Lighting For Romeo and Juliet

John Offord describes the making of the production from the lighting designer's viewpoint - taking the story through from the point where director Jürgen Flimm made his decision not to use scenery or sets and simply employ the expertise of Patrick Woodroffe

In addition to technical information for this production, first performed in the Vienna State Opera House in December 2001, there is detailed background information on the venue itself, the story of the opera in an historical context and information on costumes, etc.

Along with production pictures, there is an important section with numerous colour photographs by Ralph Larmann showing the various lighting scenes. Also included are post-show press reports and the biographies of those involved in bringing about a highly successful landmark production

John Offord started his career in publishing with theatre producer Charles Vance in 1971. He went solo in 1976 and in 1985 launched the highly successful magazine Lighting and Sound International. The establishment of this publication saw the beginning of a close involvement with PLASA (Professional Lighting and Sound Association), and when the Association took over the title in 1987 he continued as editor

In 1990 he also became the Association's chief executive. After leaving PLASA he launched the news website Entertainment Technology News On Web (etnow.com) in January 1999 - the first dedicated site of its kind

In August 1999 he formed Entertainment Technology Press in order to launch a major new series of 'print on demand' books for the industry using new print technology