Universal Fibre Optics were pleased to work with lighting designer Hansjorg Schmidt to provide an unusual and striking lighting feature for the theatre production, Hospitalworks. A combination of 8.6mm and 12.6mm diameter stranded side glow fibre was used in conjunction with a 150W metal halide light source to provide illuminated lines which could be twisted into shapes and supported from the ceiling using clear C-clips.Hansjorg Schmidt says "This was a devised show, set in a ward in a working hospital (the Mayday Hospital in Croydon and then the Burgerhospital in Stuttgart, Germany),and aimed at young audiences from age 3 up. One of the key elements of the show was our wish to transform the ward at the end of the piece. The story was based on the concept that there were no patients in the ward, but that the objects and the building itself were unwell. We therefore developed electricity and light as one of the main symptoms - lightbulbs flickered and blew, for example, and needed attention by one of the nurses. The climax of the piece saw a life operation on a surgical light which then triggered the transformation of the ward - indicating the healing process. The fibreoptics were the ideal agent to illustrate this. Unlit they looked like pieces of wiring and were hardly noticeable - lit they thoroughly transformed the ward, resembling nerves running across ceiling and walls. Against the high ambient light levels of the daylight ward the strong luminosity of the fibres was crucial in the success of the installation, as was universal's capability to tailor the fibres to our specification".
Hospitalworks was a co-production between theatre-rites, Polka Theatre and Theater der Welt 2005 The production was directed by Sue Buckmaster and David Harradine. The scenic Artist was Sophia Clist and music was by Olly Fox. The lighting was designed by Hansjorg Schmidt.
