Singapore, June 2026… When the Royal Shakespeare Company’s acclaimed production of The BFG prepared for its Singapore run at Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, an enormous amount of work was happening behind the scenes to bring the giant-sized production to life on an international stage.

With just days between the show closing in Chichester and installation beginning in Singapore, the production team faced a major technical challenge: sourcing and delivering a complete network cabling solution in time for the show’s ambitious get-in schedule.

Working against the clock, VDC Trading supplied 100 Van Damme Cat 6A cable assemblies - ranging from 1m to 100m - which were rapidly manufactured, labelled and shipped from the UK to Singapore in just 12 days. The cables played a vital role in connecting the production’s complex technical infrastructure, supporting lighting, sound, video and automation systems across the venue.

“For anyone unfamiliar with the production, The BFG is a very ambitious show,” explained Jamie Crosswell from the Royal Shakespeare Company technical team. “We had Zactrack linking lighting, sound and video altogether, alongside wireless dimming for practical elements including the trumpet, clocks, beds and orphanage scenes. Producing the show across three very different venues added that extra layer of complexity.”

Due to its larger scale compared to the Chichester and Stratford theatres, Singapore’s Esplanade demanded longer cable runs and a more extensive networking infrastructure throughout the show. 

“The network cable enabled us to link across the stage to the video racks, out to front of house for sound and across lighting desks, production racks and the Zactrack anchor system,” explains Crosswell. "The Esplanade team wanted a high-quality solution they could continue using long after The BFG,” continues Crosswell. “We’d worked with VDC before and trusted them to deliver everything in time for the Singapore run.”

“When you're moving a production of this scale internationally, every element has to arrive at the right place at the right time,” added David Tanqueray, Production Manager at the Royal Shakespeare Company. “With such a short turnaround between venues, having the cabling manufactured, labelled and delivered so quickly helped keep the project on track.”

Despite the tight timeframe, the Royal Shakespeare Company team praised both the reliability of the Van Damme cabling and the speed of support provided by VDC Trading throughout the project. “We really appreciated the quick turnaround, as well as the cable labelling and Velcro straps added to each assembly,” added Crosswell. “Kory was on the phone with updates throughout the process and kept me in the loop all the way, which was amazing.”

“Kudos to the production and technical teams behind The BFG - it’s an incredibly creative and technically demanding show,” said Kory Dunk, Business Development Manager at VDC Trading. “When timelines are this tight, communication and trust become everything. We were proud to support the team and help make sure everything arrived exactly where it needed to be ahead of opening night.”

All images courtesy of photographer, Marc Brenner.