Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025
Doughty - Banner - from 4 July 2025

Business

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An Allen and Heath GL4000 has recently been installed in top West Midlands live venue 'The Shed'. Richard Willis of Showcom Audio, the company that supplied the equipment, said the nature of the venue meant they needed a: "Sensible board for sensible money and lots of facilities." The GL4000 is certainly that. A 10 aux, 8 group dual function FoH/Monitor mixer, it is entirely at home in any situation and offers complete control to a single engineer. Its 8 mute groups with 128 MIDI mute snapshots further support the versatility of the console. The console is at the heart of a complete sound system refit that includes six decks of Nexo Alpha E loudspeakers, PS-15 monitors, Camco Vortex series amplification and Klark Teknik signal processing throughout. Since its installation last month, the GL4000 has been used regularly in the 500 capacity venue by a wide variety of visiting acts

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This year’s PLASA will see the future of automated lighting and the application of high-powered video projection, move a step forward with the launch of High End Systems’ new product, Catalyst. Developed for HES by English design company, Wynne Wilson Gottelier (WWG), the alpha version of Catalyst created a considerable stir at the Showtech Exhibition in Berlin where it was soft-launched earlier this month.

Mounted on the front of a Barco ELM R12, a 12,000 ANSI lumens output, triple-DMD video projector, Catalyst allows an image to be moved smoothly and positioned accurately, time after time, within a global envelope. As it is video-based, Catalyst allows truly unlimited colour mixing, with a selection of masks that act as framing shutters or overlays on video clips. The system is delivered with hundreds of gobo patterns, that can again be overlaid, including the entire DHA

City Theatrical - Banner - July 2025

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Just days before previews commenced, Thelma Holt’s new production of Noel Coward’s Semi Monde had a weighty problem. The main scenic element, essentially a large hemisphere built of steel frame and plaster, remained resolutely on terra firma. Summit Steel effected a solution, but it was not just a question of the appropriate support. The set-builders had estimated a weight of 2000 lbs for the hemisphere, calculating that it would be flown by strapping eight counter weight fly bars together. However, when all eight cradles were fully loaded, the structure refused to defy gravity. "Fortunately, one of the production crew had worked at the Albery Theatre where we had solved a similar flying problem for that theatre’s production of Baby Doll," said Chris Walker of Summit Steel. "A frantic Monday morning phone call to tell us of their nightmare m

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Richard Martin Lighting have recently purchased a further 20 Clay Paky Stage Zoom 1200s for their hire stock. This purchase means that RML now have a grand total of 100 units, which are regularly used in TV shows, theatres, exhibitions and several other applications. As Steve Wells, RML’s operations manager enthuses: "The Stage Zooms are very powerful and versatile projectors and increasing our stock was a natural choice, due to their high popularity and demand."

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London's Southwark Cathedral has been described as Shakespeare's church, where clerics and commoners alike congregated amongst the infamous bear baiting pits, brothels and theatres in the surrounding area. However, having been immersed, and to a degree obscured, by a network of roads, railways and warehouses for the past 100 years, the glory of Southwark Cathedral has now been reinstated. On Saturday 28 April hundreds of people turned out to see former South African president Neslon Mandela re-open the cathedral, as the culmination of a restoration and building programme. Southwark Church, previously a monastery, became Southwark Cathedral in 1905 and now, nearly a century on, an interior exhibition linking the building's past with its present takes visitors on a remarkable journey through time. Myriad Productions Ltd was commissioned to research, curate, design and install the exhibitio

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AC Lighting will use the PLASA Show to underscore its recent appointment as a distributor of Canadian manufacturer MDG’s range of non-stop haze, fog and low fog systems. Visitors to AC’s stand will be able to see the range of MDG machines which employ CO2 gas for their propellant and have an in-built Automatic Purging System (APS) which purges the heating module after the first heating cycle and after every emission of fog, preventing residual build up and clogging. The complete range includes the Atmosphere and Touring Atmosphere Haze Makers, the MAX 3000 and MAX 5000 Fog Makers, the ICE Fog low fog generator and ICE Fog Touring low fog generator.

A unique hazing system is encompassed in the Atmosphere models that utilizes a safe mineral oil that is heated to a precise temperature and infused with inert CO2 gas to exponentially reduce particle size (0.5 - 0.7 microns). Th

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Following a reorganisation of its business, Playlight is hosting a massive auction next Tuesday, where literally hundreds of items will come under the hammer. On the lighting side these include a collection of lighting desks and dimmers, and just about every type of lantern and moving light under the sun. For special effects, there are smoke machines, mirror balls, projectors and ultra-violet systems, whilst on the audio side, a large stockholding of speakers, amplifiers, mixing desks and microphones will be auctioned. Rigging and trussing will also feature, as will a range of office furniture and general equipment.

The auction takes place on Tuesday 22 May in London at 860 Coronation Road, Park Royal, London and begins at 11am. All items in the auction can be viewed on Monday 21 May from 9.30am to 4.30pm and on the day of sale.

For a catalogue call +44 0117 930 4020.

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Autograph Sound Recording have had a hectic first few months with 22 productions opening around the country since January. The year started with a sound design and equipment rental project called Northern Odyssey, an ambitious one-off concert at the new Odyssey Arena in Northern Ireland. Sound design was by Autograph's Nick Lidster, whose most recent design is for Bounce, which opened at the end of April at the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm, London.Feelgood, the political satire based on the current governments spin-doctoring, opened and sold out at the Hampstead theatre in January followed by a small countrywide tour, before it started a longer run in London's West End. Autograph's Simon Baker sound designed this hilarious new play before starting work on his new project Closer to Heaven, Really Useful Group's new musical collaboration with The Pet Shop Boys, which opens

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Artistic Licence has developed a custom colour-changing LED module called ‘Street LED’ specifically for a new installation that has just opened in Plymouth, Devon. The Plymouth Pannier market project was designed and installed by Pyramid Productions using an all-Artistic Licence system. Individual control of the Street LED modules was provided by an LVD-12 in the base of each tower. Each LVD-12 was controlled by a Show-Control 60-channel DMX512 controller.

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MDG’s Non-Stop haze, fog and low fog generators, which come with a 10-year warranty, are now available in the UK from AC Lighting Ltd. MDG machines employ CO2 gas for their propellant and have an in-built Automatic Purging System (APS) which purges the heating module after the first heating cycle and after every emission of fog, preventing residual build up and clogging. The complete range includes the Atmosphere and Touring Atmosphere Haze Makers, the MAX 3000 and MAX 5000 Fog Makers, the ICE Fog low fog generator and ICE Fog Touring low fog generator. The ICE FOG models can produce an overwhelming effect of pure white fog capable of filling an area up to 1000 cubic metres.

A unique hazing system is encompassed in the Atmosphere models that utilises a safe mineral oil that is heated to a precise temperature and infused with inert CO2 gas to exponentially reduce particle size (0

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Le Maitre, the name behind a respected range of pyrotechnics, smoke generators and theatre effects for the entertainment industry, has recently restructured.

The Peterborough-based company, with offices in Mitcham and both Canada and the USA, has taken steps not only to remove some previously held misconceptions, but also to expoit its growing presence in a range of new markets.

The most immediate change is the removal of the word ‘fireworks’ from the company name; from now on it will face the industry simply as Le Maitre Ltd. In the UK, Rick Wilson will continue as sales director, working in the company’s more traditional markets, whilst director Karen Haddon will concentrate on the contracts side of the business, developing Le Maitre’s presence in the touring and production markets. Display manager Richard Huffam will service clients on the contracts side, w

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Audience members attending Hugh Whitemore’s new play God Only Knows at The Vaudeville Theatre in London may not realise that they are witnessing a small revolution in theatre sound design: Aura associate Robert Tory and Aura director John Leonard have decided to make it the West-End’s first ‘mixing-desk free’ show . . .

The original touring equipment list, supplied to the production by Autograph Sound, included a Yamaha 02R digital desk, along with an Akai S6000 sampler, playing out through Richmond Sound Design’s AudioBox and controlled by RSD’s Showman show-control program to replay the atmospheric sound effects mix, and to ‘fly’ a sinister helicopter effect around the auditorium for the play’s denouement. Both Tory and Leonard, along with Aura’s show-control expert Scott George, were keen to investigate the latest option fo

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Production Resource Group company Fourth Phase has announced the opening of a London facility to service the theatrical and corporate theatre market, with Alan Thomson at the helm as managing director. Fourth Phase West London (formerly Production Arts Europe), providing large-format projection systems, has been relocated to this location. Rental operations are based in Croydon, while a sales office is located in Central London.Thomson told PLASA Media: "Fourth Phase London is a small compact facility incorporating the consolidated inventory of The Spot Company, Midnight Design and projection equipment from Production Arts. Our approach is very targeted, assisting designers who are looking for a personalised, friendly and professional service. The rental team is comprised of James Hall and Jedd Hamilton. In the coming months, we will incorporate a state-of-the-art CAD WYSIWYG facili

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The Greater London Authority in temporary residence in Westminster has contracted Recreation Sound to supply the conference equipment necessary for the public council meetings for sound reinforcement, broadcast to news media and for live transmission on the GLA website. To assist them in this, Recreation Sound opted for a beyerdynamic MCS system: "We looked at different systems for the GLA system, and we were impressed by the sound quality of the beyer MCS system," commented Mark Trigg, managing director of Recreation Sound. John Kensington is the system operator and was impressed by the ease of the system’s operation: "I control everything from the laptop. In the excitement of the discussions and debates, the participants can forget to turn on their microphones and it’s as easy as a mouse-click for me. We leave Ken's [Livingstone] mic on all the time as he has

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Europe’s largest outdoor advertising screen is sited on the C&A building in central Berlin’s famous Kurfurstendam, and is fully integrated into the architecture of the building. It features 100sq.m of Lighthouse LVP502 screen modules, measuring 10 panels wide by 8 high. The whole of this part of central Berlin has been substantially rebuilt in recent years and the new screen will be the eye-catching centrepiece for one of the city’s liveliest streets. Statistically, the site offers advertisers the opportunity for their commercials to be seen by more people than anywhere else in the city. Media! AG carried out the installation, and will operate the screen and its control system, while advertising sales and marketing are being handled by MIM in Hamburg.

Advertisers include blue chip companies, with the first to sign up being C&A themselves, and Media! AG anticipates the

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The Royal Albert Hall has recently purchased eight Clay Paky Stage Zoom 1200s for use in the famous auditorium. Supplied by Clay Paky and Pulsar reseller AC Lighting Ltd, the Stage Zoom units will be used to complement all visiting showcase events. Technical manager Mark Jones explained why he chose the Stage Zoom: "Due to the diverse nature of the shows in the hall and the varying distance that the units are from the stage, we were looking for a zoom profile with high light output. After a product comparison of all the 1200 moving head projectors on the market, we chose the Zoom because it is exceptionally bright with good colour mixing, the gobos can be changed easily, it is quiet and most importantly, reliable."

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Multiplex, the Australian company renowned for its on-time completion of the Stadium Australia for the Sydney 2000 Olympics, is currently working on upgrading Chelsea Football Club's Stamford Bridge ground. As part of this, its on-site contractor SVT were asked to look at the arrangements for evacuation in cases of emergency such as bomb threats. Deciding that a new system was required they turned to a partnership of ASL's world-leading PA equipment and Navica Ltd's rack-building expertise for this flagship installation. ASL's products from the core of the Incident Evacuation system, which will be used to control and evacuate the crowd inside the stadium. The primary fire evacuation system, in this case, will continue to use conventional sounders but should it be necessary, ASL's system can be configured to be fully compliant to the standards required of a primary fire evacuation system.

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Vari-Lite Inc partnered this month with Clearwing Productions Inc. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to increase the availability of Vari*Lite automated lighting equipment for a variety of entertainment, corporate and special events throughout the United States. Clearwing Productions evaluated the future of the automated lighting market for several months before adding VL2402 wash luminaires and VL2202 spot luminaires to its wide variety of production services. "The partnership with Clearwing Productions is another step in our ongoing effort to increase the availablity and use of Vari*Lite products," said Ken Matthews, vice-president of sales and marketing at Vari-Lite. "Clearwing is a proven leader in production services, and we are proud to associate Vari-Lite with a company that has secured a solid reputation for delivering only the highest quality products and services."

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Members of the ALD (Association of Lighting Designers) and the STLD (Society of Television Lighting Directors) along with other lighting designers have been invited to Wybron's Open Day for a demonstration of the Autopilot II system. The demonstration will be held at the Prince of Wales Theatre, London, where the Autopilot II is currently in use on the production of The Witches of Eastwick. Autopilot II is Wybron's automated followspot system, which is very easy to set up, use and monitor from a PC. Lighting designer Kevin Burgess will demonstrate its full potential and show how it's used in Witches. "We are really excited to have Kevin Burgess, the true Autopilot II ‘expert’, with us on the Open Day," says Mike Goldberg, manufacturer's representative for Wybron, who is arranging the event, which takes place at 3pm on May 25th. Goldberg can be contacte

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Barco’s high-performance projection systems have been selected for the Italian Museum Cinema in Turin. This tall museum in Antonelli’s Mole covers 3200sq.m, and is full of cinema exhibits. Euphon, one of Italy’s leading specialists in broadcast, communication and AV integration, has installed 10 Barco 708 Series CRT and 2 Barco 6000 Series LCD projectors. They were chosen because of the unmatched image quality. The Museum of Cinema, an ancient Temple of the Jewish Community, is home to five levels of exhibitions with thousands of film posters, photographs, books, periodicals, paintings, prints and film equipment. A journey through the magic of film provides the visitors a course on the archeology of cinema and the various stages of film production to end in the spectacular and immense Temple Hall, the heart of the museum. In this area, visitors can relax, watch two Ital

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Studio Brussel is one of Belgium's most vibrant radio stations catering for the dance-orientated youth market. For their annual party this year they decided to go for a full-on festival held in Kuipke, the old velodrome in Ghent. A total of seven different venues were used to showcase the best of both Belgian and international talent. The main stage was in Kuipke and featured acts such as the Postmen, 28 days, Starflam, the Guano Apes and many more. Acoustic sessions took place in the Casino with the likes of Novastar, Monza and Luc de Vos, while other attractions included a drive-in movie theatre, cabaret, and DJ sets from Cut la Roc and Luke Slater. The welcome area included a live broadcast studio and a display of artwork from famous Belgian artist Panamarenko.

Dee Sound of Belgium was responsible for supplying the audio requirements for this high profile event. Both the main stage

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New York City’s Carnegie Hall has become the world’s first concert hall to include a Yamaha PM1D digital mixing system, as part of a recent audio system upgrade, which also included a Myere Sound loudspeaker system. The design was completed by David Andrews of Andrews Audio, John Monitto from Meyer Sound and acoustical consultants Art-Tec, who performed extensive acoustic and RASTI measurements. The decision to purchase a large format digital front of house console came about through recommendations, and the need for future expansion. "We had an analogue board for 11 years, and it worked very well," said head of sound John Cardinale. "However, we were intrigued by the capabilities and the sound of digital consoles when they were first introduced, so we convinced management to make an investment in a quality front of house console as part of our upgrade. Our dec

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Mobil Tech UK has recently announced two exclusive distributorship agreements to promote and sell their products. Liverpool-based Adlite will be the main distributor in the north of England, whilst The Warehouse Ltd will be selling exclusively in Scotland from their Edinburgh headquarters and shortly from their brand new showroom in Glasgow. Both companies will be selling the complete range of Mobil Tech stands, trussing and accessories as well as the new range of lighting effects. As Mobil Tech UK sales manager Peter Stressing comments: "These agreements will allow us to concentrate our sales effort fully throughout the whole of the UK market. Adlite and The Warehouse will be able to promote our full range of products as well as providing a local focus point for customers in that both companies will be carrying a full range of products for demonstration."

This move has been

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One of Oslo’s biggest theatres, Sentrum Scene West, has upgraded its front-of-house system with a new Sony DMX-R100 8-bus digital mixing console. The 1,000 seat venue needed a flexible desk which could be instantly reconfigured for a variety of roles, yet which offered high sound quality. The theatre stages a wide range of productions, including live concerts, theatrical performances and one-off special events, and previously the engineers would have to reset the FOH console for each new show. However, by using the DMX-R100 on-board snapshot automation, this can now be achieved with the touch of a button.

Kjetil Husoey, the theatre’s sound designer, said: "With so many different projects running in the theatre at the same time, we needed a console that had the flexibility and more importantly a snapshot automation facility. Other contenders were considered, but would h

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  4. Lighting Tech in Space Tests
  5. XTA’s SiDD With Gary Moore
  6. Blitz Sound Standardises With Crest
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