Cameo lighting spotlights stars of tomorrow at National Youth Music Theatre

The National Youth Music Theatre (NYMT) in London has already won numerous awards for its musical theatre and musical productions. What makes it special is that the actors are all teenagers and young adults between the ages of 11 and 23 who are cast during extensive auditions. The list of famous graduates is long and ranges from Jessie J to Idris Elba and Jude Law. Headliner discovers how Cameo lights are shining a spotlight on the next generation of talent…

The National Youth Music Theatre has a rich history that began in 1976 in Edinburgh. The first production, The Ballad of Salomon Pavey, won a Fringe First Award at the Edinburgh Fringe, putting the new company immediately on the map.

Since then, NYMT has staged countless shows across the UK and internationally. For half a century, NYMT has played a pivotal role in nurturing young talent and premiering new musical works, becoming a respected cornerstone of youth theatre in the UK.

In the 2024 summer season, the NYMT performed three musicals at London’s Southwark Playhouse Theatre: Into the Woods, Catastrophe Bay, and Our House.

Three different lighting designers were in charge of the lighting design – all of whom share the joy of working with young people on and off the stage – and a lighting rig consisting of various Cameo lights.

As the three musicals were performed virtually back to back, the three lighting designers – Jamie Platt (Our House), Beth Gupwell (Catastrophe Bay), and Aaron J Dootson (Into the Woods) – had to devise a common basic lighting rig that would work for all productions: from the fairytale musical classic Into the Woods, to the folk musical Catastrophe Bay and Our House with its numerous scenery changes and up-tempo numbers.

Aside from using the EVOS W7 as wash moving heads, the lighting designers also leveraged the combinability of the AZOR series: while the AZOR S2 spot moving heads were placed on the two rear trusses, the AZOR SP2 spot profile moving heads were used as front lights for gobo and aerial effects.

PIXBAR 400 IP G2 IP65 RGBW LED bars, which were used as backlights on the floor and in the rear wall, rounded off the lighting rig.

“Whether as a classic rear wall light or for backlighting door openings, the PIXBAR 400 IP G2 really impressed me with its output and uniform lenses,” explains Platt.

“This project is different from most other productions,” adds Gupwell, lighting designer for Catastrophe Bay. 

“The most important takeaway is giving young people the opportunity to get an insight into what we do and understand how a production of this kind works.”

For Gupwell, the direct support from experienced colleagues is invaluable for young, up-and-coming talent: “I studied lighting and design, it's true, but I believe the in-kind support I was given outside of university was just as important. That's why I am interested in projects such as this one, in order to try to pass on my knowledge similarly.”

“The NYMT is a fantastic platform for particularly talented young artists who are in no way inferior to their famous West End colleagues when it comes to passion, energy, and professionalism,” confirms Platt. “Not forgetting all those involved backstage – the stage managers, musicians, and technicians, who also work here at the level of major musical productions.”

The Cameo lights for the productions at the National Youth Music Theatre were supplied by Palmer Lighting, based in Eastleigh, Hampshire.