Lighting Design Services To Entertainments & Architecture
Home
Graham McLusky – Lighting Designer
I work as a freelance lighting designer, mainly in Theatre, having lit many tours, plays, musicals, pantomimes and concerts over my speckled career. I also light a wide range of corporate events and architectural projects, especially churches. I have been actively working as a lighting designer for over thirty eight years.
LIGHTING DESIGN AWARD – NOMINATION
On Sunday 28th April, The Great British Pantomime Awards event took place at the New Wimbledon Theatre. I was nominated for BEST LIGHTING DESIGN for my Panto lighting at Bromley in 2018!
Me with Jeremy Duncan on the red carpet, outside the New Wimbledon Theatre – A very good friend and production sparky, who made the lighting happen at Bromley!!
But yes… you guessed it, I didn’t pick up the trophy… but I was nominated… and that is an honour indeed! Thank you all who put me up for this.
Theatre
My Theatre work encompasses a wide variety of productions. Having been brought up through the heady days of weekly rep, weekly tours (Thrillers, comedies and the like), I developed an all round style of lighting design which has worked successfully on pretty much everything I have done. I have lit in the region of over 400 productions to date, working throughout the UK, London’s West End, the USA, Canada and Broadway.
Other Work
I also handle architectural lighting projects, corporate, churches and heritage work as lighting designer and consultant. I have provided lighting services to The Collection, Lincoln’s prestigious Museum and large scale projects such as The Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park.
I have created some quite “interesting” light art installations in the past, at monuments and gardens in the UK which involved some very complex layouts and features. One particular one used 1000m of clear Ropelight!
Personal
I am married to Jill (this is JIll in the photo and not a random photobomb!) and have five children, a Grandson and a Granddaughter… and live outside Lincoln in a small picturesque Village.
Graham & Better Half – Jill
About Graham
Joburg Theatre – Peter Pan
GRAHAM McLUSKY
Graham J. McLusky is a freelance Lighting Designer, working primarily in Theatre. He also provides lighting design services for corporate events and architectural projects. He has been actively working as a Lighting Designer for thirty eight years.
BEGINNINGS
He began his career at the Northampton Repertory Theatre, having completed the Stage Management & Technical Theatre course at LAMDA. He joined the Lincoln Theatre Royal in 1976, then the Harrogate Theatre as Lighting Designer about two years later. From there he began establishing his freelance career.
SCOPE
His theatre work encompasses a wide variety of productions; Dance, Musicals, Plays, Ballet & Pantomime. He has lost count of the number of productions but nearly 400 to date would be a fair estimate! Graham has worked throughout the UK, London’s West End, the USA, Canada and Broadway.
Old World – Harrogate Theatre C1980
EXAMPLE OF PAST PRODUCTIONS
Graham lit the original production of “Buddy” The Buddy Holly Story in London’s West End and subsequent productions; Broadway, Canadian and USA tour versions. “Fame” The Musical is another of Graham’s long running shows playing in various London Theatres and many UK tours.
I Keano – Dublin & Tour
Some other productions to his credit: “Annie” The Musical – UK Tours & Kuala Lumpur, “Scooby Doo – Live Onstage” UK Tours & Arenas , “Crazy For You” – UK Tour, “The Cemetery Club” – UK Tours, Ken Hill’s “Phantom Of The Opera” – UK Tours, Summer Seasons in Blackpool, Cromer, Southend, “Stones In His Pockets” – various London versions and Tours, the UK tour of “Magic of the Dance”, “15 Minutes” at the Arcola, London. He lit the production of “Tossers”, at the Edinburgh Festival; a production full of International Star Jugglers! “I Keano” at the Olympia Theatre, Dublin and subsequent tours, “The West End Men” National Tour.
Magic Ice Kingdom – Winter Wonderland
For a fourth year, Graham lit the “Magical Ice Kingdom” at Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland, providing illumination for an enormous array of Ice Sculptures, Snow Sculptures, Arctic Sea Creatures, Polar Bears, Ice Palaces and an Ice Shipwreck! All housed in a colossal Marquee at -18 degrees C!
Graham has been lighting major UK and South African Pantomimes since 1979 and worked onboard P&O’s Oriana & Aurora, designing the lighting for a large number of main cruising productions.
Peter Pan – High Wycombe
PANTOS
Every year for the past 30 years or so Graham has lit major Pantomime productions in the UK and Johannesburg. He has worked for the largest Pantomime Producers in the world (Qdos and previously, E&B Productions) Pantos with major celebrities in some of the grandest Theatres have occupied Graham every Christmas, sometimes lighting up to four or five at a time!
OPERA
For a number of years, Graham lit several Operas for Armonico Consort, a delightful company producing some wonderful small opera productions. New writings and scores, sometimes to the music of Handel, Graham found ways of getting the most from always a limited rig and modest budgets!
SUMMER SHOWS
The days of the seaside summer shows were very exciting and Graham worked on a number of them in Blackpool on the North Pier, Bournemouth on the Pier, Pavilion and at the International Centre. He lit the Russ Abbot’s Summer Madhouse for a number of years in Bournemouth and Blackpool, working with the man himself and a host of other fabulous talent.
Other Summer shows on the North Pier, Blackpool included Hale & Pace with the lovely Hilary O’Neil, The Grumbleweeds, What a Carry On, including a number of the lovely Carry On cast, Alvin Stardust to name a few. Graham also lit “Legends” for several years on Central Pier, The Blackpool Jazz Festival at the Wintergardens Blackpool, Goosebumps with Russ Abbot at the Opera House Blackpool.
The Beautiful Cromer Pier Theatre runs a wonderful traditional Summer Show each year with an array of talented stars and Graham had the privilege of lighting one of them some years back. (Settings by Ian Westbrook of 3D Creations). Cromer summer shows go under the title of Seaside Special, and they really are… special indeed.
ARCHITECTURAL
Graham’s Architectural work has meant consulting with Middle East Architectural Practices, working on major lighting schemes in Jeddah and Riyadh. He has worked on several prestigious auditoria & corporate buildings, inside and out, one of which, Leylaty Ballrooms, is the largest celebration / wedding / hotel complex in that part of the world. Thousands of square metres of fabulous ornate interiors, massive chandeliers, hundreds of light fixtures, stage lighting installations and one of the biggest dimming installations to be found in Saudi. Probably over £10 million in lighting fixtures alone!
Graham also worked extensively on a major project in Saudi for the SABIC, lighting their new headquarters building in Riyadh, which covered hundred of acres of gardens, roadways, fountains and buildings, the main building being 18 floors of offices, suites, auditoria, IT suites, VIP lounges, Cafeterias and lobbies.
OTHER INTERESTS
He owns a Multimedia Firm providing Web design, mobile apps, video production and audio. He is a past member of the ‘Association of Lighting Designers’. (ALD) having joined when there were just over 300 members and also a past member of the United Scenic Artists, Local 829.
