“We are thrilled to be nominated for an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera for our gothic noir, King Stakh’s Wild Hunt, which had its world premiere at the Barbican Theatre in September 2023. Bringing together actors, opera singers and musicians from Belarus and Ukraine – many of whom had fled their homelands due to war or dictatorship - this opera is our proud statement of solidarity between Belarusians and Ukrainians, standing together in total condemnation of the war in Ukraine. We hope to bring it to even more stages in the near future!”

- Belarus Free Theatre

“King Stakh’s Wild Hunt is ambitious and unique, with striking visuals and a brooding atmosphere”

- The Reviews Hub

“In fact it looks so amazing the fact it’s borderline incomprehensible can often be forgiven”

“And it looks astounding, a mix of beautifully eerie tableaux and ravishing projections”

“The scene where Andrey and Nadzeya dance behind a scrim carrying the image of a slowly spinning carousel is astounding: it could have gone on for half an hour and I wouldn’t have cared. “

- Timeout

“..and Peter Small’s lighting, which swathes the stage in darkness and mist, capture the bleak climate in which its weary characters are operating. “

- The Stage

“Peter Small’s lighting design creates shadows, shifts, patterns and webs, garishly bright colours puncturing the prevailing darkness, the beams and shafts of light restless, edgy, swirling. “

“Visual images are unalleviated in their intensity and kinetic force.”

“But, it’s also astonishingly rich art”

- Opera Today

“If there's one thing that has excelled in every stage of this show’s development however, it has to be Peter Small's exceptional lighting, and Cecilia Carey's set and costume design. Together, they push what this show can achieve to the limits, with bold choices paying off with huge audience applause, and some genuine 'jaw-drop' moments; the whole Murder Con segment in Act Two is a feast for the eyes, with stunning backdrops and some cheeky gags (we love a good hashtag), but then Small's design, with the music alongside, adds vibrancy and includes us as an audience in moments that make us truly feel 'a part of the story’.”

- Theatre and Tonic

“Lighting by Peter Small, design by Cecilia Carey and direction by Jon Brittain complete this perfect production.”

- West end best friend

“Vast neon backdrops and great lighting design (Peter Small) make for a visual treat.”

- The Reviews Hub

“The lighting, by Peter Small, is bright and colourful and the use of lit up devices such as phones and laptops works excellently.”

- Musical Manda

A thrilling gothic noir from one of the world’s bravest theatre companies based on the celebrated novel. Featuring acclaimed actors, opera singers and musicians from Belarus and Ukraine.

This world premiere features a transporting score by composer, Olga Podgaiskaya, conducted by Vitali Alekseenok, with the lead roles performed by Ukrainian baritone, Andrei Bondarenko and Ukrainian soprano, Tamara Kalinkina.

King Stakh's Wild Hunt interlaces opera, theatre, multimedia and live music to tell a story rooted in the history of Belarus with blazing contemporary relevance for Europe today.

“Peter Small is an Offie and Theatre & Technology Award nominated #lightingdesigner working across #theatre, dance and opera, as well as architectural #lighting.

Based in #London, Peter's recent designs include The Great Christmas Feast, an immersive production for the Lost Estate, and Olivier Awards winning Baby Reindeer for Edinburgh Fringe and the Bush Theatre in London.”

Learn more about Peter in this new City Theatrical designer interview:

https://citytheatrical.com/.../def.../interviews/peter-small

“Created by The Lost Estate, London’s master experience makers, The Great Christmas Feast transports audiences to the streets of Victorian London and the chambers of Charles Dickens, immersing them in the tale of A Christmas Carol through a mix of theatre, live music, fine dining and Dickensian mixology. It is making a much-anticipated return to the capital this year and White Light has provided the lighting equipment.”

Click here to read the full press release

“Supported by a particularly clever lighting design from Peter Small”
- Anna James, The Stage

Baby Reindeer Wins Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre at the 2020 Olivier Awards!

Sadly on its second stop the tour was cancelled due to Covid-19.

“The blackouts between scenes cleverly hinting at what is happening in the outside world through clever lighting and sound design.” “A particular highlight being the scenes beautiful performed purely in candle light.”
- Niamh Flynn, upper-circle.com

“I initially found myself more intrigued by the world the show was set in than the characters in front of me. I felt a morbid curiosity to open the office door and discover what disaster had brought the world crumbling and rendered every kettle unusable. This was achieved in no small part by sound designer Dominic Kennedy, lighting designer Peter Small. Flashing lights through the windows could have been bombs, fires, or electrical storms. The constant wail of sirens and hum of planes could have signalled a number of terrifying and now routine disasters, and inside the office, a rotting world was being tenuously held together by aging, upbeat posters, their frayed positivity almost hiding the cracks underneath. The world of the show and the tone it wanted to set was created perfectly by this set, and made it instantly fascinating.”
- Holly Casey, everything-theatre.co.uk

“Excellent acting from all four members of the cast together with atmospheric lighting and simple but effective staging made this an engaging evening.”
- Fiona Maclean, London Unattached

“Peter Small's gloomy lighting design adds to the ominous atmosphere, and framing the set in bright neon is a nice touch - giving a sense of both the institutional and a growing claustrophobia.”
- Jonathan Marshall, Broadway World

“This is accentuated by Peter Small’s lighting, the flashing boundaries of their screens cleverly mimicking a Skype call, whilst the flickering lights add to the slowly escalating tension we all feel.”
- Rob Warren, everything-theatreood

“Peter Small’s excellent lighting design didn’t help ease my confusion, as the different lighting tones between scenes added to that sense of metamorphosis.”
- The Last Ressort

“Lizzy Leech (set/costume), Dominic Brennan (sound) and Peter Small (lighting) are to be applauded for their masterful touch here.”
- The Spy in the Stalls

“which, in a simple and ingenious manner — playing with the use of transparent glass and light (Peter Small) — alternates between a prison visitors room, computer screens and even a visual depiction of a phone-call. It’s the kind of use of the stage which truly demonstrates its creative team’s limitless imagination.”
- Barbara Kolaric, Medium Culture

“The aesthetic design of this production is it’s strongest asset. The lighting design (by Peter Small) is absolutely stunning. Most scenes are lit from the front allowing the shadows and silhouettes of the actors to appear on the backdrop (watching the shadows and the lights and listening to the dialogue made me appreciate the play far more). Lighting and sound come into their own during the transitions between scenes. The set (consisting of a wire caravan frame, split in half, along with separate door frame that doubles up as a mirror) glows with neon LED lighting to the beats and vocal stylings of female rap and pop artists.”
- Emily Champion, The 730 Review

“The actors weave the set made up of intriguing yet foreboding metallic structures fixed with various light installations (by Peter Small) around the stage in between each scene with the drama never really halting. The structures take the form of a house, a hospital, a caravan… If you’re not quite sure what shape the set is meant to be, you’re in no doubt of its presence as a caravan at the end of one particular scene and the title of the play becomes somewhat clearer too. These sequences were so slick and felt so much a part of the story; the cast have clearly put the hours in in order to produce this standard of movement.”
- Joanna Hoyes

“The outline of the caravan was lit up with neon lights during set changes to create Bex’s spirit within her foundations, positive and fun. A great use of semiotics”
- Jennifer Lilly

“Lighting effects (designer Peter Small) add shock and suspense”
- Stephen Bates, thereviewshub

“Interviews with Gadd’s friends and family, and blasts of music along with piercing rays of light. It’s not all bleak. Apart from that, every aspect of the show is dark: words, motivations, story and lighting.”
- sierz

“The particular strength, however, lies in the visual and aural production. Designer Cecilia Carey, lighting designer Peter Small, sound designer Keegan Curran and video designer Ben Bull work in perfect harmony to create a dazzling maelstrom when depicting the intense ferocity of Martha’s threatening behaviour, but also a stark reality when interview clips are played, which poignantly reveal additional victims who have suffered, as well as Gadd. It is a technically astounding show, which Gadd must feel indebted to.”
- Francis Nash, The Up Coming

“Although a one man show, Gadd isn’t alone onstage. The array of videos designed by Ben Bull, alongside the lighting designed by Peter Small, all of which is accompanied by Keegan Curran’s sound design, is a magnificent marriage of tech which gives the piece a whole new theatrical dimension. By seeing and hearing the harassment first-hand, the implications of what Gadd is saying really takes root in the audience. We don’t have to imagine how awful it was, it is blatantly obvious. The piece is almost choreographed around the tech and it allows this one man to retain interest and pace straight through.”
- Olivia Kiely, ayoungertheatre.com

“The production’s extensive technical facets (Peter Small’s lighting, Keegan Curran’s sound, Ben Bull’s video and Cecilia Carey’s overall design) have the Roundabout’s characteristic slickness. Whilst the play’s topic is not apparently censored or ameliorated, the formal control that Gadd and his team exert must, surely, grant him at least a degree of psychological control over, and containment of, the events he describes.”
- Tom Moyser, exeunt Magazine

“Meanwhile, Peter Small’s moody lighting design becomes almost another character in itself, with abrupt blackouts, flickers, and indefinably ominous psychedelic glows establishing an unsettling atmosphere of slow decay.”
- Dave Fargnoli, The Stage

“Dipping tungsten lights into a fizzing blood-red state of emergency. Later, electricity fades and a deliciously slow scene takes place entirely in candlelight, the stage flooding with generosity.”
- Kate Wyver, The Guardian

“The feeling of foreboding is brilliantly realised by the lighting design of Peter Small”
- Cormac Richards, reviewsgate

“An understated lighting design by Peter Small plays with shadow and light, keeping the house brightly lit for the most part to create a sense that the audience is intruding voyeuristically on private scenes of tenderness or suffering. As the production wears on, the interludes of darkness seem longer, focusing the attention on what little light remains, the warm glow of lamps scattered around the space or an amber shaft of streetlight through a window.”
- Dave Fargnoli, The Stage

“Some dramatic lights by Peter Small”
- Richard Maguire, thereviewshub

“Peter Small’s lighting and Dominic Kennedy’s sound effects punctuate the pacy soliloquy and take us deep into the psyche of our protagonist.”
- Victoria Ferguson, londontheatre

“The clever lighting by Peter Small”
- The New York Times

“It’s also important to note on the piece’s production design. Peter Small’s acrobatic lighting”
- Ran Xia, exeunt NYC

“The lighting and sound turned the small venue into a wrestling arena that holds a thumb war, arm wrestling competitions and a tense drinking game.”
- Rhona Mackay, Edinburgh Guide

“The acting, the music and the lighting all coalesce into an excellent piece of theatre that is well worth a watch.”
- Chris Dobson, edfestmag

“The LED lights connected to the roof were used to give a very disco feel to the whole performance and the sound surrounded the whole audience adding to the immersive feel of the show. A light fog was used throughout, pumping in from under the seats. The fog created a mysterious effect mirroring the mystery the characters had to solve. “
- Francesca Eager, number9reviews

“Arguably the most impressive and captivating element of this already stunning show is the immaculate lighting design from Peter Small. Illustrating the stages of grief as well as the process of panic attacks and the unexpected speed of growing up through bright, rapidly cascading lights”
- Joe Lawrence, theatreweekly.com

“Lighting designer Peter Small makes good use of the formidable technical heft the Paines Plough Roundabout stage offers, something not all Fringe spaces have at their disposal. Flitting, kaleidoscopic, whirling lights nicely evoke a sense of turbulence and signal the various temporal transitions.”
- Brendan Macdonald, exeunt Magazine

“Nevertheless this a bloody nice piece of writing that glitters underneath Peter Small's twinklingly sepia lighting.”
- Alex Wood, Whats On Stage

“Some beautiful lighting design from Peter Small helps further intensify the feeling of mid-20th Century America”
- Greg Stewart, theatreweekly.com

“Peter Small’s unfussy lighting serves as a counterpoint, periodically narrowing the focus back down to a single spot of peaceful, silvery lunar light.”
- Dave Fargnoli, The Stage

“Lighting by Peter Small changes subtly from moment to moment to highlight fear, joy, excitement, intimacy”
- Farah Najib, ayoungertheatre.com

“There is clearly a very competent team who do know how to program the lights for the shows. The collaboration is outstanding! The synchronisation of the lights and sound on such a great system is fully utilised so even key words can have a Sound and Light accent. It’s both effective and impressive!”
- Lambco, theatrereviews

“ The moment of the punch, however, is cleverly executed. The stage punch can look tacky at the best of times, however the distance between the actors during this moment, accompanied by a crucial flash of bright light, gives this action a really significant impact.”
- Joseph Winer, ayoungertheatre.com

“How to Spot an Alien doesn’t stray from Paines Plough’s bare-stage aesthetic, but it does employ the technical capabilities of the Roundabout to their fullest extent. Peter Small’s lighting and Dominic Kelly’s sound add immeasurably to the fun of the production, including some fantastic sequences where lighting and sound make the space itself into a character. “
- Alex Bailey Dillon, Broadway Baby

“The clever combination of sound effects, lights, smoke and extremely well-timed movements conjures up everything from spiders to vehicles to an auditorium packed with aliens and at some points it really is a bit scary.”
- Kate Gillies, Edinburgh with kids

“the lighting from Peter Small is exceptional, but in Black Mountain particularly, it plays an even greater role. Sharp shafts of light, and torches help create terrifying scenes, with strobe lighting used to great effect in the climactic moments. At times, the darkness is just important as the light, building a palpable tension within the auditorium.”
- Greg Stewart, Theatre Weekly

“The sound and light design by Peter Small and Dominic Kennedy plays a big part in creating the atmosphere in Black Mountain”
- Michael Davis, Breathing The Fourth Wall

“ This atmospheric effect is cleverly reflected in the lighting’s monochromatic palette created by Peter Small”
- Susie Browning, ayoungertheatre.com

“All helped by another great example of Peter Small’s lighting, which frames everything in a warm comforting glow.”
- Greg Stewart, Theatre Weekly

“What's really impressive is the technical capabilities that the Orange Tree has. The combination of varying lighting effects and sound cues help create an atmosphere that fully envelops the audience. There is a deliberate overwhelming concoction of flashes, bangs, rumbles and colours, and it's really something special.”
- Charlie Wilks, Broadway World

“no props, just atmospheric lighting and soundtrack”
- Roger Foss, The Stage

“A clever use of strobe lighting, dry ice, darkness, torchlight, silences and pauses all effectively contribute to the eerie atmosphere of this most intriguing drama”
- Catherine Bardrick, Essential Surrey @ SW London

"“Using some good lighting effects and sound (thanks to Peter Small and Dominic Kennedy)”
- Aleks Sierz, theartsdesk.com

“Precision lighting by Peter Small”
- Sam Chittenden, Fringe Review

“In the middle of this bonhomie the lighting will turn expressionistic”
- Jamie Dunn, The Stage

“Peter Small’s lighting basks the boys in pinks and blues and reds”
- Eve Allin, Exeunt Magazine

“Out of necessity the staging is simple yet thorough, complemented by some exceptionally sensitive lighting from Peter Small.”

— Paul Vale (The Stage)

"The set is simple but for the lights which makes the stage look like a dingy night club - a fitting metaphor for the garage inspired script."

"With cool, stripped-back lighting by Peter Small"

"Peter Small’s lighting design pulsing with the beat of the spoken word"

"A special mention must go to lighting designer Peter Small who skilfully lights the actors for a sequence of touching monologues towards to end. Blink and you’ll miss it."

"A series of dangling light bulbs on rails above a bare set, laid out like a football pitch, and the cast slide these lights around to show changes in location, or focus, or to punctuate their anger. At one unforgettable point, during a sequence in which one story goes forwards while another goes backwards, the characters say “Blink” as the lights change. This has an incantatory, almost hallucinatory, effect. And it’s brilliant. Thank you, Peter Small"

"Josh Roche's direction also nicely takes advantage of the performance space and smartly forgoes scenery in favour of Peter Small's excellent lighting - which consisting of lightbulbs hanging from overhead tracks that can be propelled across the stage."

"Peter Small’s lighting work which does much to guide us about the internal lives on display here"

"Again, the ubiquitous lightbulbs take a hand as they flicker at the mention of ‘blink’ and ‘there’s a letter for you’. They represent punctuation in the script as the audience can barely divert their gaze. It’s a brilliant, almost Hitchcockian masterstroke as the story reaches its conclusion"

"Peter Small’s carefully judged lighting design heightens the tension"

"Sophie Thomas and Peter Small are jointly responsible for an ingenious design in which light-bulbs whizz through the air on overhead cables"

"Beautiful staging, the relatively simple set is complimented through the dynamic use of lighting. Singular light bulbs hang from bare wires suspended on tracks. This allows the lights to be slid, both gently and aggressively, across the stage, creating mini-worlds for the characters to inhabit, the bulbs change colour with the moods, and the overall effect is magical."

"Peter Small’s lighting work is sharply effective too, transporting us through the years in a heartbeat."

"The distortion of time is skilfully supported by the lighting design of Peter Small. The audience is guided through several light changes suggesting the fragmentation of time’s linearity. The playfulness with the flow of time refers to the process of memory: the older moments of their shared story is barely lit, but a longer sequence in comparison to the shorter, but brighter sequences of the later relationship. Significant are the shadows, which, grow bigger and thus cover the stage of the couple’s relationship. The absent presence of what have been and is not anymore, is visually captivating as the core of the story, moments’ fleetingness."

"The lighting and music excel in setting the mood"

"Beautifully crafted by all the creative team"

"Performed in the round with no set apart from a piano stool, the entire weight of the play depends on the actors backed up with some very effective lighting (Peter Small)"

"The leaps in time in Old Fools are perfectly smooth and integrated, assisted by a superb lighting direction which helps in differentiating the space/time transitions."

"The different moods of the piece were really well reflected in the lighting and in such a small and intimate space to get that right, is a real craft"

"Subtle, swift and seamless well coordinated lighting"

‟The staging feels impressively modern”

- Greg Stewart, Theatre Weekly

‟It also has a beautiful, economical, stylish, effective setting and glorious lights. Tech used to help the play brilliantly. ”

- Christopher Lilly

‟The highlight of this stunning show was the innovative and heart-wrenchingly beautiful lighting design. Peter Small utilises a myriad of LEDs to both snap between different times and places, and to heighten the visceral, emotional moments in this brilliant performance. Sudden changes in lighting immediately alter the atmosphere, allowing the scenes to tumble after each other and conveying the feeling of 30 years passing in the blink of an eye”

- Angela O'Callaghan, Broadway Baby

‟James Grieve (Director) and lighting designer Peter Small use darkness to generate atmosphere and create the sense that something is amiss between the couple”

‟There are a couple of functional jump scares, mainly generated by the lighting”

- Natasha Tripney, The Stage

‟The fourth character, betrayal, is in the tense lighting”

- Paul T Davies, BritishTheatre.com

‟Peter Small’s lighting makes us gasp more than once. Nice touches include making us, the audience, feel as if we are being watched and, also, as if we are watching”

- Ann Treneman, The Times

‟With no props or set, the lighting design is crucial and works brilliantly to help us set the scene, from a dark house in the middle of the day to the bright lights of the Golden Arches”

- Kirsty, Theatre and Tea

‟Peter Small’s lighting design is rocky and heightens the feel of the Mods' musical context”

- Andrew Exeter, Blogger

‟A simple yet highly effective set and lighting design did well to highlight mod culture and fashions”

- Dan Earl, Express & Star

‟The production of All Or Nothing works very well and brings the story of the Small Faces to life very well, great lighting”

- Karren Woodham, Blazing Minds

‟The fluorescent strip lights that occasionally illuminate the stage do a particularly good job of altering the mood, making you realise that some things have to be viewed in a harsh light, even though you may not like it”

- Sarah Jeffcoate, Everything Theatre

‟Peter Small’s lighting adds extra awareness and location”

- Howard Loxton, British Theatre Guide

‟Played out on a skeletal set of scaffold poles, rope and sand, with a lighting plot delineating the boundaries of memory and reality”

- Nigel Smith, The Stage