in the latest issue of clash magazine, there is an article about the live show, its inception and inspirations. below is the interview with 59 productions that was used as a basis for the article.

how did the project with jonsi come about, and did you collaborate very closely on the design with him?

for some time we had been exploring how we might find a way to bring the ideas and technology that we had developed in the worlds of theatre and opera into the music and rock world, and sigur rós had always been at the top of our list of ideal collaborators. by chance one of jónsi’s managers saw a couple of our key productions, and contacted us to ask if we would be interested in working on a production alongside jónsi’s new album. it was a very easy decision for us to make…

the idea of applying theatrical production values to a live gig was something that we were all very keen to develop. there’s a cinematic quality to jónsi’s music, and something fantastical about his imagination which made the idea of creating an epic stage show seem totally appropriate.

after some initial discussions with the management in london, we went to iceland to meet jónsi and hear the music. when we heard it we were so instantly excited that the ideas began to fire off immediately. since then the design has crystallized and grown, and jónsi has been involved at every stage.

were there particular concepts he had in mind, or did you come up with the initial ideas?

jónsi knew that animals were going to be involved in some way from the beginning – a lot of the music and songs were inspired by animals. he had a pretty clear idea for the ‘feel’ of the album and we all wanted the live show to be in the same vein. once we established that we were all on the same wavelength, we were able to turn those feelings into practical design suggestions. obviously listening to the tracks focussed the design. we’ve been listening over and over to various versions of the album as it was made, and that has inspired the tone of our work. one thing that we were keen to do was to make sure that the show would be a different experience from any other gig – somewhere between a music performance, a film, a theatrical show and an art installation.

how did this project differ from working on a theatrical production, and what was the most challenging aspect of it?

aside from the music, we’re going to be responsible for pretty much everything that you see onstage. we’ve handpicked a team who have worked on projects at some of the biggest theatres and opera houses in the world – it’s been a chance for us to put together a ‘dream team’ of artists with whom we’ve worked in a variety of different places over the past few years.

the fascinating thing about this project has been creating a sense of shape for the show, to work out how to take the audience on a journey through the music as you would in a theatrical production or an opera – except our ‘script’ is jónsi’s record. from a practical point of view, designing the show in such a way that it can be toured to a variety of venues of different shapes and sizes has been a real challenge. although we’ve designed many touring productions before, the gruelling schedule of a music tour has meant that the set needs to be able to be built and dismantled very quickly. most rock and roll shows tour within a set of commonly defined parameters. because we are approaching the brief differently, we have a different and unusual set of requirements. apart from touring a full stage set, we have a projection setup that no-one will have seen before. it has required everyone – right through to the venues and touring agents – to work in a different way. we’re hoping to challenge people’s expectations of what a gig is supposed to be like, and prove that it’s possible to give the audience more.

can you talk us through the final set? or give us a vague outline, if you’d rather keep it hush hush!

the show is set in a derelict, burnt down building that resembles a victorian glasshouse, or an old factory or museum, with large windows across the back of the stage. on stage, you’ll see trees that are growing through the rubble, and broken display cabinets that once housed collections of taxidermy. there is a sense of life returning to this shell of a building as nature works its way through the cracks and fissures. the design was inspired in part by the famous ‘le deyrolle’ taxidermy shop in paris that burnt down in 2008, and in jónsi’s show, you’ll see an intersection between the man made, and the natural, with animals and plants coming magically to life. almost every element within the set doubles as a projection surface on which film and animation, all created specifically to accompany the album, will take the audience on a journey into jónsi’s world. to follow the final stages of the design process, check out www.59productions.co.uk/jonsi