Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025
LumenRadio - Banner - April 2025 (embargoed til 2nd)

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Curve Ball - A musical version of the hit British comedy film Bend It Like Beckham is to open in the West End next year. It will be written and directed by Gurinder Chadha, who also made the 2002 movie starring Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley. "Developing Bend It Like Beckham for the stage has been the most enjoyable creative process of my career so far," Chadha said. "It was always my intention to build on the film and to present its themes and storylines to live audiences in an exciting new dynamic way. I believe we are presenting a totally new kind of musical - part West End, part London Punjabi, but whole-heartedly British."

Double Act - TV duo Ant and Dec are to host the 2015 Brit awards, 14 years since the last time they presented the ceremony. The hosts of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! and Britain's Got Talen

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UK - Leading European flightcase manufacturer 5 Star Cases continues its support of local West Norfolk Swimming Club (WNSC), with the design and supply of some special new flightcases to house its timing equipment, which is usually stored at Kings Lynn swimming pool.

5 Star's Keith Sykes co-ordinated the project, saying, "We were approached by WNSC's chair Sam Baxter as they needed to be able to stow and transport their timing kit safely and easily. It's one of their biggest capital assets, so we were very happy to offer a custom solution."

Two of the cases each take four timing pads, and both feature a split-top design making the cases as accessible as possible, facilitating extremely quick and easy removal and deployment of the pads from the large cases.

They are constructed from 5 Star's Tour grade specification materials with 9 mm ply utilised to minimise the w

HOF - Banner Apr 2025

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UK - The Theatres Trust has published its 37th Annual Report: Enabling theatres to thrive which highlights its work and achievements from April 2013 to March 2014.

As the National Advisory Body for Theatres, The Theatres Trust works to secure a sustainable future for theatre buildings. Its aim is to ensure that current and future generations have access to good quality theatres that reflect our cultural life and offer inspiring places to enjoy theatre.

Mhora Samuel, director of The Theatres Trust, said: "This year saw the Trust once again in the spotlight - alerting authorities to the impact of relaxation of planning policy on the viability of theatres, continuing to be a voice for theatres, raising awareness of their needs, and celebrating the resilience and creativity of those in charge of our theatre buildings."

In 2013/14 the Trust published its annual <

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UAE - AED Rent NV has announced that the first ever AED Rent Franchise company has opened its doors in the United Arab Emirates.

AED Rent Franchise UAE will be the dry hire partner for the rental companies in the United Arab Emirates. AED Rent sees the AED Rent Franchise offices as an expansion to EMEA and the East. As from 2015 this formula will be commercialized - one company per country will be able to become an AED Franchisee under the AED Rent nv conditions.

Says the company, "The way of working with interactive workflows guarantees AED to work fast and to the point. Touchscreen monitors in the warehouses allow the employees to work paperless, updates go very fast and all the information is centralized which allows AED to maintain high standards. The aim of this Rental Franchise formula is to provide the best service to the rental companies anywhere."

(Jim Eva

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UK - ProLight Concepts Ltd has appointed Rob Armstrong as 'Area Sales Manager' for the North of England and Scotland.

Rob joins ProLight from Northern Stage Services where he held the role of 'Designer & Estimator' for 5 years: Designing, specifying and estimating for a range of small to large installations around the country. In this role, Rob gained an excellent understanding of, and worked with, an extensive range of products, including; specialist lighting, sound, AV and stage engineering systems.

Andrew Jeffrey, managing director of ProLight Concepts Ltd, said: "Rob's extensive experience within the industry and his knowledge of the product make him the ideal choice to support our customers and continue ProLights rapid growth. We are pleased to welcome Rob to the ProLight team."

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Band Aid - One Direction, Ed Sheeran and Elbow are among the acts who will take part in a fourth version of the Band Aid charity single, Do They Know It's Christmas. Announcing the project, Bob Geldof and Midge Ure said the song's lyrics would be changed to reflect the Ebola crisis. The original was released in 1984. It sold 3.7m copies and raised £8m for famine relief in Ethiopia. The new version will be recorded this Saturday and should be available for download on Monday morning. "It's not a bad line-up so far," said Midge Ure. "As long as Bob and I stay off the vocals, we'll be fine."

Germany Calling - The first European edition of US music festival Lollapalooza is to be held in Berlin next year, organisers have announced. The main event, held in Chicago since 1991, will land in the city's Tempelhof airport site in September 2015. Foun

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UK - Louise Jeffreys, the Barbican's Director of Arts and ABTT Chairman, was honoured along with her Barbican colleague Toni Racklin, the venue's Head of Theatre, at the Empty Space... Peter Brook Awards 2014. Together they accepted the Peter Brook Special Achievement Award for turning the Barbican Theatre into the most important international arts centre in London for foreign companies.

Louise Jeffreys, Director of Arts at the Barbican said: "I am absolutely thrilled that Toni Racklin and I have been presented with the Peter Brook Special Achievement Award.

"At the Barbican we are committed to bringing the very best international theatre companies to London, as well as providing a platform for emerging artists to showcase their work, so we are delighted that our work has been recognised with this very special honour at the 25th anniversary of the Empty Space Awards.

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UK - With new exhibitors and new speakers being announced every week, there will be plenty for visitors to see at the Glasgow SECC for the inaugural PLASA Focus Glasgow event, which takes place on 2-3 December 2014.

New exhibitors announced this week include Adlib Audio and HDPro Audio, Orbital Sound and FBT Audio UK, who will join the all-star list of exhibitors already at the show - including Robe, Ambersphere, White Light, Avolites, Chauvet, AED, Sennheiser, Bosch, NL Productions, JHS ProAudio, Warehouse Sound, LMC Audio, Polar Audio, Black Light, Trusslite, Total Solutions Group, UK Rigging, TMB and many more.

PLASA's Professional Development Programme will deliver two days of presentations, technical demonstrations and panel discussions, all designed to help visitors build their industry knowledge and improve their skill set. This year's programme focusses on the hot topi

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UK - Behind the Scenes UK, the newly launched charity that aims to provide financial support to entertainment technology professionals when they are ill or injured, is calling on companies and individuals to send their annual Christmas cards via Card Aid this year.

Card Aid has been helping charities increase their funds from the sale of their Christmas cards for over 30 years and John Simpson, Chair of Behind the Scenes UK, believes proceeds from the sale of Christmas Cards via the Card Aid Website will really make a difference to Behind the Scenes which only launched in the UK in October.

"Sending Christmas cards is a long held tradition and Card Aid allows us to keep the spirit of Christmas alive - as cards can be purchased online, either in the form of a pack of cards or as e-cards which can be sent on a pay per click basis. Whilst we are happy to accept donations in

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USA - PLASA Events has announced the partnership with Show Ready Events, an event planning and management organization, who will assist with the 2015 PLASA Focus shows in Orlando, Florida and Kansas City, Missouri.

"We are delighted to be working with Steve Krawic and his team at Show Ready Events. From our very first meeting, Steve showed an immediate and insightful understanding of our events and the industry that PLASA represents. We are confident that we have found the right partner to succeed in Show Ready Events who will join our other partners in playing a significant part in delivering to our exhibitors and members the best possible experience and business opportunity through PLASA Focus Events in North America," says Christopher Toulmin, PLASA's Director of Events.

Steve Krawic, president and CEO of Show Ready Events says, "Cultivating partnerships with

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Back on Song - The Liverpool Philharmonic Hall has reopened to visitors and live music performances after completion of part of a £14m refurbishment. Originally designed by Liverpool architect Herbert Rowse, the Grade II-listed building first welcomed audiences in 1939 but was closed in May for a revamp of the main concert hall and auditorium. Changes to the concert hall are the first part of the overhaul of the interior, due for completion next summer.

Wembley Bound - Ed Sheeran has announced plans for his biggest solo concert to date at Wembley Stadium on 10 July 2015. He said: "I've made no secret recently of my ambition to play Wembley Stadium on my own in front of 80,000 people. I am absolutely over the moon to be able to announce it's going to happen next summer. It's going to be amazing, I just can't wait." The show will be part of his Multiply

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UK - Pulsar moved into its present Cambridgeshire premises in the latter part of 2002. It was also at this point they installed LED lighting on the front of the building, confident in its reliability, longevity, and durability. Twelve ChromaPanels were installed on the South-facing front of the factory building in May 2003 and have been running 24/7 ever since, with an additional 21m of ChromaStrip 2 installed the following year.

Fast forward to today and the original ChromaPanels printed with the Pulsar name have clocked an impressive 11 years 5 months of continuous activity - actually surpassing 100,000 hours! This real-world industry first is proof of LED's amazing longevity and also of Pulsar's dedication to making the highest quality LED lighting fixtures on the market, says the company.

Braving all that the Great British weather has to throw at them, the fixtures have en

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UK - UK-based event safety consultancy Stagesafe reports the Health and Safety Executive's announcement that CDM Regulations will be enforced on the events and entertainment industry from April 2015.

The news was confirmed at last week's meeting of the Joint Advisory Committee on Entertainment (JACE) at the HSE in Westminster. The following report was produced by Michael Anderson and Lee Holloway, members of SAGE (Safety Advisors Group in Entertainment):

"This was an unexpected turn of events as it had appeared earlier this year that a "BEA" (Business Engagement Assessment) industry impact assessment process engaging with the event industry trade associations may have led to a decision not to enforce. But HSE stated that they had since received legal advice that not enforcing would breach European law and expose the government to international prosecution.

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UK - GMG Network has announced the launch of its new website. An updated design and more detailed information offer visitors to www.GMGNetwork.co.uk a better user experience.

The website demonstrates a sleeker design and greater information on GMG's services and the team's background and experience.

The update is all part of GMG's belief that the company will continue to grow and develop, always listening to their clients and investing in constant improvement.

"It is important to us that when clients visit our website they get an understanding not only of the services GMG can offer but also of GMG's personality" said Jayne McFahn, director. McFahn goes on to say, "Our diary page is a great example of this, weekly updates on everything from how we got started to sharing of thoughts and ideas."

(Jim Evans)

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South Africa - The two leading organisations representing the audio visual industry in Southern Africa, SACIA (Southern African Communications Industry Association) and the TPSA (Technical Production Services Association) have merged so that they can present a stronger front to clients and associates, and a louder voice to government.

"We've merged in order to represent our industry more effectively in engagements with government and regulatory bodies - and in order to better serve our members," says SACIA CEO, Kevan Jones.

While SACIA members are responsible for fixed audio visual displays such as those one sees in board rooms, shopping centre, sports arenas and houses of worship, the TPSA membership have been responsible for the spectacular effects one sees at music concerts and other similar events. Over the last few months a task group made of representatives fro

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Qatar - Nicolas Kyvernitis Electronics Enterprises (NMK) reports successful roadshow seminars in Doha and Oman.

The NMK Roadshow that took place in Doha, Qatar on 10 November 2014 and in Muscat, Oman on 18 November 2014 attracted a varied audience from systems integrators to end users. The attendees could choose to attend either morning session or afternoon sessions. The total number of the attendees reached 84.

NMK product specialists teamed up with the manufacturers' representatives to deliver the presentations and product demonstrations. Due to the variety of products on show, there was a chance for each attendee to experience gear from different parts of the industry and understand how complete turnkey solutions work. Several brands distributed by the company, namely HK Audio, Shure, Roland, Neutrik and Clear-Com were presented at the event.

The seminars are free of char

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China - London-based theatre consultancy practice, Theatreplan LLP has announced its expansion into the Asia-Pacific region with the opening of Theatreplan (HK) Ltd in Hong Kong. The new practice, which is already operational, is being managed by Theatreplan's senior consultant, Robin Auld. The move follows the company's success in securing the contract with the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA) to provide theatre consultancy services to deliver the Freespace Black Box Theatre in the burgeoning West Kowloon area of Hong Kong.

According to Theatreplan partner, Dave Ludlam, the opportunity to expand into Hong Kong was not to be missed. "It was clear that in order to deliver the best possible service to the WKCDA, we needed a base in Hong Kong," he explained. "In addition to the enhanced service we can provide to the Black Box project, it also offers u

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UK / USA - PLASA's month-long elections to determine positions on its European and North American Regional Boards, together with its central Governing Body, concluded at midnight on Wednesday 19 November. Companies and individuals from PLASA's worldwide membership voted in the elections, which were conducted via a secure online poll.

There were four positions available on the European Regional Board. Ed Pagett of Panalux was elected for a second term as Chairman, Peter James of Shure Distribution as representative to PLASA's Distributor members and Malcolm Burlow of Highlite was voted as the Dealer/Retailer representative. Robert Kronman joins the Board as the new Individual representative.

Four positions were also up for election on the North American Regional Board with Todd Spencer of PSAV elected as Vice-Chairman, Tracey Cosgrove of Rosco Laboratories as Secretary, Orestes

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UK - The British Entertainment Industry Radio Group (BEIRG) has expressed its disappointment and concern regarding Ofcom's decision to remove Programme Making and Special Events (PMSE) users from the 700MHz band of radio spectrum. Ofcom's decision is a real danger to some of the UK's most important cultural, social and economic events. Instead, this spectrum will be allocated to Mobile Network Operators.

The regulator's decision will mean that radio microphones and other wireless audio devices key to the UK's thriving creative industries, including West End and regional theatres, could be forced to operate in less than two thirds of the spectrum to which they currently have access. Every night over 1000 wireless radio microphones are used in London's West End alone, largely operating within the spectrum that is to be cleared.

Fears remain that, if appropriate mitigating steps

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Perfect Day - One Direction topped the winners list at the American Music Awards, taking home a total of three prizes. They were named artists of the year and also took home album of the year and favourite pop/rock album. "This has been a real perfect day... America feels like a second home to us," said Liam Payne. Katy Perry, who did not appear at the ceremony in Los Angeles, also won three awards, including one for best single for Dark Horse featuring Juicy J.

High Society - Maria Friedman will direct a revival of High Society, as part of the Old Vic's 2015 season. The musical adaptation of the 1956 film will be performed in the round, and will have a four-month run at the theatre from 30 April until 22 August 22. Friedman said, "To stage High Society in the round at the Old Vic is a hugely exciting project providing the perfect immersive en

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UK - Get some audio cheer this festive season with DiGiCo's 12 Days of Christmas and treat yourself to the chance of winning 12 DiGiCo gifts.

For your chance of winning, all you need to do is visit DiGiCo's Facebook page at facebook.com/DiGiCo.Official.

The fun starts on the 1 December and finishes on the 12th, with a prize to be won each day. To be in with a chance of winning a prize, make sure you follow these simple Rules of Engagement:

•To enter the competition, click on the competition Tab

• Ensure that you authorise the competition app! (This is really important! Check your ad-blockers!)

• Already liked the DiGiCo page? You can go straight through to the comp!

• Not liked the DiGiCo page? No worries! Just visit www.facebook.com/DiGiCo and click 'Like'.

• Voila, you a

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Millennium Money - Wales Millennium Centre has claimed to have sold £100m worth of tickets since its opening a decade ago. The centre, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this week, has released an impact report revealing that 13.5m people have visited the centre, and more than three million attended its theatre. Artistic director Graeme Farrow said: "Wales Millennium Centre has made a tremendous impact over the past decade . . . Over the next decade we will surprise people more regularly and throw open the doors to all the spaces within this amazing site and let the air in."

The venue, which is home to Welsh National Opera, BBC National Orchestra Wales and the National Dance Company of Wales, has also revealed that it used 996,790 tea bags over the last decade.

The Truth Is Out There - Gillian Anderson and Tom Hiddleston took the top acting honours at

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UK - Applications are being sought by Rose Bruford College for its Junior Ready Steady Light 2015, a lighting design competition which offers teams the opportunity to win an amazing prize - to chance to redesign the architectural lighting of the National Theatre on London's Southbank.

Philips and the Society of Light and Lighting continue to sponsor Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance's hugely successful Junior Ready Steady Light competition for 2015. Rose Bruford College aims to attract eight teams from state schools, further education colleges and art organisations working with young people, made up of five year 12 and 13 students, or those similar in age, to participate in a full day of activities that lead up to the final competition and prize-giving ceremony.

This is an exciting opportunity for young people interested in science, art, design, technology and te

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UK - London-based theatre consultancy, Theatreplan LLP has announced the appointment of two new partners to the practice. With appointments that took effect from 1 October, Michael Atkinson and Paul Connolly join current partners, Roger Fox, Dave Ludlam, Clive Odom, Mathew Smethurst-Evan and John Whitaker.

Atkinson first joined Theatreplan as an associate in April 2014 where he designed the stage and working light control systems as well as dimmer engineering for the Copenhagen Opera and a range of other venues. A renowned lighting technology expert whose career has taken him from major West End shows to New York and then back to the UK where he enjoyed a long stint at the National Theatre as Head of Resources, Atkinson's proficiency in all things relating to lighting system design and energy management is nationally recognized.

As well as leading Theatreplan's lighting system

  1. Behind the Scenes Christmas card initiative
  2. The Week in Lighting & Sound
  3. Blackout aims to Make the World Better with a Sweater
  4. Amp-Pack and Packhorse enjoy positive PLASA show
  5. Behind the Scenes Happy Hour a massive success
  6. Flightcase Warehouse achieves ISO9001
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