Beyoncé and Jay-Z collaborate with the latest instalment of their performance brand, designed around a narrative of separation and reconciliation
// 2018
// Show
// UK, EU, USA
On The Run II was the second co-headlining tour for Beyoncé and Jay-Z, running across 48 dates between June to October 2018 in Europe and North America. It was part opera, part concert, part theatre, part cinematic live movie, part dance show, and part art installation. On The Run II gave audiences an emotional narrative in a monumental show designed by STUFISH.
A giant screen dominated the stadium, revealing itself to be kinetic and transparent, separating to create different entrances and apertures. Behind is the 4-storey ‘performer wall’: a structure allowing performers to appear at any of the 20 smaller openings. This included the 26-person orchestra, 17 dancers, the artists themselves, as well as light and special effects.
The performer wall was backed by another video screen, creating ever-changing environments including a tower block, portraits, film reel, landscape, and sky. True to the theme of division, separation and then reconciliation, the front half of the stage can detach, rise, and float over half the length of the stadium. It finally unites the divide between the performers to complete the narrative.
Variety
“The tour is a true feast for the senses. The stage is made up of a platform, in front of two huge screens and a wall of live musicians and dancers, that leads up to two parallel runways that get plenty of use throughout the evening. In the second half of the show, the main platform actually rises from its post and moves along the runways, making it seem as though Beyonce and Jay-Z are actually floating toward the audience. If it were anyone else, it might seem over-the-top. But for a couple as big as the Carters, it seems just about right.”
// 132% increase on takings from the previous On The Run tour
// 2,177,000 tickets sold across 18 European and 20 North American dates
Credits
Creative Director Ed Burke / Todd Tourso Executive Producer Steve Pamon / Erinn Williams Associate Producer Janet Rollé Creative Producer Dora Melissa Vargas Production Manager Bill Leabody Musical Director Derek Dixie/Omar Edwards Lighting Design Cory FitzGerald Costume Design Marni Senofonte Sound Design Stephen Curtin Art Director Andrew Makadsi Staging Supplier StageCo, Brilliant Stages, Wi Creations Choreography Jaquel Knight/Chris Grant
