Time
Dominion Theatre, London (Premiere April 9th, 1986)
Produced and co-written by Dave Clark
Set design: John Napier
Lighting design: Andrew Bridge
This groundbreaking high-tech musical featured Cliff Richard (later David Cassidy) and Laurence Olivier (via projection).
The interior of the theatre was remodelled extensively to accommodate the set design by John Napier (a steel construction featuring a hydraulic lift). The character of Akash (performed by Sir Laurence Olivier) was projected onto a large blank head centre stage, on film. The projected head appeared like a hologram, and was billed as such by the show's producers.
The show took around 3 months to build, with the final five weeks in the Dominion Theatre. The theatre was rewired to accommodate the large power demands of the lighting rig, and a computer was installed to control the 48 hydraulic axes of movement on the set, and the projection system.
The entire set for TIME was built on an old lift that already existed in the Dominion Theatre. After renovation and a rebuild, it was up to the job.