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PLASA Show 2025 - Banner - June-Aug 2025

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PLASA’s Industry Day will take place on Friday 14th June at Down Hall Country House Hotel in Hertfordshire.

The day, which will be built around the Association’s AGM, will offer plenty of opportunity for members to network with others in the industry, as well as giving them a chance to discuss key issues in the Break-out Sessions which follow the AGM.

The day starts with a buffet lunch, with the formal business of the AGM beginning between 2 and 3pm. This will give members a chance to hear about the Association’s year and learn about future objectives.

Building on the success of last year, the Break-out Sessions will focus on issues such as Standards, Health & Safety, Human Resources, Employment Law, Training and Membership Services.

The Industry Dinner will complete the day’s activities, beginning with pre-dinner drinks. As in previous years, two after

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West End theatre members of BECTU have voted to accept a pay rise worth 11.3% on average.

In a ballot of BECTU members throughout London’s commercial theatreland, 71% voted in favour of the offer. Members are now set for a further pay rise in October 2002, worth 4%, or inflation plus 1%, whichever is greater. The two-stage offer put to members was tabled by employers, the Society of West End Theatres, in response to an earlier ballot in which 96% of union members in the sector had voted in favour of industrial action. "This is a significant first step in the union’s campaign to end low pay among theatre workers," BECTU organizer Mark David-Gray told us. Originally, the employers had tabled a pay rise of only 1.6%, prompting a determined campaign by BECTU to fight low pay in the West End. Since then its membership in theatreland has increased by more than 30%.

Riedel - Banner - August 25

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Over recent years, we’ve drawn readers’ attention to the worrying number of letters emanating from African countries, principally Nigeria, which are blatant attempts to rip companies off.

Previously the scam has involved close relatives meeting untimely deaths, but not before they’ve managed to siphon off large amounts of government money. However, useful as this formula has been in the past, it seems the tactics have now changed. In a recent letter to a PLASA member from Abba & Abba Trade Distribution Industry, the company’s Frederick Moore has asked to see price lists on the basis that he is looking to place an order for nine 40’ container loads of product. The financing, he claims, will come from money diverted from under the noses of the Nigerian government.

As so often in the past, PLASA members are being targeted heavily and we have taken numerous

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That is the upbeat message from PLASA’s new Show Director, Sue Saint. Celebrating its 25th year, the PLASA Show is the world’s pre-eminent light, sound and audio-visual event, attracting major brands every year, and this year is no exception.

Stand bookings are currently at 82%, with top names such as Vari-Lite, Sennheiser, Martin Professional, Denon, BSS Audio and Total Fabrication already booked. The show pulls in over 13,000 visitors from the UK and abroad each year, having become the main marketplace for the £11billion entertainment technology industry.

"The show is evolving continually," commented Saint, "and one of the key trends emerging is the growing number of manufacturers choosing to exhibit in their own right, rather than rely solely on representation through distributors. In addition, many long-standing exhibitors, including Numark, Peavey, S

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An exciting opportunity to work with two of the world's most successful playwrights, Alan Ayckbourn and John Godber, is being offered in Scarborough this summer from 21-25 July. The Stephen Joseph Theatre School 2002 is a four-day course giving participants the chance to see Alan Ayckbourn at work in his home theatre with his acting company.

Alan Ayckbourn will be leading two full days of rehearsal, technical and playwriting workshops, giving a unique opportunity to work with the acclaimed playwright and director. John Godber, artistic director of Hull Truck Theatre, will be joining the school (subject to availability) to offer his own perspective on writing, directing and running a theatre company.

The Stephen Joseph Theatre School features a busy programme of workshops, discussions and lectures concentrated on Alan Ayckbourn and his work in the round. It is hoped that Gwenda Hughes

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Never ones to take it easy, the busy truckers at EST are currently rushing about supporting a wide variety of artists and events. Five tucks are accompanying French-Canadian singer Garou, still touring French-speaking Europe and performing to packed houses wherever he goes. Still jigging away with some gusto, the cast of Riverdance has now moved on to Cardiff for a week before leaping off to Birmingham with up to 10 EST trucks dancing attendance on them.

Back on this side of the pond for the first time in five years, US Soul and R&B singer, Mary J Blige has commandeered four EST trucks as she embarks on a grand tour of Europe, starting in Hamburg on 5 April and finishing in Dublin on the 25 April, taking in most of the major European cities on the way, including shows in Birmingham, Manchester and London. The show is produced by Patricia Chaveria whose husband Paul is well known

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After a great deal of speculation and industry rumours, Eat to the Beat UK is spreading its wings to America. As of June 1st 2002 'Eat to the Beat Inc’ will be in full operation, taking up residency in New York. After the success of recent US tours and at the request of many of their existing clients, Eat to the Beat have decided that the time is right to set up an operation in the States. Managing director Tony Laurenson said: "In the past we have come close to setting up a division in the States, first in Atlanta nearly 14 years ago, then Los Angeles eight years ago. Our feelings are that, whilst we have successfully worked on tours in America without a proper presence, now the time is right to consolidate and build on our successes in the USA.

"We are now finding that venues are more willing to allow us in and we know that our style of catering is both popular and ec

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Tony Swayne, a new face in the industry, a qualified electrical engineer and an experienced businessman is the new owner of Andolite Limited, the manufacturer of internally wired lighting bars, standard and custom panels and power distribution.

Swayne is taking over from Alex Collister who, following a handover period, is retiring. Both will be attending this summer’s ABTT (London and Leeds) and PLASA shows and look forward to meeting old and new customers there. Swayne will continue to develop the company as a manufacturer of products tailored to the needs of the expanding industry.

(Ruth Rossington)

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The Association of Lighting Designers (ALD) recently officially welcomed its new joint Presidents, Richard Pilbrow and Robert Ornbo, at a dinner held in their honour at Kettners, in the heart of London’s theatre district. The dinner, which was made possible by a bequest from Michael Northen MBE, the previous president who passed away last year, was attended by some 25 members and guests of the ALD. Richard and Robert, together with Chairman Rick Fisher, have an enormous amount of combined experience and the ALD will benefit greatly from their knowledge, not just of the theatre but of all the other various sectors in which lighting designers work today.

(Ruth Rossington)

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Michael Dodsley has been appointed as the new Theatre Division Manager of Custom Group Ltd, based in Ilkeston, Derbyshire. Dodsley, formerly project manager at CCT Lighting, has 20 years experience within the stage drapery, engineering, sound and lighting industry, commencing from humble beginnings as a trainee engineer for Furse Theatre Products. Managing director Richard Rybij commented:"Mike joining our Theatre Division team further strengthens our expertise within a very technical market, where the customer often requires detailed advice planning their theatre or drama venue"

Custom Group Ltd commenced trading 28 years ago as a curtain and blind company, evolving into a supplier of all aspects of theatre equipment, which now also includes seating, lighting and sound, stage engineering and control equipment. Dodsley joins an established team which includes sales manager Ga

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Technical Marketing Ltd - the outsource marketing specialist company - has announced that David Brooks has recently taken on a wider role within the company, making a full-time commitment to the growing business. Previously involved only on a part-time basis, David now joins Andy Collier to play a key role in managing the company’s growth.

He joins Technical Marketing Ltd from a specialist business-to-business advertising agency where he held the position of research director. In this role he was also responsible for managing a number client portfolios, including many well known global brands. Previously David spent ten years as marketing director of Strand Lighting Ltd where his partnership with Andy Collier and Steve Norman (now representing Technical Marketing in New York) was forged. Prior experience as marketing manager and product manager for Thorn Lighting and in a researc

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Nautilus Entertainment Design (NED) is expanding into new larger offices on both the east and west coasts of the US during the month of May. The main office in southern California moves to 1010 Pearl Street, La Jolla, California 92037-5164. The phone number remains the same, at +1 858 456 6396. The east coast office meanwhile moves from the Bronx into Manhattan at 599 11th Avenue, 6th Floor, New York City, N.Y. 10036 and has a new phone number of +1 212 977 5988.

(Ruth Rossington)

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UK-based company DiGiCo (UK) Ltd has acquired the assets, core business and intellectual property rights of Soundtracs Plc of Epsom Surrey. DiGiCo co-founder, Eric Wade of Atlanta, Georgia, USA told us: "We are pleased to announce this acquisition and look forward to taking the excellent digital console platform and products, distributed globally by Soundtracs, to the next level in the pro audio Industry. The Soundtracs digital platform is conceptually and intuitively, one of the most robust products available on the market today and our goal is to enhance current distribution and market share in order to establish it more broadly in the Industry." Both Bob Doyle and Dave Webster, formerly with the Klark Teknik Gourp, have joined DiGiCo (UK) as managing and marketing directors respectively.

Both Todd Wells, managing director and chairman of Soundtracs Plc and Liam Tebbs, Soun

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As part of its long-term strategy to address the industry’s concerns over training, PLASA has appointed a full-time training and development manager. Nicky Greet, who joined the PLASA Head Office staff at the start of May, will be tasked with collating current training information, identifying and addressing areas in which specifically-tailored training schemes are required and helping to implement them in conjunction with relevant bodies.

PLASA’s managing director Matthew Griffiths commented: "Concerns about the lack of suitable and relevant training in the entertainment technology industry have been voiced for some time, and PLASA originally scheduled this appointment into its long-term strategy as part of its first five-year plan in 2000. During 2001, we conducted an extensive programme of research into the issue with the aid of our members, which enabled us to move

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David Mitchell, the founder and former owner of SIS in Northampton, died recently from cancer of the liver. He was in his mid-fifties and had been out of our industry since the early 90s.

Mitchell started SIS in the 70s as a manufacturer of NAB ‘jingle’ machines, but moved into disco lighting manufacture in the early 1980s, as well as wholesaleing for other manufacturers. Ian Brown, now of Coe-tech, was SIS’s sales director in this period, but moved on when SIS’s success enabled it to move to larger freehold premises. Unfortunately, higher overheads and bad debts led to the failure of the company only a few years later. David was well-known and respected. He was likeable, with a mischievous sense of humour. Many of his friends in the industry will regret, as I do, that his relative obscurity in recent years meant that they could not easily keep in touch with hi

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Navigator Systems Ltd have come up with a solution which will ensure that companies who own ‘demo’ stock achieve the best possible return on their investment. Following several months of discussions with sales representatives, Navigator discovered that for some keeping track of the ‘demo’ stock had turned into a logistical nightmare. Items such as mixing desks, projectors, plasma screens and lighting consoles had either been forgotten or simply gone missing.

By adding several new features to its rental management software system RentalDesk, Navigator Systems have now made it possible to search quickly and easily for the ‘First Available Date’ for the ‘demo’ item required. Thus, if a company requests a mixing desk for a five-day period in June, the sales rep can check whether it’s available for that period and if it isn't, give the

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A surprise last minute decision from Lord Falconer, Minister of State at the DTLR, agreed with Save London's Theatres Campaign's request to 'call-in' Westminster’s decision to demolish the Westminster Theatre. Falconer's finding has given new heart to the campaign which had all but given up hope of a reprieve for this unique theatre and arts centre. The final decision on its fate will now be in the hands of the Secretary of State following a full Public Inquiry which is likely to take place this summer.

The Secretary of State has declared that he is 'very selective' about 'calling-in' planning applications, and usually only takes this step if 'planning issues of more than local importance are involved' and 'that the application is one that he ought to decide himself because he considers the proposals may conflict with national and regional policies on important matters.' This vin

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Rental Management Systems, provider of advanced software systems for the entertainment industry, has recently completed one of its most comprehensive multi-site systems installations to date, for European staging rental company, Stageco.

Founded in Belgium in 1985, Stageco now has rental operations in Belgium, The Netherlands, France, Germany and the USA, and has serviced some of the world’s most high-profile tours, sporting events and festivals, counting the Rolling Stones, Elton John, Pink Floyd, U2 and Robbie Williams among its clients.

The company stocks in excess of 7,000 different products - sometimes holding as many as 10,000 examples of each - making for a stock-holding which numbers literally millions of items. Consequently, the logistics of tracking movement and availability presents a huge administrative effort, hence why the company turned to RMS.

The system that

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The ABTT Show, which attracts over 100 exhibitors from across the wide spectrum of supplies and services necessary to stage a production or equip a theatre building, will set up base once again at The Royal Horticultural Halls in London from 19-20 June.

In addition to the main exhibition, there is also a complementary programme of theatre-related seminars, which includes the following. Revitalising Health & Safety: Eric Pirie, a health & safety inspector, will discuss publicly funded bodies and the Government in relation to key pieces of Health & Safety Legislation, together with a discussion of the role of the Broadcasting & Performing Arts Joint Advisory Committee.

Sound System Design in the Theatre: John Taylor of d&b audiotechnik UK Ltd will look at issues of sound intelligibility and in particular, the acoustic part of the signal path between the loudspeaker and the listeners&

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Moving Pictures is a new touring exhibition exploring the experience of going to the cinema and watching television, celebrating both the past and present, as well as looking to the future of digital technology.

The exhibition showcases favourites from the extensive collection of film and television material held by the BFI chosen from thousands of films, programmes and production materials. David Atkinson Lighting Design was contacted by Land Design Studio to come up with a cost effective, flexible and dynamic lighting design to cope with the scope and scale of the exhibits, as well as the touring schedule. Land devised a bespoke modular steel system, with the resulting architectural solution having something of a warehouse feel.

As the designers wanted to use colour to define areas within the exhibition, Atkinson chose to use a large quantity of Encapsulite fluorescent fittings,

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PLASA’s Association Day, incorporating the AGM and break-out meetings followed by dinner and entertainment, will take place at the Down Hall Country House Hotel on 14 June.

All PLASA members were recently mailed a flyer (pictured above) containing full details and booking information on the day’s events. We would like to remind you to return your booking forms to the PLASA Office as soon as possible. The event provides an unmissable opportunity to meet with other members, the PLASA committee and staff, to learn about what the Association is doing on your behalf and to discuss issues that are important to you.

Contact:

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As part of its long-term strategy to address the industry's concerns over training, PLASA has appointed a full-time training development manager. Nicky Greet (pictured) will be tasked with collating current training information, identifying and addressing areas in which tailored training schemes are required.

PLASA's Matthew Griffiths commented: "Concerns about the lack of suitable training in the entertainment technology industry have been voiced for some time, and PLASA originally scheduled this appointment into its long-term strategy as part of its first five-year plan in 2000. During 2001, we conducted a programme of research into the issue with the aid of our members, which enabled us to move on to the next stage. I am very pleased to have now reached this point in the process, and I welcome Nicky to our team at Eastbourne."

Nicky's first task will be to formulate a Tr

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Unusual Services Ltd are main contractors for the massive Golden Jubilee weekend celebrations that are happening in The Mall, Green Park, St. James’s Park, Trafalgar Square, Hyde Park and at the Queen Victoria Memorial.

The company is supplying all technical infrastructure, co-ordination, site and production management for this mind-boggling task, working closely with show producer Major Sir Michael Parker and the Golden Jubilee Weekend Trust. Unusual has employed over 250 sub-contractors and mounted a major logistical exercise to ensure the event - being broadcast live worldwide - is a well-oiled operation. To this end, the company has been interfacing with various authorities including Westminster City Council Special Events, the Metropolitan Police, Royal Parks, the GLA, the WRVS, London Underground, London Ambulance, St. John Ambulance and the British Red Cross.

The event i

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PSL has announced that it has been awarded a certificate of approval by the BVQI. The award states that the Quality Management Systems in place have been assessed and found to be in accordance with the requirements of Quality Standards, as set out under BS EN ISO 9001:2000. This is the latest internationally recognised standard of Quality Management Systems, established in December 2000 and supersedes previous standards issued in 1994.

PSL is the first (and currently the only) rental and staging company to be awarded this accreditation. The process involves an ongoing quality audit by an independent professional body and covers all operating divisions within PSL, who have qualified independently in their own areas of expertise. Gary Davis, managing director of PSL stated: "This accreditation illustrates our ongoing commitment to providing the highest levels of service to our custo

  1. Ferocious West End competition
  2. Golden Jubilee provides showcase for entertainment technology
  3. Get Behind the Scenes of the RAH and Tussauds Studios
  4. PLASA Association Day hailed a great success
  5. ESTA launches theatrical fog testing programme
  6. Pecking Orders
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