59 Productions

59 Productions is a cross-disciplinary arts design and production studio founded in Edinburgh by Leo Warner and Mark Grimmer before relocating its principal operations to London. The studio is also referred to as 59 Studio or Fifty-Nine Studio and has offices in London and New York City. Its practice developed from video-led theatre design into a broader form of creative production that combines scenic design, projection, animation, film, interactive technology, architecture and live performance. The studio works with theatres, opera companies, museums, artists, cultural festivals and commercial producers. Its projects have included video and projection design for plays and musicals, live visual systems for opera, exhibition design, architectural projection, concert staging, virtual-reality films and large-scale public spectacles. Rather than selling a standardized consumer product, 59 Productions generally operates through commissions and collaborations, contributing design, creative direction, production management and technical integration to individual cultural projects. Its early work included video design for Stellar Quines Theatre Company's Sweet Fanny Adams in Eden and for the National Theatre of Scotland's Roam and Black Watch. Black Watch became an internationally touring production and established the studio's reputation for using film and digital imagery as an integral part of live theatrical storytelling. After moving to London, the company developed relationships with the Royal National Theatre and worked on The Waves, a production whose integration of performance and video was described by critics as creating a distinct theatrical language. A major early milestone was the studio's involvement in War Horse, first presented by the Royal National Theatre in 2007. The production later transferred to Broadway and received five Tony Awards, including awards connected with the production's design and theatrical achievement. 59 Productions also began working in opera, providing projection design for the English National Opera's 2007 production of Philip Glass's Satyagraha and later collaborating with Improbable on projects including the Metropolitan Opera's 125th Anniversary Gala. The studio achieved unusually broad public exposure through its animation and projection work for the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, which was seen by an audience of more than one billion people according to reference material. Other prominent commissions have included the David Bowie exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Lighting the Sails at the Sydney Opera House for Vivid Sydney, projection design for An American in Paris on Broadway, and projection and scenic design for productions such as The Last Ship and Marnie. 59 Productions has also extended beyond conventional stage work. In 2017 it developed and produced City of Glass, an adaptation of Paul Auster's novel written by Duncan Macmillan and co-produced with Lyric Hammersmith, HOME and Karl Sydow. In 2018, the company created virtual-reality films including Grenfell: Our Home with Parable and Channel 4 and Nothing To Be Written for the BBC. It also collaborated with composer Eric Whitacre and NASA on Deep Field, which premiered at the Kennedy Space Center in 2018. The studio's positioning is defined by the intersection of live performance, visual design, digital media and spatial experience. Its work can range from intimate theatrical systems to projection mapped onto major architectural landmarks. Publicly available sources establish an extensive project history and international reach, but do not provide reliable information about its current workforce, ownership structure, revenue or detailed corporate organization.

59 Productions originated in Edinburgh as a collaboration founded by Leo Warner, with Mark Grimmer joining shortly afterward. The studio's earliest public work was strongly video-led and focused on theatre. Its early credits included video design for Stellar Quines Theatre Company's Sweet Fanny Adams in Eden and for National Theatre of Scotland productions including Roam and Black Watch. Roam used computer-generated imagery, filmed material and technical systems to present a fictional news report about Edinburgh descending into civil war. Black Watch, first presented at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2006, became an internationally touring production and received several awards. The company subsequently relocated to London and began working with the Royal National Theatre. Its contribution to The Waves integrated live action and projected imagery so extensively that critics regarded the result as a new form of theatrical expression. In 2007, Warner and Grimmer joined the original creative team for War Horse. The production's National Theatre success was followed by a Broadway transfer, where it won five Tony Awards and became a major international touring work. The studio entered opera in 2007 with projection design for Philip Glass's Satyagraha at the English National Opera. Directed by Phelim McDermott and co-directed and designed by Julian Crouch, the production began a series of collaborations between 59 Productions and Improbable. Later work included the Metropolitan Opera's 125th Anniversary Gala in 2009, an event reported to have raised more than $10 million. During the following decade, 59 Productions expanded across theatre, opera, music, exhibitions, concerts and public art. Its touring and production-related work included Jónsi Go Live, a redesigned version of Les Misérables, and further international presentations of Black Watch, The Waves and War Horse. The company also contributed projection design to productions such as Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Les Misérables and An American in Paris. The 2012 London Olympic opening ceremony was a particularly visible project. Working with director Danny Boyle, 59 Productions supplied animation and projection design for a ceremony watched by more than one billion people according to the cited reference material. The studio also led design work for the David Bowie Is exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum. In 2014 it created Lighting the Sails, a bespoke animated film projected onto the Sydney Opera House during Vivid Sydney, and in 2017 produced animated projections for the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao's twentieth-anniversary celebrations. In 2017, 59 Productions moved beyond commissioned design into full production with City of Glass, an adaptation of Paul Auster's novel written by Duncan Macmillan. The project was co-produced with Lyric Hammersmith, HOME and Karl Sydow. Its design-led approach treated visual systems and theatrical form as central components of the adaptation. In 2018 the studio designed both set and projection for Sting's musical The Last Ship, worked on productions including The Shadow Factory and Marnie, and created event designs for the BBC Proms and the Edinburgh International Festival. The same period saw an expansion into immersive and screen-based work. Grenfell: Our Home was made with Parable and Channel 4 and received the Audience Award at Sheffield DocFest. Nothing To Be Written, commissioned by the BBC, won Best UK Experience and two other awards at the Raindance Film Festival. Deep Field, a film collaboration with composer Eric Whitacre and NASA, premiered at the Kennedy Space Center in November 2018. Across these stages of development, 59 Productions evolved from a small Edinburgh theatre-video collaboration into an international design studio with offices in London and New York City. Its practice remains centered on translating ideas into live, visual and spatial experiences, often joining traditional theatrical craft with projection, animation, digital systems and immersive media. Public sources do not establish a complete account of its later corporate structure, finances or staffing.

• 2018

  Expansion into immersive media

  [1]59 Productionsen.wikipedia.org

  The company worked on The Last Ship, virtual-reality films, event design and the NASA-related film project Deep Field.

• 2017

  First full production

  [1]59 Productionsen.wikipedia.org

  59 Productions developed and produced City of Glass, adapted by Duncan Macmillan from Paul Auster's novel.

• 2014

  Lighting the Sails

  [1]59 Productionsen.wikipedia.org

  The studio created an animated projection work for the Sydney Opera House during Vivid Sydney.

• 2012

  London Olympic opening ceremony

  [1]59 Productionsen.wikipedia.org

  The company supplied animation and projection design for the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics.

• 2009

  Metropolitan Opera anniversary gala

  [1]59 Productionsen.wikipedia.org

  59 Productions collaborated with Improbable on the Metropolitan Opera's 125th Anniversary Gala.

• 2007

  War Horse and first opera work

  [1]59 Productionsen.wikipedia.org

  The studio joined the original creative team for War Horse and designed projections for Satyagraha at the English National Opera.

• 2006

  Black Watch and company formation

  [1]59 Productionsen.wikipedia.org

  Leo Warner and Mark Grimmer established the Edinburgh-based collaboration, and the studio worked on National Theatre of Scotland productions including Black Watch and Roam.

• 2003

  Early video design work

  [1]59 Productionsen.wikipedia.org

  The studio's early work included video design for Stellar Quines Theatre Company's Sweet Fanny Adams in Eden.

A cross-disciplinary arts design and production studio combining live performance, scenic design, animation, projection, film and interactive technology.

• Performing arts design · 2006

  Theatre and musical productions

  59 Productions designs visual, scenic and technical systems for plays and musicals. Its work can include projected film, animation, scenic environments, live-feed video and the integration of digital media into performance. Examples include War Horse, Black Watch, The Waves, Les Misérables, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, An American in Paris and The Last Ship.

• Opera and visual production · 2007

  Opera and live-film design

  The studio creates projection, video and spatial systems for opera and hybrid live-film productions. Its opera-related work includes Satyagraha at the English National Opera, Al gran sole carico d'amore at the Salzburg Festival and Marnie, which began at the English National Opera before transferring to the Metropolitan Opera.

• Exhibition design · 2012

  Exhibitions and museum experiences

  59 Productions develops interpretive, spatial and digital environments for museums and cultural institutions. Its work includes leading the design of the David Bowie Is exhibition for the Victoria and Albert Museum and creating animated architectural work for the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.

• Public art and projection mapping · 2014

  Architectural projection and public art

  The company produces large-scale animated works mapped onto buildings and public structures. Lighting the Sails projected an animated film onto the Sydney Opera House, while later works included Reflections at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and Array in London's Beech Street Tunnel.

• Digital media · 2018

  Immersive and virtual-reality media

  The studio applies its design and storytelling practice to virtual reality, film and immersive experiences. Referenced projects include Grenfell: Our Home, Nothing To Be Written and Deep Field, a collaboration with composer Eric Whitacre and NASA.

• 2017Reflections

  Spain

  59 Productions created animated artwork projected onto the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao for its twentieth-anniversary celebrations.

  Outcome. The project extended the studio's public-art practice into museum-scale architectural projection.

  Source
• 2014Lighting the Sails

  Australia

  The studio created a bespoke animated film projected onto the Sydney Opera House for the Vivid Sydney festival.

  Outcome. The work became a major architectural projection commission associated with the festival.

  Source
• 20122012 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony

  United Kingdom · International

  59 Productions provided animation and projection design for Danny Boyle's opening ceremony for the London 2012 Summer Olympics.

  Outcome. The ceremony received a worldwide television audience reported in the reference material as exceeding one billion viewers.

  Source

• 2017

  Move into full production with City of GlassStrategy

  Background

  After years of providing design and production services for other organizations, the studio developed its first production.

  Action taken

  59 Productions developed and produced City of Glass, adapted by Duncan Macmillan from Paul Auster's novel, in partnership with Lyric Hammersmith, HOME and Karl Sydow.

  Aftermath

  The project demonstrated an expanded role in which the studio was responsible for a production rather than only a discrete design commission.

  Source

1. 159 Productionsen.wikipedia.org