UK - The Rocky Horror Show has opened at the Playhouse Theatre in London's West End. Following a two week run in the capital, the show will then tour the UK from December this year until August 2016. Having supplied the lighting equipment for the first ever production of this worldwide phenomenon back in 1973, White Light is once again on hand to support the show.

When The Rocky Horror Show originally opened at the Royal Court Theatre more than 40 years ago, it was one of the first productions that WL worked on, with the company also supporting its subsequent transfer to the Kings Road Theatre. Over the years, WL has continued to work on several re-incarnations of the musical smash hit, which has also gone on to become an iconic film as well as be performed on Broadw

Azerbaijan - The European Games opened in Baku, Azerbaijan earlier this summer to a sell out crowd at the National Stadium and closed to equally great aplomb 17 days later. The ceremonies, brought together by world -leading artistic production and technical teams proved themselves to be historic event, not just for Azerbaijan but the entire European sporting community. With over 2000 volunteer performers involved in the ceremony and more than 300 production staff behind the scenes, the ceremonies were streamed, worldwide on Baku2015.com.

Such prestigious events demanded an expert team of riggers to provide the infrastructure for the ceremonies and as such, Nick Eltis, senior technical director for the Baku 2015 Ceremonies, chose Unusual Rigging to supply the full production rigging equipment and services.

Nick explained, "Having worked with Unusual Rigging in Sochi, I was

UK - Celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2015, the Beat-Herder Festival showcases an eclectic mix of music and performance art spread across 17 separate venues within a working farm near Clitheroe in Lancashire. Staged on the weekend of 17-19 July, this year's event was completely sold out and featured hundreds of acts. Headliners included Basement Jaxx, Erol Alkan, Leftfield, The Levellers and Martha Reeves and the Vandellas.

The sound contractor for the main stage was Stockport-based Audile who deployed an Outline loudspeaker system comprising a nine-per-side design of Outline's new GTO C-12 compact line-source elements, with 16 DBS 18-2 subwoofer modules delivering the low-frequencies and six Mantas enclosures as front fills. The entire system was powered and controlled by just six Powersoft X8 amplifiers with onboard Outline-developed DSP. During the system build-up, Outlin

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ETC Halcyon Silent

High End Systems Halcyon Silent builds on ETC’s legacy of fanless automated fixtures by incorporating features from the highly sought-after Halcyon family. Halcyon Silent perfectly balances silent operation with brilliant output of 18,400 lumens and high-impact features. 

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UK - London's Royal Albert Hall (RAH) venue purchased 17 Robe BMFL Spot moving lights in February which have been used on a myriad of shows and events in the last few months including Space Spectacular, a co-promotion between the RAH and Raymond Gubbay Ltd., featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) conducted by Anthony Inglis playing a series of space-orientated works.

Lighting was crafted by the RAH's lighting designer & systems manager, Richard Rhys Thomas, who used 16 of the BMFL Spots, 34 of the house Robe PARfect LED PARs together with 16 LEDBeam 100s and 32 Pointes which were hired in from TSL Lighting as part of a large rig.

Richard has worked at the RAH since 2005 and managed the lighting department since 2008. He lights many of the shows throughout the venue's busy year-round schedule and for this one, the design was based around the music, with the con

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New Touring Series by Gravity – Every Scratch Has A Story

When the stage heats up, you need equipment that can keep up without compromise. The Gravity Touring Series has been specifically designed to meet the highest demands – for rental companies, professional musicians, concert organizers, and large event venues. Premium materials, exceptional durability, and impressive longevity make these products stand out. Whether on tour, in constant use, or under the toughest conditions: the Touring Series delivers maximum reliability and performance – every day, on every stage.
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World - Promoted as the world's first smartships, Royal Caribbean International's environmentally friendly Quantum-class cruise liners - Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas - have set new standards in terms of energy-efficient onboard entertainment lighting systems. Now the numbers are in and the savings are even greater than expected.

When Royal Caribbean recently compared energy usage of the theatre show lighting system onboard Quantum and Anthem - both with large LED lighting systems that include Elation LED fixtures - with a similar yet incandescent-based lighting system on its Oasis-class Allure of the Seas, energy savings on the Quantum-class ships was 76%-84% greater, numbers that even surprised RCI.

"The power figures have been measured on Quantum and Anthem against the last incandescent and dimmer theatre show lighting rig on Allure and the results are - e

UK - London entertainment venue, the Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith, embarked on a major restoration project last year, completely renovating the building and, in the process, revealing a beautiful art deco interior. This was a significant undertaking both in time and financial investment and owners Eventim and AEG Live wanted the venue to not only look good, but to sound good. To this end, at the beginning of 2015 a substantial L-Acoustics system was installed, significantly raising its audio bar.

"The purpose of installing an in-house PA system in the Apollo was to ensure that our visitors are given the highest possible quality audio reinforcement uniformly throughout the venue, make working in the venue safer and reduce the visual impact of the audio system," explains Alastair Parley, technical manager for the venue.

The first stage of the project was for the team to

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AZOR® SP2 IP - Compact IP65 Spot Profile Moving Head

Compact design and IP65 protection for indoor and outdoor applications: the new AZOR® SP2 IP is the ideal solution for open-air events and outdoor theatres that require a powerful, weatherproof lighting system. An optimal partner for lighting designers and event service providers looking for a versatile LED show light in a compact housing.

AZOR® SP2 IP – the next generation of robust, weatherproof, and compact lighting for maximum creative freedom, both indoors and outdoors.

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Germany - HK Audio's Cohedra proved to be the ideal sound reinforcement system for the 2015 edition of the renowned Reggae Summer Night festival in Hamm, Germany.

The outdoor festival, now in its 18th year, was headlined by German reggae superstar Gentleman, who performed with his band in front of a capacity crowd of 3,000 fans.

The Hamm-based events agency Matzka GmbH was tasked with looking after the festival's sound, and a comprehensive Cohedra rig was considered the optimum solution for the job at hand.

Matzka settled on a setup consisting of 24 Cohedra CDR 208 mid/high units (12 per side), 20 Cohedra CDR 210 subs, four Cohedra Compact CDR 210 C subs and four Cohedra Compact CDR 108 C mid/high units (used as nearfills), and the results were spectacular.

Achim Matzka, managing director of Matzka GmbH, said, "Reggae Summer Night 2015 was the 18th year this amazing f

UK - SSE Audio and Wigwam Acoustics will once again be exhibiting at PLASA 2015. Directors and staff will be on hand to meet and chat with visitors to the exhibition. For the third year the show is being held at ExCel in London's Docklands on 4-6 October 2015. SSE Audio Group and Wigwam Acoustics are on Stand L10 at ExCel.

"This year, we have invited some of our key equipment suppliers to join us on the stand and I'm delighted to announce that Avid, d&b audiotechnik, DiGiCo and L-Acoustics have all agreed to display some of their latest products with us," commented SSE Sales Director, Alex Penn.

Avid will feature the VENUE S6L; d&b audiotechnik will have some of their new install and touring amplifier products; DiGiCo will be demonstrating the S21; and L-Acoustics will feature the X Series.

In addition, microphone and wireless specialist Sennheiser will be represen

UK - At Technology Exposed 2015 (Stand 64), Peerless-AV will be exhibiting a range of innovative AV mounts and solutions, packed with installer-friendly features that reduce installation time and improve serviceability. Highlights will include the latest design upgrades to Peerless-AV's best-selling line of Full-Service Video Wall Mounts and Flat Panel Wall Mounts, as well as the recently launched SMART kapp Trolley and Video Conference Trolleys.

"This year we wanted to focus on the installer experience, demonstrating new product designs that simplify and accelerate the installation process without compromising on quality or performance," said Ian Abernethy, director of sales, Peerless-AV UK.

Visitors to the Peerless-AV stand will see how they could make a difference to their business with time saving product innovations. These include SmartMount and Paramount Flat P

UK - Wireless LED lighting manufacturer CORE Lighting are at the 2015 PLASA London expo at the ExCeL Centre on Stand C24, which is also part of UK distributor White Light's 'Village' and where they will be displaying a range of their latest innovations.

CORE products are known for the high quality and excellent engineering that comes with the 'Made in the UK' marque. As an independent company, CORE can also react quickly and decisively to market demands and ensure its products stay at the forefront of the fast-moving live events industry.

Featured products at PLASA will include CORE's new StripPoint which will be prominent on the stand display together with the flagship ColourPoint, which has become an industry standard product for the live event industry. The tiny PinPoint will have a major presence with an array of PinPoints controlled by CORE's new LightDesk phone App, and

Japan - Verdi Viale is a new health and fitness centre in Yotsukaido, Japan, a suburb that's a half-hour east of Tokyo. It stands alone in a purpose-built two-story building and has a comprehensive range of amenities to help its clients achieve "life balance". Specifically, Verdi Viale is split into three studios: a cardio studio, a yoga studio, and a machine room.

With the assistance of Morimoto Naniwa Sound Projects Co., Ltd. of Tokyo, Verdi Viale supplied each studio with its own powerful sound playback and instructor reinforcement system. Each studio uses One Systems 108im loudspeakers powered by a four-channel Ashly nX4004 four-channel programmable output amplifier.

"The main purpose of the system is to allow for background music or for program music with instructor reinforcement," explained Masaki Morimoto, co-owner of Morimoto Naniwa Sound Projects,

USA - Clay Paky Mythos has become the 'go-to' fixture for lighting designer Matt Ford, who recently deployed Mythos on truTV's Fake Off, The CW's Penn & Teller: Fool Us and NBC's Food Fighters. Ford is president of Magic Lantern Creations, an entertainment lighting company in Woodland Hills, California.

Ford was introduced to Mythos at a demo held at A.C.T Lighting where he felt he "found the answer" to his need for a fixture that combined Clay Paky "Sharpy effects with a hard-edged gobo fixture. Mythos does the job of two fixtures in one light: I get Sharpy effects when I want them and great gobo beam patterns, too. I'm a huge fan."

Ford also finds Mythos easy to use on-camera for television shows. "It's not a big ugly light; it's compact and good looking. I can stick Mythos on the floor in a background shot and it blends in well

UK The Four Thieves pub in Battersea not only brews up to 40 casks a week of craft ale on the premises, it also houses its very own gin distillery, for which one of the key ingredients is lavender. Of the many plague legends that abound, one of the most plausible is that the oriental rat flea considered responsible for the spread of the disease was resistant to a herbal concoction containing, amongst other things, lavender reputedly preserving the four nefarious thieves from fatal infection.

The floral theme continues at the pub that takes their name; located off Lavender Hill in a Victorian music hall that was previously the site of the original Jongleurs comedy club, the recently re-opened Four Thieves pub hosts highly accessible leftfield entertainment from stand-up comedians to live music and vintage DJs. And integral to that successful performance formula is a new sound sys

Sweden - One of Sweden's best loved TV dance bands, Elisa's, has added dynamism to its shows by purchasing a touring lighting package from PR Lighting.

Led by singer, Elisa Lindström, the highly visual five-piece started taking an interest in their own production after winning the Dansbandskampen reality competition on Swedish Television (SVT) back in 2010.

Ljudias Sound & Light general manager, Johan Gotthardsson, soon became involved, and the PR Lighting distributor helped them to build a touring inventory of cost-effective light and sound components which would be easy to set up - principally for the increasing demands of TV work.

The sale involved four XL 250 (PR-2225M) spots, one of most economic units, using a 250W short arc discharge lamp and super efficient optical system, as well as a pair of XL Beam 300 (PR-2330M) long throw colour beam moving heads.

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USA - Any company that makes Inc. Magazine's list of the fastest growing privately owned businesses six years running must be doing a lot of things right. For 4Wall Entertainment, which has made this prestigious list every year since 2010, one of those things has been the commitment to maintain an inventory that includes quality lighting fixtures for every application. In keeping with this commitment, the company has added 44 Rogue R1 Washes from Chauvet Professional to its inventory.

As a company focused solely on entertainment lighting, 4Wall Entertainment takes pride in maintaining a rental inventory that represents the latest technology and value for its clients. The Rogue R1 Wash allows the company to offer clients a high-output moving LED fixture that includes performance features not ordinarily found at its price point. For example, the fixture has a bubble lens design th

North America - Sublime with Rome has hit the road for a North American summer tour featuring 37 concerts coast to coast. Lighting designer Scott Warner of Karate Pinky Visual Design, LLC, Pittsburgh, has selected Clay Paky Sharpys, Sharpy Washes and A.leda B-EYE K20s for the tour.

Sublime with Rome is a musical collaboration between bass player Eric Wilson, formerly of the band Sublime, singer/guitarist Rome Ramirez and drummer Josh Freese. Their North American tour is their biggest headlining gig to date. They released their new album, Sirens,this summer.

Warner designed the band's tour two years ago when they carried only a floor package. "They wanted to step up their light show for this project," he says. "I was ready to start programming when I had to move over to another client, but thank goodness lighting director and programmer Aaron Craig was ava

UK - With an unrelenting 2015 touring schedule, The Chemical Brothers have upgraded their on stage rig with a pair of Soundcraft GB8 32 mixing consoles, supplied by HD Pro Audio.

Andy Huffer of HD Pro explained, "We were contacted by Matt Cox of iMatt, who handles the live midi and system programming for The Chemical Brothers. The band was looking to retire their much-loved but road-worn eight-bus studio console from on-stage mixing duties. Effectively operating a mini-studio live on stage, the analogue format and familiarity of operation were essential factors so together with Matt we looked at all the options available to replace their existing console and narrowed it down to the Soundcraft.

"The GB8 32 expanded the capability to meet the spec, while maintaining the operational fluency," continued Huffer, "To enable the band to evaluate the options fully,

USA - Two hundred and ten Ayrton MagicBlade-R fixtures form the dramatic backbone of Roy Bennett's lighting design for Maroon 5's year-long World Tour 2015 in support of V, the band's fifth studio album.

Bennett, of Seven Design Works, has used the MagicBlade-R units to delineate thirteen jointed truss 'arms', which are suspended in a 'V' shape above the stage to form a pivotal feature of the stage design. The MagicBlade-R fixtures are rigged in double rows along the arms, which split along the centre line and move independently on a series of separate wire winches to shape and sculpt the stage from above.

"I didn't know the band well but knew their music. I wanted to give them something very different from the video-heavy designs of their past tours - and create something that I haven't done before!" says Bennett. "I like transparency, reflection and mirrors ri

South Africa - When ETC dealer Prosound was asked to provide support for the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, they knew this was an opportunity.

The festival is an important event on the South African cultural calendar, and the biggest annual celebration of the arts on the African continent, but many of the venues suffer from similar issues: excess heat and lack of power.

One such venue, Vicky's, is a small school canteen converted into a fringe theatre with a 150 seat capacity - but in previous years, the power supplied to the venue could not sustain its demands. To reduce the issues caused by the lighting, this year they decided to go all-LED, thanks not only to assistance from Prosound, but also to sponsorship from ETC.

Prosound's Mac Makhobotloane, who was responsible for lighting technical support, says, "We used

Arts Cuts Campaign - Equity has launched a campaign to raise awareness of the "catastrophic" effect that further cuts could have on the arts. The campaign, Stop Arts Cuts, has been created by the union to make the case for cultural investment to government in the face of ongoing austerity measures. It follows a Treasury announcement that government departments such as the Department for Culture, Media and Sport should prepare for budget reductions of up to 40% in the spending review, the outcome of which will be revealed in November. Equity assistant general secretary Stephen Spence, who is leading the campaign for Equity, said that the arts "simply cannot sustain any more cuts". He added, "Our view is that it would have quite a dramatic effect. You will start to get theatres closing."

Main Attraction - Cast members are the biggest draw for a

South Korea - Dongchun Gym, the home of Ulsan Mobis Phoebus pro basketball team, has updated its sound system with the new HFA series from NEXT-proaudio.

Located in Ulsan city, about 400km to the southeast of Seoul, Dongchun Gym opened in 2000 as indoor sports events and multi-purpose centre. The capacity is 5,500 seats, two-story building with two basement floors. This is a typical gym shaped, but unlike other gyms, its roof was made of light fabric materials for natural lighting.

The new system had to meet number of criteria. "Top of the list was high-fidelity sound accepted by audiences and the team," said Tom Jung, executive director of Avix Tech. "And, the sound system design had to improve much more than former sound systems which the team used in the past."

There were some limitations to design and install the systems. First, Avix Tech had to place

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