Show Me.

The use of project in theatre has grown rapidly in the past 20 years and in fact it's rather difficult to find productions that don't use projections in one way or another. Shows using projections are: Billy Elliot, Wicked, War Horse, Matilda, Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, Les Miserables, Spring Awakening, the list is endless. Charlie and the Chocolate factory as shown above is one of the best uses of projections currently on the West End/Broadway, the man behind the projections in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is Jon Driscoll.

Driscoll's credits include;

Ghost, Lun-Fantanne Theatre

Phantom of the Opera 25th Anniversary, Royal Albert Hall 

The Power of Yes, Lytteltan Theatre

Immersive yet practical, in the theatre the possibilities of projections are endless and free up time and narrative because they are so quick to change. They give the director the opportunity to use the element of surprise, something now lost in theatre due to complicated scene changes. Whilst literal in meaning the projections give the show another dimension for the audience to take in. In Charlie the projections are more game like to show the playfull-ness of the subject matter whereas in Phantom the projections are hyperrealistic in order to convey the very human emotions one must feel to connect to the story line of the show.

This is what I like about Jon's work, they assist the audience not hinder it. It is there to add to their experience and their understanding of the narrative, not to act alone. As stand alone pieces they could be exhibited however their naturalistic base setting could cause problems as they could be seen as too literal for modern day art.

I'd also like to give a mention to the 2009 production of Richard Bean's England People Very Nice a show which mixed animation (Pete Bishop) with live action by projecting animated interludes and backdrops to scene onto the front of the abstract set of East End Houses (Set by Mark Thompson). Here is a link to a behind the scenes video showing you clips of the show and how the actors interact with the set.