The venue, partly owned by a cultural event and community activity organisation called Travers, has been a local landmark for the last 15 years, showcasing an eclectic and vibrant mix of international and home-grown talent - anything from comedy to music of all types - with a hectic schedule of 25-30 shows every month, and sometimes as many as 50.
Hedon's head of technical Martijn Deenan started working there four years ago as well as continuing his very active freelance career, and he oversaw all the technical aspects of the venue throughout the refurbishment project. Meanwhile, his other work keeps him up-to-date with everything happening on the scene and brings additional experience and enrichment into the Hedon mix.
Deenan and his colleague Geoffrey Zehl produced the lighting spec for the new space. Their research included staging a shoot-out between all the major moving light brands to establish which would offer the best options for Hedon. The specification then went out to tender, and was won by Controllux, based near Amsterdam.
As Robe's Benelux distributor, the choice of moving light was obvious, but irrespective of this, as Deenan explains, Robe was also the reason they chose Controllux as they presented the best and most value-added package for the new install, which also included trussing, dimmers and a full cable infrastructure.
Controllux collaborated with rental and installation company Bwefar, also based in Zwolle, and together with Deenan and Zehl, they helped deliver the full and completed project which also included audio and video systems. The Robe elements are 16 MMX Spots, eight MMX WashBeams, 14 LEDWash 300s and six Spot 600Es - all from Robe's Robin series - together with 60 Robe LEDForce 18 PARs, a Robe 800FT fogger and grandMA2 control.
Deenan explains that they initially needed good spot moving heads and were ideally seeking properly multi-functional fixtures to cover the diversity of acts performing as well as to light corporate events and private parties.
Jeroen Van Aalst from Controllux' Netherlands office says: "We were very proud to be chosen for Hedon amidst some serious competition, and by technical staff who really know their stuff. So many people are going to enjoy being entertained there and it's great to be a part of it."
(Jim Evans)
