On its recent return to the UK’s Royal Albert Hall, Canadian circus troupe Cirque du Soleil turned to Yorkshire-based Production Park to recreate its Montreal training base.
Production Park is a live events, film and TV campus offering a variety of wraparound services. With the show in question, Luzia, being a large production requiring a large space, Production Park housed Cirque du Soleil in Studio 001, one of its arena-sized rehearsal facilities.
During its tenure, Cirque du Soleil was able to call upon technical support from the park’s research and innovation centre Xplor, support from Backstage Academy students, and Rockpool Tour Catering, which created more than 300 meals daily on-site in its purpose-built restaurant, including a traditional Christmas dinner for the entire troop.
Production Park said hosting Cirque du Soleil was also a boon for the local economy as its members, from around the world, made Wakefield their home for several months.
“Production Park provided a complete end-to-end solution, which was fully aligned with our needs and requirements,” said Gerard Edwards-Webb, director, show support, TSD Cirque Du Soleil. “Having everything under one roof was remarkable – I cannot think of another facility in the UK that could have offered solutions to all our challenges within such easy reach. In addition to enabling our troupe to rehearse in a safe, tailor-made environment, it also saved us a lot of time and money.”
“Without the space and incredible facilities offered at Production Park, our team would have had to travel across the country and frequently interrupt schedules,” Edwards-Webb continued. “Production Park truly provided a one-stop shop for getting our show back on the road!”
“It was great to welcome our friends from Cirque du Soleil to Production Park,” said Lee Brooks, co-founder and CEO, Production Park. “The unique nature of this global brand requires a host with specialist infrastructure, technical know-how and support. Our campus is one of the only places able to offer such services for such iconic performers, it’s what we do – from one of our arena-sized studios and ancillary spaces to 24/7 technical support and our award-winning catering services. We look forward to welcoming them back soon.”
Image: Cirque du Soleil
