Sunday, Dec 22, 2013
Dubai: Dubai needs “better and bigger venues” capable of staging West End and Broadway productions, according to industry experts.
While Dubai has a handful of theatres and venues, none can accommodate a Broadway or West End show with all its technical aspects, Justin Cook, freelance assistant lighting designer and production electrician for Chicago, said.
Broadway in New York and the West End in London are theatre districts with a number of theatres with seating capacities ranging from around 250 to more than 2,000.
“There is a great need for a full-size West End theatre in Dubai. There are a great number of shows that are looking for new markets to tour.”
The multiple Tony Award-winning Broadway production will be showing in the UAE for the second time on December 19.
Cook has vast experience in working on production sets and in theatres; he works at the Royal Opera House in the UK, and in his spare time he moves Chicago around the world. Cook started working on Chicago in 1999. He also worked on Phantom of the Opera for five years.
He has been to Dubai before, as he worked on Chicago when it was staged at Madinat Jumeirah in 2006, and will be working on the upcoming Chicago show, which will be held at the World Trade Centre.
“When Chicago played in 2006 we had a fantastic response from our audiences...musical theatre is a very attractive night out for tourism across the world.”
He added that in London in 2012 the West End theatre alone grossed £580 million (Dh3.4 billion), which did not include the large number of other tours throughout the UK.
Cook said that all UK producers who take musicals on tour are on the lookout for new venues and markets.
“Dubai could very well be one of those cities that could attract the large-scale musicals, but there needs to be a full-size theatre to accommodate the large technical aspects of these shows.”
‘Very difficult’
He explained that it was tough to fit a theatre show into a conference centre as it’s difficult to install all the scenes and lighting elements that are required.
“It is very difficult for these large empty spaces to be turned into a performance space. That is due to the lack of a flying system, meaning we are very limited to the amount of scenery and lighting that we are able to hang.
“We end up having to do a cut-down version of the show without many of the elements you would see on Broadway or in London,” Cook said.
Technical difficulties aside, Cook said that it takes a lot of people to open a show and “when you have a large cast, dressing room space is always a major concern.”
He added that the lack of a dedicated theatre also adds to the workload.
“When we were here in 2006 we spent a great deal of time turning the Madinat into a theatre, this in turn changes the load from 48 hours to four to five days and costs a lot of money.”
Joanna Marsh, composer in residence of The Score classical music series at the Fridge Dubai, said every time a big production comes to Dubai it finds a good audience.
“There seems to be a very broad spectrum here in the UAE, there are those who like high culture and there are people who like very niche things.
“But there seems to be a population here who have heard of big brands, they have heard of the West End shows and Broadway, because they travel and know what’s what, and so I think there would be a strong case for big shows to come here and perform.”
However, she also Cook’s views that there were not enough venues in the UAE.
“We need better venues and more venues, that’s for sure,” she added.
Dubai theatres include Madinat Theatre and Dubai Community Theatre and Arts Centre (Ductac). Madinat Theatre can seat 442 people, 358 in the stalls and 84 in the gallery, including six wheelchair spaces.
Ductac spans some 7,424 square metres and includes a 543-seat theatre.
By Noorhan Barakat Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2013. All rights reserved.
