Technical Theatre Preservation Group
Our logo is based on an image from the Howard & Wyndham Management book which is undated but thought to have been shortly after WW2. The book is full of ridiculous levels of detail and form filling required for the leadership team back then but it also documented lots of technical detail related to stage dimensions, flying and lighting. This image is based on the stage plan of the Glasgow Theatre Royal tweaked slightly to include our title.
Ian started backstage as an L/X casual at many Tyneside venues in his youth before a job in telecommunications. A mid-career move to CCT Theatre Lighting found him as a spotlight salesman with Silhouettes, controls and projects. Post-CCT he continued to crew on a semi-pro basis, notably with Just FX the pyro people.
Ian is retired now after a long career mostly in Telecommunications which included software support, phone systems and data networks.
During his freelance contractor years with ISDN installed in the home office he started up four automated mailing lists, two of which were entertainment technology related (Tabslist and Cinemation). The mailing lists were eventually eclipsed by more feature-rich online forums such as Blue Room, however Ian continues to keep an eye on the lively Facebook group ‘British Entertainment Technology Archaeology’ (BETA) which has nearly 6,500 members.
This is a collection of 20th Century theatre lighting equipment that urgently needed a new home in September 2024. It was stored at Nottingham Trent University and collected by Shane Guy, much of it from the Enlighten Initiative. A departmental move to a new building meant a new home was necessary and it is now in the safe keeping of the TTPG using Rocket storage in Nottingham. It will eventually get transported to Mike’s storage unit in Scotland for restoration.
During World War 2, Strand Electric (via Fitups Manchester) worked with the Government on creating a plausible simulation of a night torpedo run to bomb ships for pilots. Whilst there are very few photographs as it was all top secret at the time, Shane Guy obtained this photo from the Imperial War Museum as a basis for recreating a working recreation and is currently in the late stages of completing his PhD on the topic.
In 1963 eminent lighting designer Charlie Bristow lit The Flying Dutchman at Sadlers Wells to critical acclaim. Shane Guy recreated it at Nottingham Trent University with authentic equipment in more recent times. This photo gives a glimpse of what it looked like.
Mike, Shane and Ian will be presenting at Plasa Leeds this year, more details soon.
This presentation is all about their own efforts to preserve the past along with other notable success stories (and failures) in their lifetimes. Shane will explain his groundbreaking work recreating wartime virtual reality and notable operatic lighting.