Poland - The rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar has received an innovative adaptation in Poland. The Kujawsko-Pomorski Music Theatre in Toruń has reimagined the production by moving it into an unconventional space, the Od Nowa music club, and staging it as the country’s first-ever silent disco musical.
At the heart of the production was KLANG and DiGiCo’s Quantum 225 Pulse. Together they formed the backbone of an immersive sound experience that gave musicians complete control over their monitoring environment.
Known for its avant-garde productions, the Musical Theatre in Toruń took on the ambitious task of presenting Jesus Christ Superstar in a format never before seen on Polish stages, blurring the lines between performance art, concert, and immersive installation. The decision to stage the piece in a club stemmed from the creative choice to immerse audiences in a promenade performance, aimed at delivering complete immersion in the story. Audiences were free to roam the club space, adding to the unfolding story, with actors moving amongst them, using platforms, mezzanines, and specially built stages. This setup demanded a radical rethink of the entire audio concept, which turned out to be one of the greatest challenges of the production.
Choosing the silent disco format was both an artistic and technical decision. In a space accustomed to rock, jazz, and alternative concerts, a conventional PA system would have struggled to deliver clear, consistent sound to a mobile audience scattered across the entire venue. Added to which, the risk of feedback and uncontrolled volume fluctuations in such a dynamic setup would have been significant.
At the heart of the system was the DiGiCo Quantum 225 Pulse, acting as the production’s command centre. Thanks to the expanded channel count that the Pulse upgrade delivers, the console handled 80 inputs and 48 outputs, managing all musician, actor, choir, and sound effects channels.
All sound, including live music, dialogue and sound effects, were transmitted directly to the silent disco wireless headsets worn by the audience. This allowed the audience to fully immerse themselves in the sonic world of the musical without any acoustic limitations, while enjoying the freedom to move around the venue.
To enhance the experience further and add a physical dimension to the sound, the production also deployed discreet subwoofer systems across the space. These provided the audience with a tactile low-frequency sensation, adding emotional weight and underlining key dramatic moments – a perfect complement to the personal headphone mix that enriched the immersive dimension of the show.
KLANG, meanwhile, played a crucial role in ensuring the musicians’ comfort and production efficiency. With an 11-piece band rehearsing in acoustically challenging environments, KLANG became the cornerstone of the musicians’ monitoring system. Each musician used their own KLANG:kontroller, giving them complete independence to create and adjust their personal 3D mix. Even musicians unfamiliar with personal monitoring systems quickly mastered the intuitive interface, preparing their ideal mix within minutes.
For the sound team, this was a very beneficial factor, allowing them to focus on the main mix for the audience and manage the sound for the actors and choir, knowing that the musicians were fully in control of their own environment. KLANG also enabled quick adaptation to ever-changing stage conditions, as the mobile performance space and musician placements constantly shifted.
“KLANG lifted a huge burden from us, both technically and mentally,” noted Krzysztof Kardas, one of two FOH engineers. “The musicians could easily adjust their own mixes and during an intense rehearsal schedule, with tight setup times, this really allowed us to focus. For many musicians, this was their first experience with immersive monitoring, but within minutes of using the KLANG:kontroller they felt comfortable and confident.”
The sound team chose to use the standard Quantum 225 software which, thanks to the latest Pulse update, was more than sufficient to meet the demands of this complex production.
“The Quantum 225 showcased its full potential,” Kardas concludes. “In a theatre production staged in such an unconventional space, with a large number of moving performers, the console was rock-solid for us. We utilized dozens of Snapshots, with some scenes requiring up to 30 cues within a single song. The speed, stability, and flexibility of the Quantum 225 proved invaluable, particularly in an environment where every change had to be instant and flawless.”
