In 1923 at the London St Martin’s theatre, the renowned theatrical producer Basil Dean demonstrated his new installation of Schwabe cyclorama lighting with an encircling Hasait cloth cyclorama. He was also supporting the importers, GEC, coining the name "Schwabe-Hasait" to describe and promote the combination. This name was a misnomer, the cyclorama and its lighting were independent and outside Britain were only known separately. Few systems were ultimately imported.

However, behind the Schwabe and Hasait developments was the early 20th century revolution in dramatic styles in Germany, driving scenographic and lighting development far ahead of the traditional British stage. Pioneers such as Fortuny, Brahm, Reinhardt, Appia and even Wagner were demanding a new realism and dramatic impact in stagecraft which German technologists provided. Dean recognised this and attempted to introduce elements of it to Britain. However despite other British visionaries such as Herkomer, Craig and Gray, the ideas were mostly lost in the conservative commercial British theatre before World War II.

This book investigates the origins and development of Dean’s cyclorama and its lighting. The demand for visually realistic outdoor scenes with solid rather than painted scenery was driven by the theatrical styles of the new German drama and opera presentations. This required massive encircling cycloramas, with the challenge of construction and illumination as a convincing infinite sky being addressed by their suppliers, particularly Schwabe and Hasait. Early electrical lighting was key to this, eventually mixing up to seven colours to achieve tonal accuracy in an age when colour science was still in its infancy.