"We badly needed to move with the times by finding a system sympathetic to the different requirements of the various art forms hosted at the Hall. Each event needs to have specific information relayed," explains Scorgie.
Needing to route messages over an increasing number of zones (which also incorporates the neighbouring Purcell Room), Scorgie wanted the new paging front end to be able to plug into the venue's existing infrastructure. He was also aware that the system needed to comply with Health & Safety audits, Lambeth Council inspections and LFB licensing requirements.
RNSS' operations manager, Andrew Cotton recommended the Australian Monitor DigiPage system (distributed in the UK by Fuzion plc), the system was also recommended by suppliers, Amber Sound, who pointed out that aside from DigiPage's clarity and flexibility, it does not depend on its own internal infrastructure, and can thus be used with other outboard equipment.
Andrew Cotton, whose company is HQ'd in the basement of the Queen Elizabeth Hall, adapted the system to allow twenty zones to function off the expanded 16 x 16 switchable matrix router, connected to the existing amplifiers and loudspeakers.
The QE Hall and Purcell Room share a common foyer, presenting problems when two shows are going up simultaneously. "One simple improvement that DigiPage has made is getting customers into the theatre on time," observed Cotton. "We used to have a gong, but any non-classical audiences simply wondered what it meant, resulting in a late start. We needed something that people would react to - that was not only intelligible but could be routed and switched in a way that was both controllable backstage, and manually operable by front-of-house management."
(Jim Evans)
