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New London production of “Starlight Express” supported by Icefog Q and TheOne generators from MDG

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Starlight Express”, re-envisioned for the 21st century, has taken to the stage in the specially designed Starlight Auditorium at London’s Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre.

With new orchestrations, choreography and songs, the story of a child’s train set that magically comes to life retains all its original wonder, with roller skate races around the auditorium and powerful performances from the 40-strong company of “rolling stock” (engines and carriages) in a production that begins from the moment the audience steps into the theatre. The audience is closely entwined in the action which takes place on a near in-the-round main stage with racing track “spokes” leading off between sunken areas of seating and around the auditorium.

In anticipation of a long run, the show’s producers, Michael Harrison Entertainment Ltd, made an early decision to purchase four MDG Icefog Q low pressure generators directly from MDG UK to handle the show’s low fog requirements.

“With forty roller skaters travelling at speed, it was vital we employed a top-class CO2 system because it would not leave any slippery residue - water or vapour - on the track”, says Oliver Thomas, Senior Production Electrician for “Starlight Express”. “Noise levels were also a factor as the Icefog Q generators are located under the show floor very close to the audience.”

Two Icefog Q low pressure generators are located upstage left and right providing low fog across the centre stage area of the main floor. Two more Icefog Qs are embedded in the central stage lift where low fog is pumped through ducting that travels up with the lift and cascades down its sides to give the impression the lift - and the performer on it - is floating. “If we were to use smoke machines the atmosphere would become too ‘smoky’ with the movement of the skaters, but the Icefog has a dense low fog that provides perfect wispiness but remains low enough for sight lines to remain uninterrupted when it is skated through”, explains Thomas.

The decision process was helped along by MDG UK, whose Matt Wiseman took a demo unit to the show’s rehearsal studios in 3 Mills, East London. Here director Luke Sheppard and lighting designer Howard Hudson were able to see how the low fog reacted with the movement of the skaters, and also try out new ideas to explore what effects could be achieved. It also gave the skating team the chance to feel confident that the low fog option would be safe and to acclimatise to skating through it on different surfaces.

“By choosing the low pressure Icefog Q we were able to dispense with individual CO2 bottles and feed the four Icefog Q generators directly from two 230 ltr CO2 dewar tanks located within the theatre”, adds Thomas. “These dewars have content gauges which make it easy to see how much CO2 is left, so there is no wastage swapping out part-used bottles, and they are refilled directly (by BOC) on a weekly delivery. The dewars never leave the theatre, there’s no time wasted or manhandling in disconnecting bottles and hosing, and we only pay for what we use. They are much easier to manage, cost effective and there’s less wastage. From a cost and environmental point of view it’s a very efficient system for long running shows.”

The haze for Starlight Express is supplied by two MDG TheOne dual haze and fog generators from Christie Lites, the main technical provider for the show. “The new production of Starlight Express is performed in a large space (60 m x 30 m) with inconsistent and varied air flow so we knew using MDG’s TheOne would be vital to provide a consistent and adjustable level of haze across the vast space”, says lighting designer Howard Hudson.

TheOne generators are rigged over the stage area and in the gantry over the auditorium seating, their travelling cradles, Thomas states, making them “easy to roll on stage and useful to hoist into position”. “Tucked away in these positions they fill the room with constant haze which is virtually undetectable by the audience”, he continues. “The haze is so fine it just travels through the natural air circulation of the venue. TheOne gives us the volume and large range of control to handle the huge space without the network of ducting and multiple CO2 bottles that a large number of smaller generators would require. Instead we feed TheOnes from the same dewar tanks as the Icefog Qs, TheOnes using vaporous CO2 and the Icefog Qs using liquid CO2, and the fluid reservoirs on each of TheOne holds 25 ltrs.”

“MDG was extremely helpful in providing us with all the information we needed to create our own pipework to be able to site the Icefog Qs and TheOnes wherever we wanted”, concludes Thomas. “All of this ties together to form a very efficient, economical and environmentally conscious fog and haze system.”

“Starlight Express” began its journey in June 2024 and has recently extended its booking until October 2025.

Pictured: “Starlight Express” at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre. (Photos: Pamala Raith)

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