposed to loud. We definitely believe that hearing everything should not be a chore for the audience, on the other hand it certainly should not be so loud that it diminishes performances or feels aggressive and nasty sounding."

Tarzan is a testament to the creative team, the technicians, specialist companies and backstage staff that ensure the safety of performers, the continuity of the show and the sharpness of the production. The show certainly has its moments of brilliance; the plot supplied a whole new meaning to the protagonist's familiar signature cry "Aghh-aghhuaghhaghh-aghhuaghhaghh" whereas technically it was more "Ooh!" "Ahh!" "Wow!"

Need I say more?

Producer - Stage Entertainment
Sound Design - John Shivers
Associate Sound Design - David Patridge
Senior Production Sound Engineer - Hennie Schwithal
Production Sound Engineer (for Orbital) - Dan Samson

Holland - April 2007, the Fortis Circustheater, The Hague. A 2000 strong audience take their seats as a subtly lit, blue scrim front cloth sways gently while animated images of the African continent fade in and out. A sound-scape gradually builds, eventually filling the auditorium with the slap of waves against the sides of a moving ship, rigging gently creaking, sea birds crying overhead.

Then bang! The houselights snap out. Thunder crashes and lightening explodes - the waves are now smashing into the sides of the ship, the rigging and sea birds are screaming and the huge sailing ship starts to break up. As suddenly as the houselights go out, the action cuts to the interior of the ship where a young couple desperately try to save their baby's life.

Tarzan the Musical's opening sequence is one of the fastest paced, most dramatic openings to a show I have ever experienced - there were more cues in the first five minutes than you could shake a "standby" at. Sound, automation, flying, lighting, projection, traps - you name it the "showcaller" was calling it - a veritable orgy of technical activity.

Aurally, visually, and technically, Tarzan is a truly spectacular piece of theatre. With a percussion based score by Phil Collins, it's a showcase of what can be achieved with oodles of time, plenty of money, state-of-the-art technical equipment and a lot of very clever, conscientious and dedicated production staff.

And dedicated they needed to be! The show footprint has been transferred from a much smaller Broadway theatre and expanded to fit the substantial Fortis Circustheater - not as simple as it may first sound. Sound design associate David Patridge can laugh now, he explains:

"Initially we all worked from behind the iron and the auditorium was a permanent hardhat area. Even when we did eventually move out into the auditorium we had no choice but to set up camp under the first balcony - things regularly fell out from the roof!"

Featuring multi-part human flying combined with sophisticated stage automation; LX, video and sound cues running within microseconds of one another, one of the most crucial elements of the show is the comprehensive, communications system:

Performers fly across both the stage and auditorium so there are numerous sights around the venue where both visual and audio communications are essential. Some areas have headsets and a single video monitor but others like the showcaller, the automation controller, the human flying system, some members of the band and the people below stage setting up lifts and traps, have numerous monitors and switchers to jump between views.

The showcaller's desk, positioned high above the audience at the rear of the auditorium - is more like an air traffic control centre than a prompt desk. The show relies heavily on over 24 cameras, both static and moving, strategically placed around the stage and auditorium. This is backed up by a sophisticated Clearcom communications system, Softcue cue light system and no less than 24 twin-channel fully duplex Telex Radio comm units, all of which is supplied by the UK's Orbital Sound.

Chris Headlam, managing director of Orbital discusses:

"The video and wireless communication elements of this production are vital for safety reasons - so much so, that if any part of it went down, the show would have to be cancelled. All of the video is recorded for each show; so if an accident does happen the H&S people can analyse the footage."

Orbital also supplied the PA system to producers Stage Entertainment. Sound designer John Shivers and his associate David Patiridge wanted to use an L'Acoustic system as they had in the USA. However the Dutch venue is substantially bigger than the Broadway theatre so the original dV-Dosc PA was upgraded to V-Dosc. Headlam explains:

"Main PA has increased in size because the Circustheater is a larger venue. The original US system of dV-Dosc has been replaced with a 14 cabinet V-Dosc system providing a seven element hang L and R. This is backed up by 15 dV-Dosc elements, nine of which form a central cluster whilst three each left and right hang under the V-Dosc to cover the front few rows of the auditorium. In addition there are eight d&b B2 subwoofers and d&b E3s for frontfills. FOH there are 56 L'Acoustic MTD108As; 40 providing FOH surround and the remainder are fills and under balcony cover."

Racks came in pre-setup from Orbital, which helped massively time-wise. Chief engineer Hennie Schwithal discusses the setup:

"It's a frame-wrap Orbital built to its own specification. This is an interlocking system. There are three Yamaha PM1D DSPs, one of which is redundant. The other two work in parallel allowing a single PM1D control surface to mix 196 channels. Next along is the LCS Matrix - three frames, which handle all the sound effects and the surround sound programming. Above that we've got a flat screen (which at the time was displaying the PM1D manager programme for remote access into the PM1D and its diagnostics). Then we have a 3-phase mains distribution system. The rest of the racks are composed of 40 Lab.Gruppen LAB4000 amplifiers, and d&b D12s for the B2 sub-bases and the E3s. System processing is done with XTA DP448 units working with a digital input.