Member Article

On creates pop-up theatre for Selfridges

Leading East Midlands live event company On Event Production Co was recently commissioned by high end department store Selfridges in Birmingham to create a functioning theatre space on the fifth storey of the Bull Ring’s Moor Street car park.

The Castle Donington-based company created the environment for the ‘reFASHIONed Theatre project, a collaboration between Selfridges, Birmingham Royal Ballet, The Old Rep, mac, RADA and the Birmingham School of Acting, which formed part of Selfridge’s annual Live + Loud festival, which seeks to celebrate local talent.

In what was one of its most ambitious projects to date, On transformed an area of the car park into a pop-up, fully constructed, working theatre featuring a traditional thrust stage, with the audience surrounding the long rectangular stage on two sides and the backstage area connected by its upstage end.

The company also provided full lighting and sound support, which enabled the various productions to personalise and adapt lighting effects to their individual needs and requirements.

The theatre, which holds 150 people, hosted a variety of different events from 28 Sep – 1 Oct, with the emphasis particularly placed on the work of Shakespeare. This included a previously sold-out and acclaimed performance of Macbeth – Kill Bill Shakespeare, a re-imagining of one of Shakespeare’s most well-known tragedies by Quentin Tarantino and performed by Birmingham School of Acting.

The Autin Dance Theatre performed a selection of dance pieces inspired by Shakespeare’s words, whilst the Hip-Hop Shakespeare Company performed contemporary take on the Bard’s work.

The ‘reFASHIONed Theatre project follows a similar event that took place within Selfridge’s London store to mark the 400th anniversary year of Shakespeare’s death.

Commenting on the project, Serena Tutt, marketing manager at Selfridges, Birmingham said:

“On were a complete pleasure to work with. They understood so well what we were looking for and worked to our brand guidelines and expectations perfectly.

“They truly owned the project, and took away the hassle allowing us to concentrate on the other event elements. They were not fazed by our high standards, constant or last minute changes and were highly professional at all times, delivering an outstanding production!”

Guy Eaton, managing director at On, added:

“We never fail to be blown away by the concepts presented to us by clients and this project was certainly no exception.

“It’s not every day you’re allowed to convert your average car park into something as elaborate as a fully functional theatre for such a high profile programme of events.

“We really enjoyed working with the Selfridges team and I hope we can get involved in future projects with them.”

Selfridges’ annual Live and Loud festival seeks to discover and promote the best local creative talent through a range of different events, from beauty demonstrations and food tastings to live DJs and interactive workshops.

Since it was launched in 2004, On has established a reputation as one of the Midlands’ most creative production companies, with an unrivalled knowledge of the live events market and an established network of clients and suppliers across the UK.

The company provides production management and technical solutions for live events across the UK. Its talented team of production managers, designers and technicians and their vibrant approach enables them to provide tailored solutions that deliver outstanding results.

Leading East Midlands live event company On Event Production Co was recently commissioned by high end department store Selfridges in Birmingham to create a functioning theatre space on the fifth storey of the Bull Ring’s Moor Street car park.

The Castle Donington-based company created the environment for the ‘reFASHIONed Theatre project, a collaboration between Selfridges, Birmingham Royal Ballet, The Old Rep, mac, RADA and the Birmingham School of Acting, which formed part of Selfridge’s annual Live + Loud festival, which seeks to celebrate local talent.

In what was one of its most ambitious projects to date, On transformed an area of the car park into a pop-up, fully constructed, working theatre featuring a traditional thrust stage, with the audience surrounding the long rectangular stage on two sides and the backstage area connected by its upstage end.

The company also provided full lighting and sound support, which enabled the various productions to personalise and adapt lighting effects to their individual needs and requirements.

The theatre, which holds 150 people, hosted a variety of different events from 28 Sep – 1 Oct, with the emphasis particularly placed on the work of Shakespeare. This included a previously sold-out and acclaimed performance of Macbeth – Kill Bill Shakespeare, a re-imagining of one of Shakespeare’s most well-known tragedies by Quentin Tarantino and performed by Birmingham School of Acting.

The Autin Dance Theatre performed a selection of dance pieces inspired by Shakespeare’s words, whilst the Hip-Hop Shakespeare Company performed contemporary take on the Bard’s work.

The ‘reFASHIONed Theatre project follows a similar event that took place within Selfridge’s London store to mark the 400th anniversary year of Shakespeare’s death.

Commenting on the project, Serena Tutt, marketing manager at Selfridges, Birmingham said:

“On were a complete pleasure to work with. They understood so well what we were looking for and worked to our brand guidelines and expectations perfectly.

“They truly owned the project, and took away the hassle allowing us to concentrate on the other event elements. They were not fazed by our high standards, constant or last minute changes and were highly professional at all times, delivering an outstanding production!”

Guy Eaton, managing director at On, added:

“We never fail to be blown away by the concepts presented to us by clients and this project was certainly no exception.

“It’s not every day you’re allowed to convert your average car park into something as elaborate as a fully functional theatre for such a high profile programme of events.

“We really enjoyed working with the Selfridges team and I hope we can get involved in future projects with them.”

Selfridges’ annual Live and Loud festival seeks to discover and promote the best local creative talent through a range of different events, from beauty demonstrations and food tastings to live DJs and interactive workshops.

Since it was launched in 2004, On has established a reputation as one of the Midlands’ most creative production companies, with an unrivalled knowledge of the live events market and an established network of clients and suppliers across the UK.

The company provides production management and technical solutions for live events across the UK. Its talented team of production managers, designers and technicians and their vibrant approach enables them to provide tailored solutions that deliver outstanding results.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Donna Hill .