Developed from the ever popular MGM screenplay and totally reconceived for the stage, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new production of The Wizard of Oz opened at The London Palladium on 1 March 2011.

Unusual Rigging’s work on the show wasn’t just unusually big, it was also unusually heavy. The show uses two scissor lifts in the basement, which weigh in at four tons each, while the steelwork which was installed in the basement to support the set weighs an incredible 20 tonnes.

For the show, Unusual installed:

• 300ft truss
• 40 chain hoists
• 2 permanent additional counterweight sets
• Network of diversion pulleys so that set pieces could be flown from different points

Unusual also:

• Extended existing counterweight cradles, adding 500kg to each set
• Constructed two follow spot positions each side of the stage
• Designed and constructed steel cages in the wings, attached to chain hoists, for temporary storage of props during the show.