Stonex designs the lighting for the musical The Pillars of the Earth in Madrid.

The musical The pillars of the earth bid farewell to Madrid on June 1st after a successful season at the EDP Gran Vía Theatre. A super production by Beon Entertainment that spared no detail to immerse the audience in the Middle Ages. And yes, you guessed it: the lighting was key to achieving this. Those responsible for the light magic? An arsenal of Ayrton luminaires and ETC cutouts supplied by Stonex, and an impeccable design signed by Philip Ramos y Juanjo Beloqui.

Narrative light for an epic story

“The narrative of the work is very powerful but also very complex,” the designer tells us. Philip Ramos"It's necessary to transport the audience through countless locations and time jumps, ensuring they don't get lost and can follow the story. That's why, from the beginning, our greatest effort has been focused on supporting the dramaturgy and the characters' actions, and ensuring the audience is clearly situated at every moment of the performance. Collaboration with the rest of the production's artistic team has been essential to this achievement."

But it wasn't just a matter of accompanying the story; it was also necessary to create a period setting. "The work is set in the Middle Ages, at the beginning of the construction of the first Gothic cathedrals. It was very important for us to recreate the lighting atmospheres of the period: candlelight, powerful entrances of exterior light into gloomy interiors, Gothic cathedral interiors, or medieval market exteriors with very realistic daylight. We were looking for a tenebrist lighting, highly contrasted yet painterly. Great Baroque painters, such as Caravaggio, were a key reference when designing the lighting."

For its part, Juanjo Beloqui, co-lighting designer with Ramos, defines the design in three words: “very versatile, effective, and above all, optimized.” On a personal level, he confesses: “It was a huge challenge, and Felipe's experience in tackling this type of work was undoubtedly decisive. The text, in its adaptation to the original work, perfectly condenses the entire story and the changes in scene, atmosphere, and passages… It required us, along with the scenery and stage resources, to achieve this variety of different environments, moving from a castle interior to a courtyard, a forest, a throne room, and even a dungeon beneath the castle. To achieve all of this, the different types of fixtures, in each different family of spotlights, contributed a different quality.”

Ayrton technology at full capacity

To achieve this richly nuanced atmosphere, Ramos and Beloqui have played with a varied equipment of Ayrton luminairesHere's the list of the musical's stars (no spoilers):

• Eurus: Solid foundation of design, from grill to stage doors.
• Diablos: perfect for simulating light coming through windows.
• Rival Profile and Rivale Wash: brutal light quality and excellent color fidelity.
• Zonda 3 Wash: key allies in gaps where stage space was limited.
• Argos 6 Wash: ideal for bathing large stage walls in light.
• Bora and Levante: brute force for moments of great impact.
• Karif: Very defined beam effects for more specific scenes.

“From the very first conversations with the production company, Beon Entertainment, they told me they wanted to acquire all new lighting equipment for this production. Naturally, this meant a significant investment in equipment, and I was responsible for making the best possible selection, taking into account the needs I anticipated after the initial artistic meetings and reviewing the set designs.
"I needed a very versatile rig, based on different types of lighting fixtures. It was essential that they had good light output, since, as I mentioned before, I was looking for very expressive lighting, with powerful light inputs that interacted with the different stage elements."

And adds:
“The size of the spotlights was also a critical factor, as the musical's set is enormous and completely encloses the stage box, leaving little room for light to enter through the numerous windows and doors. Furthermore, there are many corporeal elements hanging from the truss, so optimizing the space occupied by the spotlights was essential.
Another important criterion for me was color rendering. I needed equipment with a high color rendering index to avoid surprises with the tones of the costumes, wigs, and makeup, and, above all, to achieve natural skin tones on the faces.
We also considered that several projectors would be frequently controlled by a tracking system, so it was essential that they have good motorization, capable of guaranteeing agile and reliable movements.”

And that's where Ayrton entered the market with a bang. “We opted for the Ayrton system, supplied by Stonex. It met all the specifications we were looking for and allowed us to have the quantity and types of projectors necessary for the lighting design, without exceeding the production budget.”

The stars of lighting design in detail

Felipe gives us the details of each light fixture's use down to the last detail:
“We have used the following Ayrton brand luminairesEurus, Diablo, Karif, Rivale Profile, Rivale Wash, Argo 6 Wash, Zonda 3 Wash, Bora, and Levante. Also included are some conventional equipment such as ETC Source Four cutouts, ETC Source Four Par, ParLED RGBW, and a significant amount of decorative lighting integrated into the set.
The Eurus They form a basic grid distributed in four terms, in addition to covering the three main doors of the stage.
The Rival, both in their Profile version (located at front and side angles) and Wash (from the back), have given us a plus thanks to the quality of their light and their excellent color reproduction.
In the gaps and windows of the scenery, where space was limited, we mainly used Diablos - due to their excellent size/lighting ratio -, Zonda 3 Wash and some Levante.
The Argo 6 Wash We mainly use them to provide general light baths to the walls of the scenery.
The Explore, due to their power, were reserved for specific situations where we needed a high-brightness light source.
The KarifBeam fixtures with a more concentrated beam were used to highlight specific actions and, in some cases, with gobos to create more defined beams. Although I must say we used them less than expected, as they didn't produce the results we expected.
For the tracking system we used Rivale Profile, Eurus, Diablo and Zonda 3, with good results.”

And adds:
“I was particularly surprised by the RivalThis is the first time I've worked with this model, and I found it to be a very versatile fixture: compact, with excellent light output and high color fidelity.

For his part, Juanjo also shares his vision:
"Honestly, the selection of the equipment was originally Felipe Ramos's responsibility, and ultimately, it was largely down to the availability and intentions of the production team when acquiring the material. This doesn't mean the selection wasn't optimal.
Each of these scenes had a different need when it came to setting and lighting. For example, in the case of the light that enters through all the stage windows, the Devils became a perfect ally. Thanks to their versatility, power, and, above all, their size. Integrated into the set design, they provided a fantastic resource.
The Zonda, peeking through the small gaps that the scenery allowed you.
The Rival Profile lighting very cleanly and cutting to the limit of touching the scenery without staining, to have very rich scenes and I think very well treated.”

Juanjo concludes:
"It's a very realistic work that's close to the different environments the book describes, and which should be reflected in what the viewer sees in person. I think the lighting, along with the set design and staging, helped greatly in capturing what people had in mind when they read the book."

This project demonstrates that, with the right choice of lighting and a design committed to storytelling, any stage challenge, no matter how complex, can be tackled. At Stonex, we continue to focus on solutions that elevate the visual language of shows and support the talent of those who create light.