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Howard Harrison casts light over “Shadowlands” with Ayrton Rivale Profiles

Lighting designer Howard Harrison has chosen Ayrton Rivale Profiles as his only moving lights - amounting to 95 percent of the entire rig - for the West End transfer of “Shadowlands” which has just opened in London’s Aldwych Theatre.

William Nicholson’s play tells the story of Oxford academic and author of the ‘Narnia Chronicles’, C.S. Lewis’ correspondence and subsequent relationship with the American poet Joy Gresham. The action juxtaposes scenes of honeyed-stone, booklined academic interiors, with the brighter, more modern world of Gresham, both intertwined with brief transitions into wooded, snowy, dream-like Narnia.

Directed by Rachel Kavanaugh and designed by Peter McKintosh, this revival of Chichester Theatre’s 2019 production has a very different look from Chichester’s wide auditorium and apron stage, having a much more intimate setting suited to the Aldwych’s small proscenium stage.

Having used 150 Rivale Profiles in 2025 on the Spanish musical production of “Cinderella”, which is still running in Madrid, Harrison incorporated it into his design for “Shadowlands” as well. “I’d found the Rivale Profiles to be so versatile - a kind of ‘do everything’ kind of fixture that could work as a spot, beam and wash fixture all in one unit”, he notes. “This was exactly what I needed to bring out the subtle emotional beats that ‘Shadowlands’ called for.”

“The play contains many quiet, intimate scenes requiring tight control so the shutters on every unit are essential”, he adds. “The colour rendition is able to transition between the naturalistic Oxford interiors and heightened moments.” The frost system allowed Harrison to shift the fixture from profiletype textures to soft washes depending on the emotional tone of the scene.

The Narnia sequences, although only lasting 45-90 seconds, were the most technically and creatively complex lighting moments where Harrison used the Rivale Profiles to create atmosphere and “air” in the tight upstage space, and deliver fast, dynamic transformations blended with dry ice and effects for some magical transitions.

“The Rivale Profile was crucial for handling the large shifts in tone and wide dynamic range from subtle realism to magical fantasy - often in a very short space of time - that are core to the play”, says the LD. “I was very happy to find White Light had Rivale Profile in stock and to know they are readily available and supported in the UK. I’m a big fan of them, and will definitely be using them again.”

“I’d like to thank our great production electrician, Ben Nicholls, together with Michael Scott and lighting programmer Leon Leitner, who made a really great team”, Harrison concludes.

(Photos: Johan Persson)

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