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Well, that's limelight. What exactly was it?
Well it was the burning of calcium oxide in a very intense flame.
And when did the job of a limelighter begin?
Oh, famously, the first recorded instance in many ways was a production of pantomime by the famous actor- manager, William Macready, in the Theater Royal in Drury Lane in 1827.
How’s the process of lighting by lime discovered?
Well it was a chap called Goldsworthy Gurney who's an inventor. And he invented a blowtorch which became the Gurney torch, which used hydrogen and oxygen for flame. And I suppose he was messing around with this thing, wondering what‘s to do with it. And he found that when he played the flame on a lump of lime, it gave him intense white light.
You are gonna show us what that light is like?
Yes indeed.
Can we get this costume on?
Sorry. Yes.
So did the whole process of lime lighting develop?
It did indeed yes. It started with …er…just flooding the stage with this new light source which was 40 times brighter than the gas equivalent. And then they decided or they found a way of controlling it by putting a lens in front of it and it became a much more precise instrument, a bit like today's follow spots.
Where did the limelighter stand?
Limelighter is operating from the wings up to the side of the theater.
Right. Ready?
This is gas light and this is limelight. Just a week or two ago, we called on uncle Bill.
Neil, you’ve never seen limelight before, have you?
I haven't. That’s quite amazing.
I don’t think you are going to be disappointed now.
Right.
Why was limelighting such a bad job?
Well because you are using hydrogen which is really very flammable and oxygen. In fact to get the hottest flame, you needed two volumes of hydrogen and one volume of oxygen.
So where is the lime?
The lime is here, this, this little, little thing here. And the lime man’s job was to keep the lime in the hottest part of the flame.
Just by adjusting that lever.
Just by adjusting the levers and the lime man has to keep the ratio of the two gases in that two-to- one ratio all the time. Now we have the separate gases in the cylinders. They, of course, had them in gas bags. Bert, can you imagine mixing the hydrogen and the oxygen. That was really asking the trouble. That was really an explosive bag of gas. And of course you would see / an hour or so before curtain up in the West End coming down the Strand, men with bags of hydrogen and oxygen on their shoulders and if you would bump into them with your cigar or your pipe you would set them off by it I think.
Did this stuff ever get out of control?
It did I mean the Theatre Royal, in Edinburgh burnt down in 1875 and although we don't think the lime started it. It certainly helped it on its way because it had gas chambers underneath the building.
Nevertheless these limelighters were putting their lives at risk for show Biz. So now ladies and gentlemen, for your delectation and delight we three will demonstrate for you the trials and tribulations of the humble limelighter. Gentlemen please!
Impressive! Hydrogen burns, for the reaction creates less energy. But add oxygen in the ratio of two–to-one and observe.
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blowtorch n. 吹管
flammable adj. 易燃的,可燃性的
cylinder n.圆筒；柱(面)；汽缸
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