Projects

Since 1996, AVW Controls Ltd has built a long-standing reputation for delivering innovative stage automation control systems to the entertainment industry. Over the past three decades, the company has supported more than 100 UK theatre productions alongside a broad portfolio of international shows, venues and installations.

From the National Theatre and the West End to global touring productions, opera houses, cruise ships, exhibitions and large-scale live events, AVW Controls Ltd continues to deliver reliable, practical and technically advanced automation systems across theatre, film, television and live entertainment.

 

A selection of projects delivered by AVW Controls Ltd under the direction of Anton Woodward.

UK Theatre Productions


Battle Royal, National Theatre, London, 1999
Blue/Orange, National Theatre, London, 2000
Howard Katz, National Theatre, London, 2001
A Streetcar Named Desire, National Theatre, London, 2002
Anything Goes, National Theatre, London, 2002
Our House, Cambridge Theatre, London, 2002
Play Without Words, National Theatre, London, 2002
Aristocrats, National Theatre, London, 2003
Jerry Springer: The Opera, National Theatre, London, 2003
Jumpers, National Theatre, London, 2003
Mourning Becomes Electra, National Theatre, London, 2003
The Duchess of Malfi, National Theatre, London, 2003
Thoroughly Modern Millie, Shaftesbury Theatre, London, 2003
Bat Boy, National Theatre, London, 2004
Buried Child, National Theatre, London, 2004
Mary Poppins, Bristol Hippodrome and Prince Edward Theatre, London (House Lift Only), 2004
Billy Elliot: The Musical, Victoria Palace Theatre, London, 2005
Blue Man Group, New London Theatre, London, 2005
Fidelio, Scottish Opera, 2005
Pillars of the Community, National Theatre, London, 2005
The Far Pavilions, Shaftesbury Theatre, London, 2005
Caroline, or Change, National Theatre, London, 2006
Southwark Fair, National Theatre, London, 2006
The Alchemist, National Theatre, London, 2006
The Play’s the Thing, New Ambassadors Theatre, London, 2006
The Voysey Inheritance, National Theatre, London, 2006
Attempts on Her Life, National Theatre, London, 2007
Desperately Seeking Susan, Novello Theatre, London, 2007
Philistines, National Theatre, London, 2007
The Drowsy Chaperone, Novello Theatre, London, 2007
The Reporter, National Theatre, London, 2007
Afterlife, National Theatre, London, 2008
Gone with the Wind, New London Theatre, London, 2008
Happy Now?, National Theatre, London, 2008
Oedipus, National Theatre, London, 2008
Zorro, Garrick Theatre, London, 2008
Burnt by the Sun, National Theatre, London, 2009
War Horse, New London Theatre, London, 2009
Really Old, Like Forty Five, National Theatre, London, 2010
The White Guard, National Theatre, London, 2010
Bluebeard’s Castle, Royal Festival Hall, London, 2011
Dirty Dancing, UK Tour, 2011
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, London Palladium and UK Tour, 2011
Potters Christmas Show, Potters Resort, Great Yarmouth, 2011
Rocket to the Moon, National Theatre, London, 2011
Top Hat, Aldwych Theatre and UK Tour, 2011
Chariots of Fire, Hampstead Theatre, London, 2012
The King’s Speech, UK Tour and West End, 2012
Sweeney Todd, Adelphi Theatre, London, 2012
Chimerica, Almeida Theatre, London, 2013
Don Quixote, Royal Opera House, London, 2013
Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense, Duke of York’s Theatre, London, 2013
Turn of the Screw, Almeida Theatre, London, 2013
Tell Me on a Sunday, Gielgud Theatre, London, 2014
The Scottsboro Boys, Garrick Theatre, London, 2014
One Man, Two Guvnors, Theatre Royal Haymarket, London, 2014
Closer to Heaven, Criterion Theatre, London, 2015
Kinky Boots, Adelphi Theatre, London and UK Tour, 2015
Fracked!, Chichester Festival Theatre, 2016
Dinosaurs in the Wild, London, Manchester and Birmingham, 2017
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Apollo Theatre, London, 2017
Girls, Phoenix Theatre, London, 2017
The Jungle Book, UK Tour, 2017
Labour of Love, Noël Coward Theatre, London, 2017
Mitridate, Royal Opera House, London, 2017
The Exterminating Angel, Royal Opera House, London, 2017
The Comedy of Errors, National Theatre, London, 2017
Brief Encounter, Empire Cinema Haymarket, London, 2018
From the House of the Dead, Royal Opera House, London, 2018
Mary Stuart, Almeida Theatre, London, 2018
The Bodyguard, Dominion Theatre and UK Tour, 2018
& Juliet, Manchester Opera House and Shaftesbury Theatre, London, 2019
Breaking the Waves, Scottish Opera, 2019
Guys and Dolls, Sheffield Crucible, 2019
Life of Pi, Sheffield Crucible and UK Tour, 2019
Only Fools and Horses, Theatre Royal Haymarket, London, 2019
Shipwreck, Almeida Theatre, London, 2019
TAO of Glass, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, 2019
The American Clock, The Old Vic, London, 2019
The Hunt, Almeida Theatre, London, 2019
Chicago, UK Tour, 2021
Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, Lyric Theatre, London, 2021
Jersey Boys, Trafalgar Theatre and UK Tour, 2021
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, London Palladium and UK Tour, 2021
She Loves Me, Sheffield Crucible, 2021
The Drifters Girl, Newcastle Theatre Royal and Garrick Theatre, London, 2021
The Good Life, UK Tour, 2021
Ava: The Secret Conversations, Riverside Studios, London (Design Only), 2022
Patriots, Almeida Theatre and Noël Coward Theatre, London, 2022
Tammy Faye, Almeida Theatre, London, 2022
The 47th, The Old Vic, London, 2022
Miss Saigon, Sheffield Crucible, 2023
Pygmalion, The Old Vic, London, 2023
The Secret Life of Bees, Almeida Theatre, London, 2023
The Wizard of Oz, London Palladium (Over-stage Automation Only), 2023
Awful Auntie, UK Tour, 2024
Just For One Day, The Old Vic, London, 2024
The Producers, Menier Chocolate Factory, London, 2024
A Christmas Carol, The Old Vic, London, 2025
Diamonds and Dust, Emerald Theatre, London, 2025
Just For One Day, Shaftesbury Theatre, London, 2025
Oedipus, The Old Vic, London, 2025
Romans, Almeida Theatre, London, 2025
Sleeping Beauty, London Palladium, 2025
American Psycho, Almeida Theatre, London, 2026
Fourteen Again, Victoria Wood Theatre, 2026
Operation Mincemeat, UK Tour, 2026

International Theatre Productions


La Belle, Monte Carlo Ballet, 2001
Luisa Miller, De Vlaamse Opera, 2003
The Phantom of the Opera, Spain, 2005
The Phantom of the Opera, Argentina, 2009
Zorro, Paris, 2009
The Phantom of the Opera, Germany, 2013
Dirty Dancing, European and International Tours, 2014
Crime and Punishment, Moscow, 2016
Evita, Southern Hemisphere Tour, 2017
The Bodyguard, Australian Tour, 2017
The Exterminating Angel, Salzburg Festival and Copenhagen Opera House, 2018
Totenhaus, La Monnaie, Brussels, 2018
The Phantom of the Opera, Brazil, 2018
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Australian Tour, 2022
The Phantom of the Opera, South Korea, 2022
SIX The Musical, World Tour, 2023
Breaking the Waves, Detroit Opera and Houston Grand Opera, 2024
Life of Pi, International Tour, 2024
The Lord of the Rings, World Tour, 2024
The Hunt, St. Ann’s Warehouse, Brooklyn, New York, 2024
CATS, German / Austrian / Swiss Tour, 2025
Just For One Day, Mirvish Theatre, Toronto, 2025

UK Venues


Barbican Concert Hall and Theatre, London, 1997
Glyndebourne Opera House, 2000
Theatre Royal Plymouth, 2000
Brighton Dome, 2001
Royal National Theatre, London, 2001
Salisbury City Hall, 2001
Electric Cinema, London, 2002
Apollo Theatre, Oxford, 2003
Cheltenham Town Hall, 2004
London Coliseum, 2004
The Sage Gateshead, 2004
Birmingham Town Hall, 2005
Kings Theatre, Southsea, 2005
Royal Opera House, London, 2005
Sisters of Mercy Convent, Bermondsey, 2006
Dickens World, Chatham, 2007
LPAC, University of Lincoln, 2007
Godolphin and Latymer School, London, 2008
Hull Truck Theatre, 2008
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 2008
Royal College of Music, London, 2008
Warwick Arts Centre, 2008
15 Kensington Palace Gardens, London, 2009
Clifftown Studios, East 15 Acting School, Southend, 2009
Mossley Mill, Belfast, 2009
Lyric Theatre Belfast, 2010
Caernarfon Arts Centre, 2010
Scarborough Spa, 2010
Motherwell Concert Hall, 2012
University of Kent, 2012
Barnstaple Queen’s Theatre, 2013
Centre of the Cell, Queen Mary University of London, 2013
Villa Marina, Isle of Man, 2013
Attenborough Centre, 2014
First Street, Manchester, 2014
Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, 2014
Regent Street Cinema, London, 2014
Manchester Opera House, 2015
The Lowry, Salford, 2015
Perth Theatre, Scotland, 2016
Birmingham Conservatoire, 2017
Swarovski Store, London, 2018
Theatre Royal Drury Lane, London, 2018
Airbus, Bristol, 2019
Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, London, 2019
St Edward’s School, Oxford, 2019
The Grange Festival, Hampshire, 2019
Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, 2019
Bristol Beacon, 2021
Radisson Blu Hotel, Leicester Square, London, 2021
St John’s University, York, 2021
Swansea Arena, 2021
Trinity College, Oxford, 2021
Jersey Opera House, 2022
Pembroke College, Cambridge, 2022
Troxy, London, 2022
White Rock Theatre, Hastings, 2022
Aviva Studios, Manchester, 2023
BEAM Theatre and Studio, Hertford, 2023
Brighton College, 2023
Dartford Theatre, 2023
Eton College, 2023
The Hawth, Crawley, 2023
The Grammar School at Leeds, 2024
Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, Oxford University, 2025

International Venues


Bayan Palace, Kuwait, 1995 and 2014
Genting Highlands, Malaysia, 1997
Petronas Twin Towers, Malaysia, 1998
Thessaloniki Concert Hall, Greece, 1998
National Theatre of Malaysia, 2000
Royal Theatre, Thessaloniki, Greece, 2000
Disneyland Paris, 2001
Sydney Opera House, Australia, 2001
Rialto Theatre, Cyprus, 2002
Strovolos Theatre, Cyprus, 2002
Sütlüce Congress Centre, Istanbul, 2006
International School Manila, Philippines, 2010
National Theatre of Cyprus, 2010
Bahrain National Theatre, 2012
New York University Abu Dhabi, 2013
Al Baraka Palace, Oman, 2014
Grieg Hall, Norway, 2014
Pacha Nightclub, Dubai, 2014
Qatar National Library, 2014
Taipei Performing Arts Center, Taiwan, 2015
Jockey Club Auditorium, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 2016
Copenhagen Opera House, Denmark, 2017
Sex Museum, Amsterdam, 2018
Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, 2019
Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, 2021
MISK, Saudi Arabia, 2022
Yuen Long Theatre, Hong Kong, 2022
Dutch National Opera & Ballet, Amsterdam, 2024
Edith Cowan University, Australia, 2024
Rockwell Performing Arts Center, Philippines, 2024
Sunway University, Malaysia, 2025

Film and Television


Harry Potter
James Bond
Captain America
Batman
X-Men
RA.One
World War Z
The Wolfman
Gulliver’s Travels
Sky News
Red or Black?
The Wheel
The Void
Traitors
Squid Game: The Challenge
Gladiators

Cruise Ships


Sun Princess, Princess Cruises, 1995
Arcadia, P&O Cruises, 1997
MS Amsterdam, Holland America Line, 1997
Disney Magic, Disney Cruise Line, 1998
MS Rotterdam, Holland America Line, 1998
MS Volendam, Holland America Line, 1998
MS Zaandam, Holland America Line, 1998
Voyager of the Seas, Royal Caribbean, 1998
Disney Wonder, Disney Cruise Line, 1999
Dawn Princess, Princess Cruises, 2004

Motor Shows


Ford
Opel
Land Rover
Mazda
Volvo
Aston Martin

Birmingham Motor Show
Geneva Motor Show
Frankfurt Motor Show
Detroit Motor Show

Projects by Anton prior to 1996 (Stage Drives & Controls Ltd)

These projects represent Anton’s work at Stage Drives & Controls Ltd between 1988 and 1996, during a period of innovation led by Barry Steel, the true father of stage automation.

Aspects of Love, London, 1989
Miss Saigon, London, 1989
AC/DC, The Razors Edge World Tour, 1990
Cliff Richard, From a Distance Tour, 1990
Freudiana, Vienna, 1990
Iron Maiden, No Prayer on the Road Tour, 1990
Diana Ross, Here and Now Tour, 1991
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, London, 1991
Metallica, Wherever We May Roam World Tour, 1991
Opel Astra Launch, Frankfurt, 1991
Elton John, The One Tour, 1992
Erasure, The Phantasmagorical Entertainment Tour, 1992
Les Misérables (Upgrade), London, 1992
The Phantom of the Opera, Scheveningen, 1992
Peter Gabriel, Secret World Tour, 1993
Satomi Hakkenden, Tokyo, 1993
The Big Picnic, Glasgow, 1994
Bayan Palace, Kuwait, 1995
Sun Princess, Monfalcone, 1995
The Phantom of the Opera, Basel, 1995
Beauty and the Beast, London, 1996
Starlight Express (Computer Upgrade), London, 1996
The Phantom of the Opera (Chandelier Upgrade), London, 1996

 

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