Unusual Rigging Expertise for a Paranormal Build

	Because The Ambassadors Theatre has only one counterweight set, with the rest of the flying handled on hemp, Unusual Rigging developed solutions that worked within the limitations of the existing system.

Unusual Rigging supports Illusion Design & Construct and production manager Juli Fraire in delivering the ambitious two-story house set for the stage adaptation of Paranormal Activity, which opened on December 5 at The Ambassadors Theatre on London's West End.

With creative design by production designer Fly Davis, the open-fronted house requires a construction approach that respects the rigging and structural limitations of the venue, while also preparing the set for future touring. Illusion DC led the technical design, construction methodology and in-house structural analysis, drawing on Unusual Rigging's engineering expertise to realize the design safely within the venue's constraints.

This collaboration continues a longstanding working relationship between Illusion and Unusual, whose previous joint projects include Clueless, Fiddler on the Roof and The Comedy About Spies, which also featured a substantial two-story scenic build.

Luke MacBride, design engineer at Unusual Rigging, explains: "The house is built in separate frames that are assembled in a staged sequence. The roof is built at stage level, lifted above head height, and the first-floor walls are constructed beneath it. The roof is then lowered, the walls are bolted on, and the structure is lifted again so the ground-floor walls can be added. This approach remains one of the safest and most efficient ways to assemble multi-level structures because it allows most of the work to happen at stage level rather than at height."

Because The Ambassadors Theatre has only one counterweight set, with the rest of the flying handled on hemp, Unusual Rigging developed solutions that worked within the limitations of the existing system. The single counterweight was needed to fly the production's front cloth, which is longer than the proscenium height and could not travel the required distance in a single move.

MacBride adds: "Simon Stone, head of theatre at Unusual, suggested an approach commonly known as tripping the cloth. This involves picking the cloth up halfway down while the top is dead hung. It allows the cloth to fold in on itself, so we can fly a larger cloth than the building height would normally allow. Without this solution, the production would not have been able to move the front cloth cleanly in and out."

The set was constructed at Illusion Design & Construct's workshop in Belvedere, Kent, ahead of installation at The Ambassadors Theatre. Fabrication began on October 6, while the structure was loaded into the venue in the last week of November and is now fully assembled on stage in preparation for the production's opening on December 5 in London's West End.

Martin Griffith, project manager at Illusion DC says: "We began with Fly Davis' 1:25 scale physical model to define the build method, transportation approach and sectional breakdown before bringing Unusual Rigging into the process to refine feasibility and ensure the structure could be installed safely within the theatre's constraints. The support of Unusual was second to none, as it has been on every project we have worked on together."