A custom INFiLED LED wall, based on the company’s lightweight AR Series for rental-staging applications, is delivering artistic, high‑contrast visuals for Stranger Things: The First Shadow, the stage prequel to Netflix TV phenomenon Stranger Things. Delivered in partnership with Blue‑i Theatre Technology and creative studio 59 Productions, the AR-Series wall integrates seamlessly with the production’s physical scenery, heightening its other worldly, myth‑driven storytelling, and has been specified for both the London West End production and the Broadway run.
Blue‑i Theatre Technology, led by Ed Cooper, collaborated with 59 Productions to realise a visual language that feels cinematic yet unmistakably theatrical, with imagery that would vanish into the stage picture rather than reading as a conventional “screen”, as Cooper explains:“ The use of LED screens in theatre is no longer just about adding digital effects. It’s about enhancing the storytelling, amplifying the emotional connection between the audience and the performance. ”With this in mind, Blue-i Theatre Technology required a display solution that could accommodate Stranger Things: The First Shadow’s immersive visual illusions, including the use of sudden lighting shifts and shadowy, otherworldly effects to amplify the suspense and mystery of the narrative. The company selected INFiLED’s AR Series, paired with Brompton processing, as the ideal choice to deliver the demanding brief. Offering high contrast, finely graduated colour and reliable performance, even in tight theatrical confines, the AR Series–recently upgraded to the ARmk2–is also providing West End audiences with the all-important ‘painterly’ aesthetics, blending effortlessly into the stage set, key to the production’s one-of-a-kind visual identity. “The 10‑bit colour depth of the AR-Series LED is really essential here. It makes transitions much smoother and is critical for seamless visual effects in a live theatre setting,” says Cooper, whose team are responsible for the dynamic transitions between the show’ssettingin1959Hawkins, Indiana, and the supernatural, eerie atmosphere that underpins this mundane reality.
In addition to delivering the deep blacks, minimal glow and smooth tonal control the show’s illusions require, the AR Series’ lightweight and robust construction makes integration easy, supporting fast maintenance and quiet operation during performance cues. “We’ve always been an INFiLED house, and for good reason,” comments Cooper, elaborating on his choice of the AR Series for Blue-i Theatre Technology’s latest project
