With a 40-year history as a key player within the theatre market, Unusual Rigging has grown from strength to strength – which is evident from the major expansion at the company’s Northampton HQ. Opened last year, the wood-clad, two-storey building is a feat of engineering that pushes the boundaries of sustainable construction, reflecting some of the core principles of Unusual Rigging.
Founded in 1983 by Alan ‘AJ’ Jacobi following a successful career as a freelance production electrician, Unusual Rigging started with the aim of providing a service for the theatre world. This remit soon expanded to providing large-scale national and international events along with grand opening ceremonies and national celebrations. While remaining an ever-present name within the UK and European scene, in recent times the company has also expanded into the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
While AJ passed away in early 2020, his spirit and memory is still very much maintained within the Unusual Rigging complex, with a memorial spot that now looks over the brand-new HQ.
Meeting TPi as we rolled into the car park was AJ’s son and now Managing Director of Unusual Rigging, Tom Harper. With the aid of his wider board of Directors – including Brian Rose, Steve Porter, Simon Stone and Simon Tiernan – Harper has broadened the horizons of Unusual Rigging since taking over as MD, placing a greater focus on sustainability. “In the years since the death of AJ, the senior management team and I have been navigating completely new ground,” commented Harper. “AJ was not just the owner of Unusual, but a great leader, mentor and friend who had the best interests of his workforce at heart always. Losing him at the height of the pandemic, dealing with the uncertainties that the virus had on the entire live production industry and rebuilding as we emerged from it, was at best, challenging and at times really traumatic.”
Harper has made his own mark on the company, forming a team of directors to support him in his endeavours, taking bold steps to realise his vision for the future of the company, while also paying homage to AJ’s long-term goals. Seeing the abundance of EV power points and the solar panel-clad roof, it was clear that sustainability was a central part of that vision.
Harper’s passion for sustainability started prior to him joining the company officially, with his MBA focussed on the topic of Circular Economy. He elaborated: “It’s a set of principles that looks at the possibility of a regenerative economy,” he said, explaining how this was the antithesis of a linear economy approach of “take, make and dispose”.
During his MBA, Harper posed the question: “How ‘circular’ is the theatre industry?” focussing on reusing resources and being more sustainable. “Netherlands-based Circle Economy produced analysis that stated the average global economy was 7% ‘circular’. But during my research I found that the theatre world was 17%,” stated Harper, pointing out that this higher-than-average figure was due to the industry’s history of reusing staging elements and costumes.
Not content with taking this at face value, Harper wished to push these principles further. “We were involved in Shrek the Musical back in 2013 and 60,000kg of metal was required to hang that 30-tonne show,” he recalled. “In the past, that metalwork would have possibly been scrapped, but we posed to the theatre that we would be able to use a great deal of the infrastructure for the next show, which ended up being Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”
This act alone saw the reuse of 70% of the metalwork and, according to Harper, saved 6,000-tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Harper isn’t alone in his drive to investigate sustainable practices, with the Theatre Green Book, of which Unusual Rigging is a partner, one example of the industry coming together on the subject. “When it comes to our delivery as a business, we started looking at our own energy usage with the goal of running entirely on renewables,” stated the MD. “We started to redesign our fabrication department and move to standard brackets as opposed to making bespoke ones for each theatre.”
After pushing the various sustainable practices with its customers, in 2023, Unusual had the opportunity to put these practices in place for the company’s new HQ. “It’s all about designing out waste, designing for disassembly, running on renewables and sequestering carbon,” stated the MD back when construction started back in 2023.
Now a year on from the completion of the building, the entire company seems happy with the result. From renewed paving tiles to the use of glulam (glued laminated timber) and timber frame, with natural biogenic building materials used throughout the building, there isn’t an inch of the build that was not considered for this mission. The company even utilised some world first building materials such as Breathaboard (a material made from agricultural crop waste and a lime-based binder) over plasterboard.
The entire building runs on 100% onsite renewable energy, and the surrounding grounds have been regenerated, adding ponds and specific landscaping bent towards rewilding. “At a cynical level, people only care about the service you provide,” stated the MD when asked about the impact this new build has had on its customers. “I think something happens when you walk the walk.”
To further this mission, in 2025 Unusual Rigging also initiated a full carbon audit of the company by Hope Solutions – a leading sustainability consultancy operating at the intersection of climate science and live events, best known to TPi readers for its work with the likes of Coldplay and Glastonbury Festival. “We’re building something much bigger than a company checklist,” said Harper. “We’re mapping out how Unusual can act as a catalyst for broader industry change – creating tools, processes and partnerships that will allow us and others to align with fast-approaching sustainability regulations and expectations. To have an insight, with this audit, is invaluable and sends a message to other industry colleagues. We rise together.”
FURTHER EXPANSION
Speaking outside of the sustainability mission – but very much on the topic of the future – TPi also learned about some of the more recent projects Unusual had been involved in. While working on multiple theatre projects, the company has also grown its presence within the sporting sector, specifically collaborating with Ross Video for its Spidercam delivery. This was most recently seen during The Open in Portrush. “We first connected with Spidercam many years ago while working on the Olympic Games,” commented Jason White, Senior Production Rigger. “The setup relies on four winches, each pulling in different directions to guide the camera through the air smoothly. While widely used in stadiums and sports arenas, such a system had never been installed over a live golf hole before – largely due to concerns that it could distract players during high-pressure moments. But with this latest installation, those concerns were put to rest.”
Unusual’s work also featured prominently on the London skyline recently, with an installation led by Electric Sheep Events and Warner Bros where a giant Superman statue was hung above The Shard.
Meanwhile internally, Unusual continues grow, with some recent appointments including Matt Stott to increase the company’s engineering capabilities.
The company also offers training for those new to the industry, with its Trainee Rigger Programme providing new recruits with a strong foundation and a clear pathway for career progression within the organisation. Trainees rotate through key departments including Motorshop, LX, Fabrication, Warehouse, and Truss, gaining hands-on experience and a comprehensive understanding of the business. Once they have completed each placement, trainees progress to site work, shadowing and learning directly from senior riggers. Alongside this, they complete industry-recognised training courses to further develop their skills including the NRC Level 2 and eventually Level 3 qualification.
Whether it’s training the next generation of riggers or building towards a more sustainable delivery model of the industry – Unusual Rigging certainly seems willing to question the status quo to push the envelope. Not only internally but with the hope to set an example for the wider entertainment sector.
Words: Stew Hume
Photos: Rachel Ferriman
