Northern Light breathes life into Perth Theatre
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The aim of the project was to restore the theatre’s B-listed, Edwardian auditorium to its former glory. The ‘gods’ seating was to be reinstated, an orchestra area introduced and a new 200-seat studio theatre for small to mid-scale music and drama performances was built. New community and creative learning spaces, including a home for Perth Youth Theatre were also to be provided and access throughout the venue improved.
Already on the approved contractor list for the theatre, and recommended by the client team and theatre and acoustic consultants, Charcoalblue, Northern Light was asked to tender for the contract by project contractors Robertson Construction in September of 2015.
“We were able to start coordinating with Robertson, the main contractor, and FES, who were responsible for the electrical and mechanical works, early in the planning stage,” explains Michael Percy, technical project manager at Northern Light. “We co-ordinated the programme and sequencing of works between us and set out our requirements and target dates, working hand-in-hand with FES and supporting the contractors that were responsible for other works to support our systems on our behalf.”
From April 2016, Northern Light started to develop the Charcoalblue scheme into a complete end-to-end design, working alongside Charcoalblue, Robertson’s, RMA (Richard Murphy Architects), FES and the Horsecross Team. Several challenges had to be addressed, including the design of the new main theatre audio system
“The client was concerned that, because it isn’t an easy room in terms of audio, based on their previous experience, some of the more traditional approaches would not work because the theatre is tall and very narrow, with large overhanging balconies, so we worked with the Horsecross Audio team to look at potential solutions. We also discussed the system and the space with several audio suppliers.”
The team looked at several designs, including one loudspeaker manufacturer EM Acoustics, who met the specification within the allowed budget, with EM director and designer Ed Kinsella designing custom subwoofer boxes to fit into the front of the stage. The final system for the main house comprises an EM Acoustics system, including HALO-C in a centre cluster arrangement and EM’s EMS range of loudspeakers taking care on infill, delays and surround sound.
“Then we had to consider the audio network,” says Michael. “This is the first project we have done where everything audio is within the digital domain and all the equipment is communicating via Dante, which is widely accepted to be the industry standard audio protocol."
The solution was to route the entire system via a central Symetrix Radius DSP to allow for building-wide routing, with consoles, amplifiers, QLAB Machines, SM Desk and paging stations all available on the Dante Network.
Northern Light’s work started onsite on 2 May 2017 and the project was completed in October. Key to its successful delivery was site supervisor Ross Dalgliesh’s onsite presence for the six-month installation period.
“The Northern Light team were great to work with,” concludes Gavin Johnson, Perth Theatres’s production manager. “It was a complex and challenging job and we are really pleased with the result.”
(Jim Evans)
