Built in 1985, the theatre is the largest performing arts venue in Norway, with three multidisciplinary spaces offering a diverse programme of both in-house and outside productions. Increases in the technical complexity of shows and the changing nature of lighting design have demanded that the theatre replace its entire entertainment, house and work lighting systems with a more flexible network.
ETC's Norwegian distributor Bright AS was responsible for both the equipment supply and the installation. Project manager Geir Sire says: "The theatre was looking to replace all its existing dimmers like for like, both in terms of quantity and wattage - in all it was close to 900 channels."
Up to four productions may be rigged in the main house grid at any one time, so the venue has to be extremely flexible while maintaining a tight schedule. Lars Lyng, head of lighting for the venue adds: "Our rig contains large numbers of conventional fixtures - 24 Vari-Lite moving lights - copious scrollers and far too many video projectors, plus a couple of good old Pani BP6s. We also have LEDs, fluorescents, a couple of large HMIs and some homemade stuff. Until recently we were trying very hard to run all of this through an almost obsolete control desk."
One of the biggest challenges that Det Norske Teatret faces is the ever-changing demands of today's lighting designers and the increasing technical sophistication of the productions. Sire explains: "The Eos is designed to cope with theatre lighting both today and in the future, easily handling the numerous parameters required by modern theatre shows. Nevertheless it's just as important to have a system that deals with communication to video and projection using the many time codes and protocols available."
(Jim Evans)
