Fifty Nine Productions
59 Productions Projection Design
Projection or video design involves the creation and integration of moving and static images into a stage picture. In most cases, we work closely with the director and designer to develop an appropriate visual language, and to answer the question, 'what role does the video play?' in any dramatic moment. Our job involves bringing together a variety of visual disciplines - photography, animation, filmmaking and graphic art and subsequently working out the best way - creatively, and technically - to integrate them into a stage production. The vast majority of our work involves projection as the means by which images and footage are displayed on the stage, but we also work with screens, lights, and various emerging display technologies as they become available. We always involve ourselves technically as well as artistically in any project, to ensure the best fit for the job in terms of equipment and approach.
Below is a selection of our projects which have included projection elements designed by us...
The Baroque Story
Historic Royal Palaces/59
Hampton Court Palace, 24th May 2013
Gallery & Museum
A two-room, immersive video installation designed and produced by 59 Productions, introducing the 17th Century Baroque wing of Hampton Court Palace to visitors
The Perfect American
ENO / Teatro Real Madrid
London Coliseum, June 2013
Opera
Based on Peter Stephan Jungk’s novel and written by Philip Glass, one of the world’s most important composers, The Perfect American imagines the final years of Walt Disney’s life, including mythical meetings with Abraham Lincoln and Andy Warhol.
Fraulein Julie / Miss Julie Barbican
Schaubune Berlin / Barbican Theatre London
Barbican, April 30th - May 4th 2013
Theatre
Directed by Katie Mitchell and Leo Warner, this production further explores the live filming techniques developed over six previous collaborations, this time taking Strindberg's bleak Swedish drama about class war and gender conflict.
David Bowie is
V&A Museum
V&A, 23rd March 2013
Gallery & Museum
59 Productions are lead designers on the 'David Bowie is' exhibition at the V&A museum in collaboration with Real Studios. The exhibition is now the fastest selling event in the museum's history.
"A triumph...Astonishing"
The Evening Standard
"Awe-inspiring"
The Guardian
"Stunning"
Daily Telegraph
"Stylish and outrageous"
The Times
The Yellow Wallpaper
Schaubuhne Berlin
Schaubuhne Berlin, February 15th 2013
Theatre
59 collaborate with director Katie Mitchell on this live-camera show, based on Charlotte Perkins Gilman's novel.
London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony
The Olympic Stadium, Stratford, July 27th 2012
Events
59 Productions designed the video content for the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
The Perfect American
ENO / Teatro Real Madrid
Teatro Real Madrid, February 2013
Opera
Based on Peter Stephan Jungk’s novel and written by Philip Glass, one of the world’s most important composers, The Perfect American imagines the final years of Walt Disney’s life, including mythical meetings with Abraham Lincoln and Andy Warhol.
War Horse - Australia
National Theatre
Australia, January 2013
Theatre
The National Theatre's Tony Award winning smash hit - featuring animation and projection design by 59 - begins an Australia tour in January 2013, opening in Melbourne.
London 2012 DVD
BBC
DVD, 19th November 2012
Film & TV
After designing the video and animated content seen throughout the stadium for the 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony, 59 have now recreated some of the key projection sequences from the show, presented as special features for this DVD/Blu Ray commemorative box set.
Reise Durch Die Nacht / Night Train
Schauspiel Koln
Halle Kalk, Schauspiel Koln, 13th October 2012
Theatre
Directed by Katie Mitchell, this adaptation of Friederike Mayröcker's poetic prose novella at the Schauspielhaus Kóln features video directed by 59's Leo Warner. This is the latest in a string of collaborations between Mitchell and Warner exploring the use of cinema-quality live video in theatre.
Olympic Title Stings
59 Productions
Olympic Stadium/BBC/Worldwide Broadcast, 27th July 2012
Film & TV, Events
These live-action title stings headlined the creative sections in Danny Boyle's Olympic Opening Ceremony in London 2012. All of them were displayed on the vast screens in the stadium, synchronised with the action on stage, and many were cut in full-frame to the live worldwide broadcast.
Al Gran Sole Carico d'Amore
Staatsoper Berlin
Kraftwerk Mitte, 1st-11th March 2012
Opera
This production directed by Katie Mitchell with Director of Photography Leo Warner (59 Productions) premiered in the vast Felsenreitschule at the Salzburg Festival in 2009. It has been re-staged to fit into the extraordinary post-industrial space of Kraftwerk Mitte, a disused power station in Berlin's Kreuzberg area.
Five Truths - Leeds
V&A/59 Productions
Howard Assembly Room, Leeds, February 2012
Theatre, Gallery & Museum
After an acclaimed showcase at the V&A in London in 2011, this new video installation, directed and devised by Katie Mitchell, and produced by 59 has opened in Leeds. Leo Warner is the cinematographer and video designer for the project.
War Horse - Toronto
Princess of Wales Theatre, Toronto
From February 28th 2012
Theatre
The National Theatre's Tony Award winning smash hit - featuring animation and projection design by 59 - opens at the Princess of Wales Theatre, Toronto in February 2012.
The Enchanted Island
Metropolitan Opera, New York
from December 31st 2011
Opera
This new opera, with a new libretto by Jeremy Sams, is assembled from the greatest hits of the Baroque opera era, and is based on the Shakespearean stories of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and The Tempest.
Dark Sisters
Gotham Chamber Opera / MTG / OCP
Gerald W. Lynch Theater, 9th November 2011
Opera
59 has designed the set and projection for Dark Sisters, a new opera which describes one woman’s dangerous attempt to escape her life as a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints (FLDS).
Les Miserables - US tour
Cameron Mackintosh / Networks
Tour, From Nov 2010
Musical
After the spectacular success of the European tour of this re-design and re-imagining of Schoenberg and Boubel's 25-year old classic - featuring animation and projection by 59 Productions throughout - this North-American tour was launched in November 2011.
Satyagraha - Met Opera
Metropolitan Opera / ENO / Improbable
Met Opera, New York, from November 4th 2011
Opera
Kristin, nach Fräulein Julie - Avignon
Schaubuhne Berlin
Avignon Festival, July 2011
Theatre
59's Leo Warner co-directed this live-cinema adaptation of Strindberg's 1888 classic with Katie Mitchell at the Schaubuhne in Berlin in 2010. It appeared at the renowned Avignon theatre festival in July 2011.
Five Truths
V&A/59 Productions
V&A Museum, June 2011
Theatre, Film & TV, Gallery & Museum
A new commission from the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), this video installation is directed and devised by Katie Mitchell, and produced by 59. Leo Warner is the cinematographer and video designer for the project.
War Horse - New York
Vivian Beaumont Theatre
Lincoln Center, from April 14th 2011
Theatre
The National Theatre's West End smash hit War Horse - featuring new projection and animation design by 59 - opened in New York at the Lincoln Centre on the 14th April 2011, before going on to win innumerable awards including 5 TONYs.
Duke Special at the Met Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium, 24th March 2011
Live Music, Gallery & Museum
Irish singer-songwriter Duke Special, who has released a series of albums inspired by great artists and writers, is performing a selection of songs written in response to the Met's Steiglitz. Steichen, Strand exhibition. The live show will feature a selection of these photos, presented on multiple projection screens by 59.
Roald Dahl's Twisted Tales
Lyric Hammersmith
January 24th
Theatre
Based on a collection of dark short stories for adults by Roald Dahl, these twisted tales are adapted for stage for the first time by The League of Gentlemen’s Jeremy Dyson.
Les Miserables - 25th Anniversary Concert
Cameron Mackintosh
O2 Arena, October 3rd
Musical, Live Music, Film & TV, Events
This 16,000-seat spectacular featuring over 200sq metres of video LED wall was broadcast live to cinemas around the world, and recorded for worldwide distribution on DVD
Fraulein Julie / Miss Julie
Schaubuhne, Berlin
Saal B, from September 2010 - in Rep
Theatre
Directed by Katie Mitchell and Leo Warner, this production further explores the live filming techniques developed over six previous collaborations, this time taking Strindberg's bleak Swedish drama about class war and gender conflict.
Idomeneo
English National Opera
London Coliseum, 18th June - 19th July 2009
Opera
One of Mozart's less frequently performed operas, Idomeneo tells the story of the King who strikes a bargain with Neptune which results in him unwittingly committing to sacrifice his own son. The increasingly tumultuous seascape was provided by 59 Productions.
The Pearl Fishers
English National Opera
London Coliseum, June 2010
Opera
A thrilling tale of friendship tested by love, set on an exotic isle in an eastern sea, Bizet's early masterpiece is a gem of 19th-century French opera. The Production features a spectacular opening sequence created using animation and underwater cinematography by 59.
Jonsi
Frakkur / 59
World tour, April - Dec 2010
Live Music
Jonsi - lead singer of Sigur Ros - toured the world in 2010 with a brand new show, entirely designed by 59 Productions, to mark the release of his album, 'Go'.
Satyagraha - ENO
English National Opera
London Coliseum, 25th Feb - 26 March 2010
Opera
One of the most visually spectacular stagings of recent decades, ENO’s hit production of Philip Glass’s Satyagraha broke all Company records for contemporary opera when it premiered and then went on to enjoy huge success at the Metropolitan Opera, New York. This is it's much-anticipated return to the London Coliseum.
Really Old, Live Forty-Five
National Theatre
Cottesloe, 26th January 2010
Theatre
Tamsin Oglesby’s furious comedy confronts head-on our embarrassment and fear about old age. It exposes a society in which compassion vies with pragmatism and, by asking unequivocal questions, it comes up with some extraordinary answers.
Les Miserables - UK & Europe
Cameron Mackintosh
UK and European Tour, 2009-2010
Musical
For it's 25th anniversary Cameron Mackintosh has created a new touring version of this best-loved musical. The new design features projection throughout, and includes some spectacular animated moments including Valjean's walk through the Paris sewers, and Javert's suicide.
The Goldberg Project
Royal Opera House (ROH2)
Linbury Theatre, September 2009
Dance
Kim Brandstrup choreographs a mixture of contemporary dancers and principals of the Royal Ballet in this Olivier award-winning world premiere
Al Gran Sole Carico D'Amore
Salzburg Festival
Aug 2009
Opera
This project marks the 6th collaboration between director Katie Mitchell and DP / video designer Leo Warner
Request Programme / Wunschkonzert - Berlin
Berlin Theatre Festival
May 2009
Theatre
This production from Schauspielhaus Koln has been selected for the Berlin Theatretreffen as one of the "ten best German-language productions of the year".
After Dido
ENO
Young Vic Theatre, 2008
Opera
Leo Warner, director of Fifty Nine Productions, continues a series of collaborations with director Katie Mitchell with this new opera production, inspired by Purcell's Dido and Aeneas
War Horse - West End
National Theatre
New London Theatre, 2009 onwards
Theatre
After two sell-out runs at the National Theatre, War Horse made a transfer to the West End's New London Theatre where it has been running since April 2009, and continues to break its own box office records.
The Loves of Lady Purple
Development project
University of Huddersfiled,
Theatre
The Loves of Lady Purple was a development project with writer Judith Adams, puppeteers Faulty Optic, and other associates of the University of Huddersfield drama department.
Doctor Atomic - London
English National Opera
London Coliseum, February 2009
Opera
This contemporary opera by American composer John Adams is transferring to London after a highly successful season at the Metropolitan Opera in New York
Cherry Blossom
Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh / Teatr Polski Bydgoszcz / Teatr Polski Warsaw
from September 2008
Theatre
Dr Atomic
Metropolitan Opera, NY
October-November 2008
Worldwide cinecast 8th November 2008
Opera
Set in the Nevada Desert in the hours leading up to the testing of the first Atomic Bomb, this opera by John Adams explores the thoughts and fears of Dr Oppenheimer and his associates at Los Alamos. Featuring animation and projection design by 59.
Black Watch - New York
St Ann's Warehouse, Brooklyn
Nov 2007
Theatre
After it's phenomenal success in Edinburgh and on tour, this smash hit from the National Theatre of Scotland sits down in Brooklyn for a sold-out 3 week run.
...some trace of her
National Theatre
Cottesloe, July to October 2008
Theatre
The third collaboration between director Katie Mitchell and 59's Leo Warner, based on Dostoevsky's The Idiot.
Seven Deadly Sins
Royal Ballet
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 2007
Dance
Will Tuckett choreographs this modern piece starring Royal Ballet principal Zenaida Yanowsky and singer-songwriter legend Martha Wainwright.
Attempts on Her Life
National Theatre
Lyttelton, March to May 2007
Theatre
This production of Martin Crimp's grim critique of Western consumer society marks the second live-camera collaboration between 59's Leo Warner and director Katie Mitchell.
Death in Venice
English National Opera
London Coliseum, Summer 2007
Opera
Deborah Warner directs in this atmospheric staging of Britten's opera, based on the novella by Thomas Mann.
Satyagraha
English National Opera / Improbable
London Coliseum, April 2007
Opera
This beautiful production of Philip Glass's extraordinary opera about Gandhi's years as a young lawyer in South Africa features some ravishing images courtesy of the ever-inventive Improbable Theatre Company, with projections by 59.
The Escapologist
Suspect Culture
Tramway, Glasgow (and tour), 2006
Theatre
Based on a book by Adam Philips, this production about a psychiatrist and some of his patients uses a number of cunning video effects to recreate some of Houdini's famous escapology spectacles.
Sweet Fanny Adams in Eden
Stellar Quines
Scottish Plant Collectors Garden, Pitlochry, 2003
Theatre
59's first professional video design job was this extraordinary promenade theatre production, set across a 7 acre outdoor garden in the Perthshire mountains. Multiple screens and a custom-built media server set us on the creative and technical path to where we are today.