Take That Go Across Europe With Tait

With Robbie Williams re-joining UK’s Take That, the band was keen to build on its reputation for wowing audiences with spectacular live shows. Production manager Chris Vaughan explains:
 
“This is a very complex production, I gave some specific scenic elements to Tait and having never worked with them before, it’s been a good experience and we’ve both learned from each other.”
 
Tait Towers project manager James Erwin started concept development with Chris Vaughan, Es Devlin, Malcolm Birkett, and Phil Broad four months ahead of the tour, working on three key custom show elements:
 
B-stage
The custom B-stage was 40’ 6” wide and 37’ 6” deep, based on Tait’s proprietary Mag Deck. Incorporating eight 30”x80” lift decks and one 12’ 4”x7’11” centre lift, the stage was designed with maximum use of limited space in mind to store theatrical props used during the show. To maintain clear audience sightlines on the stadium floors the stage was only 5” high (normally stages are 6”), and included a custom front-of-house mixer bunker with retractable roofs. The song ‘Kids’ ran with a Chess theme so the specially treated non-slip paint treatment on the stage floor followed the grid of a chessboard.

Bridge

The custom curved bridge spanning the stage at 13m² held up many of the other effects. The band performed one song on the bridge, with a spectacular descent back to the stage.
 
Built into the underside of the bridge was a 6” aluminium i-beam track for tracking the video screen (structure by Tait, video by Nocturne), with 6” aluminium track for tracking winches and three tracking winches with a lifting axis of 10 feet / sec and tracking axis of 5.5” per second. There were also lighting positions for VL3500’S, 2-lite Moles, colorblaze 72’s and cable management.
 
The bridge incorporated individual performer elevators that lowered four of the Take That performers down to the stage during the Flood sequence, while Robbie Williams ‘swan dived’ off the bridge via a custom telescopic arm at the centre, designed to divert flight cables as he descended.
 
Another Robbie Williams stunt was to appear out of door that appeared in the video screen; Tait designed the ‘saloon frame’ doors – a custom frame for the Nocturne video screen for the effect.
 
There were 12 gushing water nozzles built into the bridge capable of delivering 385 gallons per minute onto the aerialist performers beneath.
 
The bridge is made up of 13 sections, all designed to fit tightly into sea containers and with the two sections at either end of the bridge becoming the storage garage for the winches for the most efficient transportation.
 
The Venetian Cart
Hanging above the bridge, this element was also part of the water effect, with five rainbars, each delivering a further 160 gallons per minute, cascading down on to the aerialists as they performed.
 
Their ‘Venetian Cart’ name came from the look of the retractable ladders made up of opposing aluminium channels fabricated to supply a bit of spring for the dancers. They were lifted on four chain motors, with six par can lights built in per cart, permanently cabled for ease. Tait also allowed a provision for Flywire to hang six half ton cyber hoists per cart that pick up aerialist dancers, lighting and props.
 
Tait supplied its new T-winch – a versatile winch designed just in time for the tour. Dimensions - 14” x 24” X 42” for flying people or scenery, it works for a range of props and people, on this tour it’s used for the carts, tracking bridge winches, flying Robbie, lowering the performer elevators during the flood and lifting the yellow running decks. Using one generic piece of equipment to achieve all of this means it is easier to train people in its use and maintenance. It also means that less equipment, people and spares need to be carried on the road.
 
Frederic Opsomer, Tait Technologies CEO based in Belgium, picked up the project liaison with the European based tour, contributing two further Tait group elements to the show:-
 
1: The stage Kabuki was a printed cloth with LED’S integrated; this was carefully created so that the artwork was not seen until band came on-stage. The team researched different cloths, and put five different types together to create a Kabuki that revealed artwork under certain light to the audience.
 
2: Tait manufactured video frames for XL Video’s S11 video panels, which formed the backdrop across the width of the stage. The XL frames were a similar design to that of Tait Nocturne frames and the use of Tait frames on both video systems allowed for a quick and easy build and whilst also facilitating the ‘saloon door’ trick for Robbie to appear through the screen.
 
James Erwin said: “This has been a very complex production overall and it’s been great to be part of an absolutely great team. Rick Worsfold and the crew’s ownership of our gear was unique: they took over and have been fantastic.”