Project Gallery

The Vaults, Waterloo

THE LOCATION

The Vaults is a cavernous, subterranean arts venue tucked beneath the rail approaches at Waterloo — a home for immersive theatre, experimental performance and late-night arts programming. Its distinctive arched tunnels and graffiti-lined walls make it ideal for productions that need an atmospheric, flexible space that blurs audience and stage. Plied & Prejudice — a riotous, cocktail-fuelled retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice — made full use of the Vaults' party-ready layout, combining performance, live music and interactive social spaces to create a single, raucous night out.

Plied & Prejudice arrived in London fresh from successful runs overseas and was staged in the Vaults' Launcelot Street arches. The show's creative team set out to deliver a visually loud, colourful world: think bold set dressing, vibrant backdrops and party areas that feel both theatrical and clubby. The production's energy calls for graphics that can survive close audience interaction while maintaining sharp colour and tone under low-light, high-movement conditions.

THE BRIEF

Our client – the show's production and set design team working with The Vaults – asked Embrace Building Wraps to transform large stretches of the venue with printed fabric that would:

• Deliver saturated, high-definition colour and legible artwork at close quarters;
• Be breathable to preserve ventilation in a subterranean space;
• Fix securely to the Vaults' irregular surfaces and rigging points;
• Be durable enough to withstand heavy footfall, performers, and party activity;
• Be produced, delivered and installed on a tight schedule and budget so the show could open as planned.

Put simply: they wanted spectacle that performed as well technically as it did visually – a fast, reliable solution that would amplify the immersive experience without compromising safety or the Vaults' working environment. The production's style left little room for anything subtle – the brief demanded boldness.

THE SOLUTION

Embrace recommended and supplied a series of printed mesh PVC wraps – a breathable, wide-format substrate ideal for indoor and semi-outdoor spaces where airflow matters. Mesh allows ventilation through the fabric while still providing excellent image definition at the scale required for the Vaults' arches and party backdrops. Working from the client's artwork and our pre-press checks, we produced multiple panels sized to fit archways, corridor runs and custom rigging points, ensuring seams and fixation points fell in discreet places and the overall composition read correctly from both the audience vantage points and the photographer's lenses.

Key technical steps we took:

• Material specification: Selected a high-strength, printable mesh PVC that balances print fidelity with breathability and abrasion resistance – perfect for the Vaults' humid, busy environment.
• Colour management: Our wide-format printers and ICC workflows reproduced the production's saturated palette with clear separation and punch, so costume and lighting schemes sat harmoniously with the printed backdrops.
• Panel engineering: We broke the artwork into install-friendly panels with reinforced hems and welded eyelets where required; bespoke fixings matched the venue's rigging points so installation was fast and secure.
• Logistics & installation: Embrace printed and supplied the wraps to site and worked with the venue's production crew to sequence installs around technical rehearsals, giving the set dress a window to be completed without delaying show fit-ups.

A practical advantage of mesh in an immersive venue like the Vaults is that it gives designers the freedom to cover large runs without creating dead-air pockets behind the graphics – important where performers, lighting rigs and spectators all interact within cramped tunnels. The finished environment read as an extension of the show's aesthetic: vivid, slightly anarchic and perfectly suited to late-night revelry.

Projects like this are a joy to work on. When the creative is this bold and brilliant, it's incredibly satisfying to see our wide-format printers rise to the occasion, delivering visuals that truly stop people in their tracks.

– Greg Forster, Managing Director, Embrace Building Wraps

DELIVERY & OUTCOME

The mesh wraps were produced, delivered and installed to schedule – meeting the production's tight timetable for opening night – and the project was completed within the agreed budget. Audiences and reviewers responded to the show's immersive visuals and party atmosphere, and the printed environment helped the creative team turn the Vaults into a Pemberley that feels like a nightclub as much as a period house. Reviews emphasise the venue's immersive strengths and the production's high-energy staging –  a combination that the printed set dressing amplified.

Whether outdoors or indoors, Embrace has you covered: this project is a good example of how breathable mesh graphics can transform challenging spaces into bold, usable theatrical canvases without compromising ventilation or safety. If you'd like to know more about the materials, print specifications, or how we programme a fast turnaround for a live event, we're happy to share case details and technical specs.

Delivered on time and within budget.