Martin Professional’s MAC Viper XIP lighting fixtures made their debut theatrical performance at this year’s Shakespeare in the Park Singapore production of Macbeth.
Held at Fort Canning Green, the event marked a milestone in outdoor theatrical lighting with the debut of Martin’s weatherproof moving head fixtures in a major Southeast Asian theatrical production.
The MAC Viper XIP, renowned for its high-output 28,000-lumen performance and Martin’s proprietary XIP smart weatherproofing technology, proved to be the ideal choice for the open-air setting. With Singapore’s unpredictable tropical climate, the production team required fixtures that could withstand humidity and rain without compromising on output or precision.
Gabriel Chan, the show’s lighting designer, commented: “The art of theatrical lighting extends far beyond illumination — it must harmonize seamlessly with sound, movement, and the emotional rhythm of the cast. In an open-air venue like Fort Canning Park, where the stage sits at the heart of a natural landscape, we face the added challenge of not having the structural flexibility of a traditional theatre. Without flown trussing, every lighting position must be carefully negotiated, making precision and adaptability absolutely essential.”
Co-lighting designer Genevieve Peck added: “For this production, the Martin MAC Viper XIP stood out as our key fixture due to its weatherproofing capabilities which were crucial for our needs as an outdoor show that had to withstand heavy rain, intense sun, and high humidity. The fixture delivers rich colours, with reviews noting that the lighting design helped ‘conjure an atmosphere of raw, oppressive heat.’ I was also particularly impressed by the speed and precision of the frame shutters, which allowed us to create a very narrow shaft of light that could slide open and shut rapidly, effectively visualising the act of drawing a sword.”
The production utilised a total of 46 Martin MAC Viper XIP units, supplied by Mediapix Pte Ltd.
Hanslee Lim, director for lighting, Harma Professional APAC, commented: “Martin Professional, a Harman brand, continues to redefine the boundaries of lighting technology with the MAC Viper XIP, setting a new standard for outdoor theatrical productions worldwide.”