Frenzy Designs, established in 1981 by owner Val Bryant, a traditionally trained signwriter, was tasked with printing banners to adorn the front of house as well as an illuminated 'flex face' sign and two longer sign panels to crown the top of the historic building.

The production company of the musical produced the imagery, which was sent to Frenzy Designs, and the business then printed the graphics using its Roland VersaExpress RF-640 wide-format machine, which is equipped with Colorific Lightbar solvent-UV ink technology.

The graphics for the 3sqm flex face sign and the longer 11.2x1.2m left-hand panel and the 2.5x1.2m right-hand panel were printed onto 3M IJ25 clear glue adhesive vinyl.

“We then lay the printed graphics directly onto aluminum panels,” said Bryant.

“The vinyl is such a good quality that it doesn’t even need laminating, as it’s very resistant against scratching. It’s a temporary vinyl with a matt finish as the displays get changed every four to six months as one show comes to an end and another starts its run.”

Due to the short deadlines involved, the business was required to convert the fresh artwork into new theatre signage over the course of a weekend.

Installation also had to be completed to a tight deadline, over the course of a morning and afternoon while the theatre was closed.

“Bristol Hippodrome were very pleased with the final job,” said Bryant. “It’s an ongoing job that we’ve been doing for them for many years. We always try to keep up a high print quality and they’ve always been happy with it.”

Frenzy Designs, which has three staff, also operates a Roland VersaCamm SP-540V and a Spandex Fast Track vinyl cutter.