Russell Brand Live

Concerts, Events, UK

As one of the UK’s top comedians, political activists, actors and authors, Russell Brand is certainly a man of many talents.  His latest venture – The Pied Piper of Hamelin forms part of Brand’s Trickster Tales project in which the comedian takes on a series of classic children’s stories and re-creates them in his own signature, inimitable style.

Having recently released his own version of The Pied Piper of Hamelin, the comedian was back at the Royal Albert Hall to perform a live theatrical reading of the story, alongside a considerable orchestra and the book’s esteemed illustrator and political satirist, Chris Riddell.

As the in-house audio supplier to the Royal Albert Hall, Delta Sound is in the privileged position to work with a plethora of exceptional artists and productions.  Working for event production and creative consultancy agency NP+Co, the unique and challenging nature of The Pied Piper of Hamelin made for an exciting project for Delta Sound who provided full PA, control and engineering services.

Dressed in an outfit similar to the Pied Piper himself, Brand’s animated performance was accompanied by live illustration from Chris Riddell whose exceptional illustrations were displayed in real time live on the screen above the stage, bringing the characters to life and adding a further element to this multi-layered production.

Tying the piece together was the production’s vibrant and playful musical score. Written by renowned film and television composer, Peter Raeburn, and performed by a fifteen piece orchestra made up of musicians from his production company, Soundtree, the orchestra featured a brass, string and rhythm section alongside a beautifully played glass harmonica and a variety of electronic sound effects.

The combination of Brand’s animated performance style, Riddell’s illustration and Raeburn’s score, made The Pied Piper of Hamelin a truly unique event. Importantly, also, the production offered families an exciting and original way in which to discover classic literature in an exceptional environment.

Delta Sound’s Stephen Hughes was project manager for this event, whilst engineer Griff Hewis took charge of front-of-house audio and engineer Matt Gush operated monitors. Engineers Elaine Duffy and Ben Davey took care of stage ensuring the smooth running of the show.

The PA and monitoring systems for this event consisted entirely of Delta Sound’s extensive range of EM Acoustics loudspeakers.  The PA utilised of the in-house HALO-Compact line array – of which Delta Sound has recently invested in a further 43 units, with HALO-C boxes also catering for front fill audio. For additional low-end audio, 2 MSE-118 subwoofers were placed underneath the front of the stage to provide that extra kick. For the monitor package, 16 EM Acoustics M12 stage monitors were used in a combination with Sennheiser G3 IEM’s worn by several members of the orchestra.

In terms of microphones, Russell Brand used a Shure KSM9 wireless handheld – this was ideal as the comedian meandered around the stage and auditorium entertaining the audience during the half time interval, often clambering over chairs and barriers between the stalls and the arena. The orchestra were amplified using a selection of DPA, Neumann, Shure and Sennheiser microphones.

The control package consisted of a DiGiCo SD5 desk with SD Rack used for front-of-house. This was positioned at the back of the arena whilst a second DiGiCo SD5 console positioned at the back right-hand side of the stage was selected for monitors.

Speaking about this event, Delta’s engineer Elaine Duffy mentions:

It was great to work with the Pied Piper of Hamelin production. In the week leading up to the live show, we rehearsed the piece in a number of very small rehearsal spaces. Transitioning from these small rooms to the vast auditorium and seeing the project really come to life was a great experience.  Peter Raeburn’s inventive score was a joy to work with – especially the glass harmonica which sounded amazing in the hall. Being whisked into wardrobe minutes before we went live was a lot of fun too, I escaped with just a hat but they really went to town on Matt Gush who mixed monitors.
The Pied Piper of Hamelin was a great production for Delta Sound and its engineers to have been involved with. The dexterity and imagination with which the performance was orchestrated, made for a unique, challenging and thoroughly enjoyable project.

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