MDG was happy to see the students of London’s premier drama school, the Royal
Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), taking full advantage of the capabilities of one of its
ATMe haze generators during their recent production of Rona Munro’s Scuttlers.

“The brief from the director, Hannah Eidinow, was to create the atmosphere of
Manchester in the 1890s: hot, industrial, sweaty, dirty, polluted and foggy, so clearly
we needed to use a hazer that was up to the job,’ says guest lighting designer, Declan
Randall. “And MDG’s ATMe haze generator was more than up to the task.’

Scuttlers was first performed at Manchester’s iconic Royal Exchange Theatre in 2015.
It follows the exploits of the city’s first street gangs, set against the background of
Manchester’s cotton mills and industrial expansion of the nineteenth century, when
the rapidly expanding population, migrating from the surrounding rural communities
in search of work, discovered that urban life was not all that they expected. Ruthless
exploitation by mill and factory owners, social deprivation and political unrest were to
follow.

The recent production at RADA moved the setting from the 200 seat theatre-in-the-
round of Manchester’s Royal Exchange to the very intimate, brick-lined environment of
RADA’s 70-seater GBS Theatre. “With such a small space we needed to have total
control of the haze produced by the machine,’ continues Randall. “The production
called for a continual level of atmospheric haze but also included moments when a
little more or a little less was required to for dramatic effect. In such a tight space,
where the audience is so close to the stage and the action, it can be only too easy to
get it wrong. Using the ATMe’s DMX control, we were able to drive the haze levels
precisely throughout the show using a fader to pump it up and, conversely, drop it
back down as and when required.’

The ATMe ran all the way through the show to give a constant base level of haze,
interspersed by moments when it was boosted it for some of the bigger, industrial
choreography. “I was impressed with how quickly it filled the space,’ continues
Randall. “With some hazers, you need to have them running for some time to produce
a decent amount of haze, but for Scuttlers we turned on the ATMe around the five-
minute call, and by curtain up we had a good level of haze with an excellent hang
time.’

Randall was a guest lighting designer for Scuttlers at RADA’s invitation, and his choice
of fixtures allowed students to have access and experience of some of the premier
products on the market today. “It is very important that students are given access to
the best possible technology right from the start, mirroring the experiences they will
have out in the industry after graduating,’ says RADA’s Head of Lighting, Matt
Leventhall. “The sponsorship of MDG allows students to become familiar with top
quality haze machines and the fantastic results they can help to achieve. We’ve used
the ATMe on several shows now and are exceedingly happy with it. It is economical in
its use of fluid and practically silent. I anticipate it will be used on many productions
going forward.’

“We are very proud to sponsor RADA in our capacity at MDG,’ says MDG CEO Martin
Michaud. “RADA is one of the oldest and most influential drama schools in the UK with
an international reputation for excellence. We are very happy to contribute to the
great work that they do by supplying them with one of our latest models of haze
generator.’

Randall’s endorsement of MDG’s ATMe haze generator is unequivocal: “This is a rock
solid machine: you turn it on and it does its thing. Job done.’