Thomas Gerdon creates a magical stage atmosphere for Europe's biggest magic act, with impression X5 Wash, impression X5 Compact, JDC2 IP, JDC Line and impression X5 Bar
The Ehrlich Brothers have been delighting a wide audience with their spectacular live shows for over a decade. Their new production, ‘Diamonds’, premiered in mid-November in Dortmund’s Westfalenhalle before visiting the largest arenas in Germany where they have been presenting the best of their most popular illusions. With the help of exceptional lighting and stage technology, the successful magician duo is once again setting standards in the live entertainment world.
Thomas Gerdon (GERDON DESIGN) is once again responsible for the production design. He and his team have been accompanying the Ehrlich Brothers on their tours since 2019. For the ‘Diamonds’ tour, Thomas developed a new concept that intensifies the essence of magic through light. “If you have seen illusions before, it is all the more important to present them visually in a new and surprising way,” he explains. “Light plays a central role in this.”
Creative collaboration at the highest level
The Ehrlich Brothers are not only artists, but also creative visionaries who put their attention to every detail of their shows. “With Chris Ehrlich, I’m not just dealing with a customer, but also with an extremely well-informed technical colleague,” the designer confirms. “Each show is subsequently analyzed and further refined by the artists. This level of precision, attention to detail and love for the show makes the collaboration very special and valuable for me and my team.”
Theatrical staging thanks to outstanding X5 colour mixing
For the lighting design, Thomas turned to a variety of products from GLP—as he did on the Ehrlich Brothers’ previous tours. “The impression X5 Wash and X5 Compact are the main players in our setup,” he says. “We deliberately chose the X5 Series because it offers outstanding colour brilliance. This allowed us to design the scenes in a very theatrical colour world, minimize the use of white light and create a dramatic, emotional atmosphere. And the X5 colour space is really fantastic!”
In addition to 24 impression X5 Wash (and the matching Eggcrates), as well as 54 impression X5 Compact, 60 of the new, video capable JDC2 IP hybrid strobes are also used; these not only deliver powerful strobe looks, but also immerse the entire auditorium in intense colour washes. The devices are arranged in sets of four on trusses throughout the hall.
“The Ehrlich Brothers perform all over the hall during the show,” explains the designer. “This creates the need for a blinder/LED floodlight that effortlessly fills the room with light. We removed all blinders from the design and used GLP JDC2 IP in these positions. The use of DigiFX also makes sense for this act. Since all video content also comes from us, we also use the NDI option and extend the content to the devices whenever it makes sense.”
With this type of performance you can never have enough strobe power, believes Thomas: “Although the space in the rig is limited, we still wanted to fit strobes. The JDC Line with its compact, linear design and RGB options, proved to be ideal here.” For this reason, 48 JDC Line have been forming part of the design since the last tour.
In addition, 24 impression X5 Bars were installed on the stage trusses to illuminate the changing curtains and the artists themselves. “We have had good experiences with this approach on previous tours,” confirms Thomas.
The Ehrlich Brothers’ ‘Diamonds’ tour is proving to be a veritable display of firework magic, art and technology. Thomas Gerdon concludes: “GLP not only supplies exceptional products, but also the support that a production of this size requires. The X5 Series and the JDC2 IP—supplemented by high-resolution LED screens and newly designed video content—have enabled us to reach a completely new level in terms of colour and drama.
”All lighting technology was supplied by CGS Dry Hire. Meanwhile, the Ehrlich Brothers’ ‘Diamonds’ show will continue touring Germany, Austria and Switzerland until the end of May 2025.
