Scotland’s Favourite Sound & Light Show Enchants Once Again
Scotland’s favourite sound and light show, The Enchanted Forest, welcomed hundreds of visitors back to the familiar, majestic surroundings of Faskally Wood, Pitlochry, last night (28 September). The much-anticipated launch of the 20th anniversary show, Together, comes after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.
This year’s show, which runs from 29 September to 30 October 2022, has been inspired by the hopeful public mood of togetherness that so many are now enjoying after such a long time apart, as well as the desire to mark the 20th anniversary of the trailblazing event, which was founded in 2002.
Set against the stunning backdrop of Faskally Wood, the 20th anniversary event has been delivered by a newly established creative team, a collaboration of some of the UK’s leading event production companies and creative talents. Led by event management agency Wavemakers Live, creative design has been a collaborative process between Ian Greenhill and Rux Dragan at Studio Something and composers and sound designers Jon Beales and Rachel Cullen, with technical production for the show provided by Catalyst Event Production Services.
The creative team have succeeded in delivering a show which transports visitors to a unique and inspirational place, which will delight people of all ages.
A journey around the forest that starts together, visitors will get to play on an oversized 303 machine (an interactive multimedia installation) and will be reminded through lights, colours, music and spoken word of how lucky we are to spend our lives together.
Visitors will walk together around the event, leaving their own subtle imprint on the forest with motion tracking projections. The aim is that visitors will come out of the forest a tiny bit closer, to each other, and to everything around. The show blends light, video, and sound to create a truly unique visitor experience, making the forest come to life.
The Together soundtrack celebrates the human voice, featuring pieces with a single narrator to huge choirs. Show composers and sound designers Jon Beales and Rachel Cullen have worked together with long-time collaborator RJ McConnell to present a wide range of original pieces which utilise a range of instruments, from dreamy synths to epic Hollywood orchestras. This year’s sound design is bigger than ever with pieces mixed in cinematic surround sound by leading sound engineers Marcin Buczek and Allan ‘Hef’ Forsyth.
This year’s event production has been steered by a freshly appointed board of trustees at The Enchanted Forest Community Trust including marketing director Debbie Hutchinson, chartered accountant Karen Smith, charity governance and fundraising consultant Mhairi Cameron and investment services director at Aegon UK, Gill Baker.
Nela Popovic, executive director of The Enchanted Forest Community Trust, said:
“We’re over the moon that The Enchanted Forest is back after such a long break. I’m sure all our visitors will really enjoy the sense of togetherness it brings that we are so keen to celebrate in 2022, and from which we’ve developed this year’s theme. We have been determined to create a show that is the best yet. A real celebration of two decades of delivering a magical experience for everyone who comes back to visit us time and time again. We very much hope they can enjoy the spectacle of light and sounds in the magnificent surroundings of Faskally Wood at The Enchanted Forest.
“The team have worked hard to create a truly original experience where people, young and old, can set their imaginations alight. This year’s event includes all the innovation and showstopping moments that we have come to expect from our creative partners, and it has been fantastic to see the joy in the faces this evening of our first visitors as they have walked around the woods and immersed themselves in The Enchanted Forest experience.”
An economic survey conducted by Tourism Resources Company in 2018 estimated that The Enchanted Forest delivers a whopping £7.6 million economic benefit to Perthshire’s economy every year. It is expected that this year’s show, with more than 80,000 visitors expected, will deliver a much-needed higher impact and a genuine boost to tourism operators in the region.
While selling very quickly indeed, some tickets are still available for this year’s event. To book, or to find out more information, please visit: www.enchantedforest.org.uk
