About this episode

Gavan Swift, a multi award-winning lighting designer, discusses his extensive work in theatre and opera.

Gavan Swift is a multi award-winning Lighting Designer. He graduated from Australia’s National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). His musical lighting designs include Mamma Mia!, Heathers the Musical, Mack & Mabel, The Mikado, The Pirates Of Penzance, Hot Shoe Shuffle, Little Shop of Horrors, Sweet Charity, Fiddler on the Roof, Jolson, Buddy, Oh What A Night, Footloose, Hair, Xanadu, Chess, Carousel, Follies, Annie and Saturday Night Fever both in Australia and on London’s West End. Gavan was the lighting designer for Moby Dick at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, making history as the first Australian Lighting Designer to light a production at the fabled Arts institution.. He has designed the lighting for The Production Company’s Anything Goes , Sugar (Some Like It Hot), The Music Man, Hair, Mack & Mabel, The Pirates of Penzance, Thoroughly Modern Millie and their inaugural production of Mame . For the State Theatre Company of South Australia his designs include Three Sisters (co-set designer) , King Lear and Hamlet . For Bell Shakespeare; The Winter’s Tale, Pericles and A Midsummer Night’s Dream . He also designed the lighting for the Victorian Opera production of La Rodine…

People in this episode

Host: Peter Eyers

Guest: Gavan Swift

Topics covered

• lighting design
• theatre
• performing arts
• interview
• awards

Keywords

• lighting designer
• theatre productions
• awards
• NIDA
• performing arts

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Australia’s National Institute of Dramatic Art, New York’s Metropolitan Opera, The Production Company, State Theatre Company of South Australia, Bell Shakespeare, Victorian Opera, Sydney Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company, The Ensemble Theatre, Opera Australia

Books & works: Mamma Mia!, Heathers the Musical, Mack & Mabel, The Mikado, The Pirates Of Penzance, Hot Shoe Shuffle, Little Shop of Horrors, Sweet Charity, Fiddler on the Roof, Jolson

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