Creating space for Covid-safe events
Tour production legend Jake Berry , the man behind many vast international stadium extravaganzas , including U2 ’ s 360 ° Tour and the Beyoncé – Formation Tour , tells Access about his latest endeavour , the Vertical Theatre – a modular , movable , socially distanced performance space
Words : Christopher Barrett
One of the most experienced
production professionals in the live music business , Jake Berry has spent the past 40 years overseeing tour productions for an array of A-list talent including the Rolling Stones , AC / DC , Madonna , Beyoncé , Mötley Crüe and U2 .
The latter ’ s record-breaking 360 ° Tour went on to sell more than 7.2 million tickets . It featured one of the largest and most complex live music tour stage productions ever created , requiring an army of crew members to assemble it every night . The innovative production was the work of the late Mark Fisher , founder of renowned show designers Stufish Entertainment Architects .
With tours of all sizes grounded by Covid-19 , Berry has not wasted his time remembering brighter days . Instead , he has teamed up with his old friends at Stufish , and other leading events professionals , to try to help get shows back on the road .
Joint effort The Vertical Theatre Group ( VTG ) was founded in August last year by Stufish ’ s Ric Lipson and Paul Preston ; live events and documentary producer Holly
Gilliam , daughter of the former Python Terry Gilliam ; theatre producer Katy Lipson ; Digital Theatre CEO Robert Delamere and Berry . The company was created to produce and launch the Vertical Theatre ( VT ) – a modular , portable performance space designed to accommodate social distancing .
The building has a socially distancedaudience capacity of between 1,200 and 2,400 people , depending on Covid-safe event guidelines , but can be adapted once coronavirus restrictions are lifted to accommodate 3,000 . Ric Lipson says there are even plans afoot to create a 10,000-capacity version for when the pandemic is well and truly behind us .
The structure has been designed to accommodate audiences split into groups of between four and 12 . The roofed construction has open sides to enable natural ventilation and will feature a central stage surrounded by a four-storey structure consisting of multiple balconies and viewing boxes , separated by clear screens .
Berry says Ric Lipson had been toying with the concept for years , but the rise of Covid and need for a venue that could be adapted to meet ever-changing event guidelines pushed him towards getting the concept up and running .
“ Ric called me ,” he says . “ We had collaborated a lot in the past on touring stage shows by acts including U2 and Madonna . He said he wanted me to cast my eye over something . Often , it ’ s the production managers who help designers turn their dreams into reality . I thought , ‘ This looks pretty damn good ’.”
The concept was presented to the events industry last month , and Berry says the reaction has been very favourable : “ A portable Covid-safe venue is much needed , so we decided that rather than bottle up all of our ideas and sort of dangle them like carrots in front of selected people , we would go public with it . The response has been pretty overwhelming .”
19