While the energy-efficient lighting revolution continues to gather pace and causes older, more traditional bulbs to be thrown out of the window - or rather, into landfill sites - Olivier award-winning lighting designers Paule Constable and Neil Austin have started a campaign to protect theatres' tungsten filament stage lighting.
Since a law was introduced in 2009 which is gradually banning retailers from selling incandescent bulbs to domestic users, growing numbers of lighting manufacturers have turned away from the production of older, more traditional bulbs in favour or more modern, ecological alternatives, TheStage.co.uk reported.
However, Constable and Austin are arguing that this could devastate the theatre community as designers need the warm, natural light provided by traditional stage bulbs to bring their creations to life. Despite considerable research, more modern solutions have as of yet been unable to recreate the same light quality.
Constable, who has worked on shows such as the renowned production of War Horse, was quick to stress that their campaign is far from being "anti-LEDs" and is absolutely not shunning the moves by many towards more energy-efficient lighting solutions.
"The campaign is not saying we should not be responsible users. It says, 'Please don't assume we [will] continue to do what we do with resources being taken away from us'," she commented, as she urged manufacturers to continue producing the lights they need.
Alison Tickell, founder and chief executive of green arts organisation Julie's Bicycle - which supports the campaign - highlighted how comparatively small the environmental impact is of the lights in question when compared to front-of-house or auditorium lighting, which produce between nine and 15 per cent of a theatre's overall carbon emissions.
This is a perfect example of how important it is that lights are adapted for various uses. The harsh glare of an LED which may be perfect for a car's headlights or perhaps ceiling spotlights in an engineer's workshop would be completely inappropriate to light the stage for an eerie woodland scene in the theatre, for example.
"As lighting designers, we deal with manipulating people's emotions to help tell a story. We want to make sure we are left with the tools we need to achieve that," Austin said.
