American Psycho

Overview for American Psycho:

American Psycho returns to the Almeida Theatre thirteen years after its original production, reuniting the original creative team to reimagine the show for a very different social and political moment. While the spirit of the original remains, this revival was conceived as something entirely new, a response to the world as it exists now, rather than a recreation of what came before. At the heart of the new production is a bold, technologically driven design approach. The set is built around a large LED video floor that becomes an active, living presence on stage. Rather than functioning as a passive backdrop, the floor continuously shifts and evolves, forming space, generating energy, and driving the action forward. Movement, rhythm, and momentum were central concerns: the video design needed to feel alive, constantly responding to the performers, the choreography, and the music. The show is driven by a powerful 80s electro-pump pop soundtrack, and the video design was tightly synchronised to its pulse. Our role was to ensure the video design locked into that rhythm perfectly, amplifying the beat, sharpening the drama, and propelling the narrative with precision and force. The video brief itself was intentionally simple and highly constrained. We committed to using just three visual tools: gradients, white noise, and block text. These elements were pushed, layered, and recombined in a wide range of configurations to create a visual language that is minimal, crisp, rhythmic, and at times deliberately violent. The restraint of the palette allowed the energy of the show to come through with clarity and intensity, avoiding decoration in favour of impact. All noise used in the production was sourced from original analogue recordings. This decision reinforced the rawness of the design and maintained a sense of physicality beneath the digital surface. Throughout the show, white noise seems to swim and surge in response to the music, capturing the aggression, precision, and volatility of both the score and the choreography. The result is a distinctive visual language that feels contemporary, unsettling, and deeply connected to the performance. The entire video system was designed and built in After Effects, with playback handled via disguise media servers. This workflow allowed for tight control, precision timing, and seamless integration with the rest of the production, ensuring the video remained perfectly in sync from start to finish. The result is a dynamic and electrifying reimagining of American Psycho — one that speaks to the present moment through movement, sound, and a stark, relentless visual identity.

Services provided: Video Design