Engineering
Unusual Rigging
Telling the story behind a century-old stage
Services
Video Production
Interview
The Challenge:
Unusual Rigging has been delivering specialist rigging since 1983, working on everything from West End stages to national landmarks. When they partnered with Maltby Surveys on the new grid installation at The Mayflower Theatre in Southampton, the challenge was to bring that story to life — a delicate, century-old building undergoing a major structural upgrade, without disturbing what makes it listed. We were brought in to capture the project, the partnership, and the craft behind it, on site and in their own words.
What We Did
We travelled to The Mayflower Theatre to film the installation itself — structural steel being fitted into the grid high above the stage, the framework that carries flying scenery and equipment in and out during productions. We captured the space, shot a time-lapse of the work in progress, and sat down with Andrew Maltby MRICS and Geoff Iske from Maltby Surveys, alongside Calum Willoughby from Unusual Rigging, to hear their accounts of the project first-hand.
We also visited Unusual Rigging's office in Northampton to speak with the wider team, digging into their continued work on theatres around the world and the depth of expertise behind every project.
The Result
A polished video piece combining on-site footage, time-lapse, and interviews — telling the story of a trusted partnership and a job carried out with genuine longevity in mind.
