PRODUCTION PROFILE: Miley Cyrus
MILEY CYRUS: BANGERZ MILEY CYRUS’S BANGERZ TOUR IS RISQUÉ, FUNNY AND IRONIC IN BOTH DESIGN AND DELIVERY. THROUGHOUT CYRUS SPORTS A DEVILISHLY ANGELIC SMILE WHILE EFFICACIOUSLY STICKING TWO FINGERS UP AT ANYONE WHO MIGHT FIND HER UNSAVOURY. LIVELY AND ENGAGING, SHE BOUNCES AROUND THE STAGE IN A SERIES OF POPTASTICALLY REVEALING, CARTOONISHLY WITTY COSTUMES WHILE PSYCHEDELIC VIDEO PLAYS AT FULL SATURATION ON AN EPIC VIDEO BACKDROP. SWEARING AND CHATTING EFFUSIVELY, SHE STORMS THROUGH AN ECLECTIC SET THAT EMBRACES HIP HOP, CLASSIC ROCK COVERS AND EVEN A PEPPERING OF COUNTRY AND WESTERN. FROM BIRMINGHAM, UK, SARAH RUSHTON-READ REPORTS ON THE PRODUCTION. Throughout the technically complex show the stage morphs from one bizarre physical manifestation of Cyrus’s imagination to another. Visually stunning, the design comes from a team of creatives led by stage design diva Es Devlin and Music Video Director Diane Martell. Both women offer a perfect foil for Cyrus’s ebullient approach and both are equally recognised for their controversial and risqué style. Devlin’s ‘out there’ 3D pop art stage design is supported by Lighting Designer Rob Sinclair’s punchy, perfectly timed lighting, as video content, created by John Kricfalusi - the mind behind 90s animated TV series The Ren and Stimpy Show - dominates the back wall. 36
At 12-metres by 12-metres, the video screen displays everything from psychedelic dancing kittens to the show’s opening gambit, a giant Miley Cyrus face replete with a massive tongue from which she makes her dramatic entrance. This vibrant visual feast works in synchronicity with Cyrus’s relentless parade of brightly coloured, scanty, yet fun, collection of statement costumes, dreamt up by designer, Simone Harouche. “Miley is a true artist,” affirmed Bangerz’ Stage Manager and Prop Director Stryker Christensen, who’s worked with Cyrus since her Disney teen Hannah Montana days. “She’s totally in control. Everything you see is the result of her own powerful creative drive.”
Stryker, and Assistant Tour Manager Joe Rogers handle everything from trucking to getting the show built everyday. “We handle the talent, including a full cast, the band, special guests and of course Miley herself. For us show quality and safety are our uppermost concerns.” Working alongside Christiansen and Rogers in Europe is Head of International Production for Live Nation, Andrew Craig. “I work closely with Production Manager Omar Abderrahman and Head Rigger Art McConnell to ensure the best version of the production goes into the scheduled venues. Our preference is that we get the full production into every venue, however it doesn’t always work that way so we also have a B and a C show.”