Disney Theatrical have taken a bold step for their European Tour of Beauty and the Beast. They have invested heavily in production infrastructure to enable them to visit as many different types of venue as possible and at the same time, keep the move times down to the minimum. It is the American Bus & Truck tour mentality coming to the UK - at last!

The get-in starts with Unusual putting in 16 points with 1 tonne lodestars hooking onto eight spreader beams, which the touring mother grid sits on. Within the mothergrid are 28 one tonne Liftket Chain Hoists for the lighting bars and various scenic units. Running up and downstage SL & SR, 3 Liftkets each side pick up the crawl-thru trusses for all of the cabling, which is routed back to the service truss upstage of the backcloths . The service truss for this show is too heavy to hang, so it has to sit on the floor.

The substantial (back)drop truss hangs on 6 Liftkets, the upstage LX bar another 3 Liftkets and the extra FOH lighting truss uses a further 5 hoists.

The show is heavy on stage scenic pieces and to keep the wing space as clear as possible, another 28 hoists are used to store scenery in the airspace.

Beauty and the Beast uses 92 hoists and a bewidering array of associated rigging and automation paraphernalia.

It is a very large touring musical and Nick Harris, the Disney Production Manager has approached the project with Unusual and the other technical suppliers in such a way that the get-out can start on a Saturday night and the first public performance in the next venue can be as early as the following Thursday.