UK - Converted and maintained by a devoted team of volunteers comprising ex-BBC technicians, local builders and theatre enthusiasts, the Playhouse Theatre Whitstable is a performance venue suitable for a wide range of live entertainment. The theatre plays host to a variety of shows new and old and is home to drama group, the Lindley Players who are the owners and operators of the venue.

The hard work carried out by volunteers and members over many years has converted what was once the United Reform Church into the modern performance venue that is the Playhouse Theatre Whitstable today. The conversion work has involved building a stage, removing the balcony from the side walls, installing a stepped auditorium floor, building a sound and lighting control room in the balcony and installing additional seating. The lower floor has been converted into a bar, club room and dressing roo

Strong Box Office - Theatres across the UK took a total of more than £1bn at the box office in 2014, according to new figures released by industry body UK Theatre. UK Theatre member venues - predominantly theatres outside London - recorded £429m at the box office in 2014. When added to the box office for theatres that are members of the Society of London Theatre in 2014 (£624m), it reveals that theatre across the whole of the UK recorded a total box office of £1.05bn.

The report represents the first ever comprehensive analysis of sales data for theatres outside London. It found that 2014 was a stronger year than 2013, with a higher proportion of tickets sold and more cash value achieved.

Musical theatre accounted for £153m (38%) of total box office in 2013 and £162 million (39%) in 2014, signalling the genre's continued popularity across the

UK - It has been somewhat of an Alexander McQueen/ Unusual Rigging year. Five years after the death of the fashion designer, interest in both his work and the life that inspired it has been at an all time high. In March, the V&A Museum brought Unusual Rigging on board to assist with the displays for its McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibit.

The show, which ran for 21 weeks, exceeded all expectations, making it the most popular in the V&A's history. Now a play which delves into the visionary imagination and dark dream world of the late designer is taking the West End by storm and Unusual Rigging are once again at the centre of the action.

Mark Davies, production rigger at Unusual Rigging, explained: "Lee Batty, the show's production manager, first involved Unusual in the project when the show opened to rave reviews at St James' Theatre. He subsequently got the green light

UK - The third DiGiCo Charity Quiz Rental Company of the Year, or 'The Paul Keating Stag Do!' as it became this year in honour of the Delta Sound MD, brought together some of the top UK audio companies in "a battle of knowledge, wits, devious underhand dealings and a bar bill bigger than a you can imagine!"

In previous years, DiGiCo has chosen to support some amazing causes and some now sadly departed individuals, with the audio industry coming together as one for what is an always-memorable night. This year, DiGiCo chose to support UK events charity Behind the Scenes.

"We have been supporters of Behind the Scenes UK since its inception two years ago, through its various charity events like the golf days and the recent karting day at Sandown Park, as well as lobbying the industry for support," says DiGiCo's MD James Gordon. "This year, it was a natural

UK - A fixture of London's jazz music scene for more than four decades, Pizza Express Jazz Club recently replaced its aging audio system with a new, self-powered Meyer Sound system featuring IntelligentDC technology. Long known for its intimate atmosphere, friendly acoustics, and stellar musical line-up, the club was voted Live Music Venue of the Year at the 2015 London Lifestyle Awards soon after the upgrade.

"With the new Meyer Sound system we have excellent response, from the top to the bottom of the frequency range, at every seat," reports Ross Dines, PizzaExpress music manager. "It's a completely different world-you can hear the difference on every instrument and voice. It's been a real game changer for me."

For Luc Saint-Martin, the club's FOH engineer, the loudspeaker upgrade gives assurance that his mix will be heard uniformly throughout the room. &

UK - The invigorating alternative line up was just one of several fresh elements to the 2015 MiNT Festival - the 10,000 capacity event expanded to two days for the first time, and also had a new location at Wetherby Racecourse near Leeds in the UK.

Colour Sound Experiment was asked to provide rigging, trussing, lighting and LED screens for the six main tented arenas which featured sets from Duke Dumont, The Martinez Brothers, Sigma, Sven Vath, Jamie Jones, Luciano, Ricardo Villalobos and many more.

Fourteen top Colour Sound crew were led by Jon Rickets and worked closely with the production team from The Dark Horses and technical production manager James Brennan, who co-ordinated all the site production.

Colour Sound's Haydn Cruickshank, comments, "It's exciting to see a new festival growing and finding its identity, and also embracing 'small is beautiful' whilst invest

USA - Atlanta's Alliance Theatre recently revealed the final renderings for a renovation that will completely transform its facilities. The project, which will begin in the summer of 2017, will help the Tony Award-winning theatre company produce ambitious works, better engage with the surrounding community, and provide audiences with more dynamic and comfortable theatre-going experiences.

The transformation, led by Trahan Architects in collaboration with Theatre Projects (theatre designer and planner) and Talaske (acoustician), will include a complete overhaul of the Alliance Stage, their 770-seat mainstage theatre. Among dozens of improvements and additions, the overhaul will entail re-seating the room to pull the audience closer to the stage for a more intimate experience, new staircases and terraces for better audience circulation, a new audio system, upgrades to LED lighting

Belgium - Stage Unit of Heist-op-den-Berg, Belgium has become the first Belgian sound provider to invest in a Meyer Sound Leopard linear sound reinforcement system. Since taking delivery of Leopard, Stage Unit has deployed the system for a number of events, including the 10,000-person Hestival, a free, annual music event in Heist-op-den-Berg.

"The Leopard system raised sound quality for Hestival to a new level, and coverage across the site was very even," reports Toon Van der Veken, managing director for Stage Unit. "Even at the back of the audience area - nearly 90m away - the sound was still balanced, full, and enjoyable. The system scored 100 percent in every respect. The organizers said it was the best sounding system in the 11-year history of Hestival."

According to Van der Veken, Stage Unit's Leopard investment is not only keeping his long-established

UK - The Great Hall at the National Railway Museum at York was the singularly impressive location for the seventh annual Locos in a Different Light competition.

Sponsored jointly by Ambersphere Solutions and Pulsar Light of Cambridge, the aim is to challenge six teams of students from different colleges across the UK who are studying technical lighting at further and higher education levels, to each light one of the locomotives in the Museum's Great Hall. Each team is given a selection of lighting fixtures, an MA dot2 console and two hours to rig and programme their chosen design.

Even for those not smitten by the sight and smell of these gigantic engines, there can be no doubting the very real challenge of successfully illuminating one of these heaving beasts of yesteryear. With a limited number of fixtures and with some of the locomotives up to sixty metres in length,

Hungary - UK-based S+H Technical Support supplied its innovative LED Video Floor product to the first Hungarian edition of popular television games show, The Cube.

Recorded at the Stern Film Studio on Pomaz, close to Budapest, Hungarian producers Show & Game Production followed the style directions and replicated the rules established by the original UK series producers, Objective Television, who licensed this version, broadcast on leading commercial channel, TV2.

Hungarian production manager Krisztina Bene explained that they were recommended to S+H as the interactive floor supplier by Objective Television, from which they also rented key elements of the set

Presented (in the UK) by Phillip Schofield, Cube contestants can win up to £250,000 cash by completing straightforward tasks - like balancing, catching, throwing, estimating, reacting, memorising, etc. - wi

Germany - Kaiser Showtechnik GmbH, Astera's exclusive distributor for Germany, illuminated the New Schleissheim Palace in Munich on 25 August 2015. The setup, stretching more than 300m along the palace façade, was "100% wireless" and used over 600 wireless Astera fixtures.

The project made use of and fully showed the capabilities of Astera's long-distance RF technology found within the AsteraBox and AsteraApp.

The production was to mark the beginning of Astera's recently announced partnership with Kaiser Showtechnik, who produced the video, and their investment in marketing Astera for the German-speaking market.

A 14-man production crew was brought in to organise the project and capture the beautiful effects, brought to fruition by lighting designer, Chris Schatz. The footage was then compiled and edited by CorneliusFilms. The video can be seen on Astera's Faceboo

UAE - The 2015 Dance Afrique Festival staged at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai was a celebration of African music headlined by international superstar Akon from Senegal and also featuring Congolese musician Awilo Logombia and singer / songwriter Flavour from Nigeria.

The show was lit by Dubai and UK based LD Steve Shipman whose design used over 120 Robe moving lights including 12 x BMFL Spots, all supplied by technical production company Solution Media. Steve had also designed lighting for the same show in London in August.

The brief was to design a big colourful show with lots of WOW factors and eye-candy, so he set to work using the kit that was available from Media Solutions, which included 12 x MMX Spots, 18 x LEDWash 1200s, six LEDWash 600s, 34 x LEDBeam 100s and 40 Pointes plus the BMFL Spots which were positioned on the floor.

Eight moving trusses (on a Kinesys system) we

Belgium - Chauvet will be welcoming lighting professionals, designers, media and clients to its European home office in Ghent, Belgium on 18 November for an evening of festivities and hands-on product demonstration. The event, which marks the official grand opening of the company's new European facility, is also a celebration of Chauvet's 25th anniversary.

In addition to a Belgian feast with local beers and wines, the evening will feature demonstrations of new products, among which are a pair of fixtures that made their debut at the recent LDI show in Las Vegas. These include the Ovation E-910FC, a five-colour RGBA+Lime LED ellipsoidal that brings a new level of colour to LED ellipsoidal fixtures. Also to be showcased is the new COLORado 1 Solo, a powerful IP65-rated par-style wash fixture that features a unique and highly coveted combination of a single-source 60W RGBW LED and

UK - Panasonic hosted the first European Heritage Forum on the connected digital future at the Tower of London.

The forum, on Monday 12 October 2015, presented the museum and heritage sector with the chance to discuss the future of internet and social media, and how to develop solutions that incorporate these in to exhibition spaces.

Some of the biggest names in European heritage were represented at the forum, including the British Museum, Science Museum, Imperial War Museum, Vatican Museum, National Trust, National History Museum, National Gallery, National Museum of Scotland and the National Museum of Wales. In total, those attending attract approximately 68m visitors every year.

The event began with a presentation by MACOM on the connected digital future followed by delegate presentations, where experiences, challenges and solutions were put forward. The day concluded wit

Sweden - Långbro Värdshus is a top restaurant located just outside Stockholm. Situated in an architectural and historically significant villa, it is run by the renowned Swedish TV chef and author Fredrik Eriksson. In line with its quest for excellence, the restaurant recently upgraded its audio system and Inexo, a local custom installer, chose Genelec's 4000 Series loudspeakers for their clarity of sound and ease of installation for the new system.

The building has a traditional interior which has now been completely renovated. Fredrik has been running Långbro Värdshus since 2005 and is an award-winning chef and restaurateur, he is an important ambassador both for Sweden and Swedish food and is primarily known for being a celebrity TV chef and the author of several books.

The new interior design features a quiet and understated aesthetic that focuses on natural materials a

South Africa - With regular power cuts in South Africa a fact of life, The Guild Theatre in East London had to come up with a solution to an enable the show to go on, even during load-shedding, and thus preventing a loss of precious income.

Philips Entertainment Lighting distributor for South Africa, DWR Distribution, therefore supplied 30 Philips Showline SL PAR 155 Zoom homogenised LED Par luminaires, which can run off a generator when needed, to the venue.

"The team at The Guild wanted new technology, something that would add a bit of punch, that was flexible, and above all would enable them to run professional looking stage lighting from their generator," said Dave Whitehouse from DWR. "Originally they considered LED par cans but instead chose 30 Philips Showline SL Par 155 Zoom Homogenized LED PAR Luminaires to meet their needs. These can be manually zoomed

Sweden - Dataton has announced the acquisition of software developer and production company, IXEL. Based in Sweden, IXEL specialises in the development of software for immersive environments and content production for fulldome applications. With the acquisition, Dataton strengthens both R&D and project management teams in the industry-key sectors of virtual reality, simulation software and film production.

"The team at IXEL has proven expertise of software development and content production for fulldome and 3D environments, both of which are already important application areas for our award-winning Watchout multi-display software and associated products," said Lars Sandlund, COO at Dataton.

IXEL's Miroslav Andel has been appointed chief software developer at Dataton and commented, "There is enormous development potential in the kind of large-scale visual and imm

Germany - Robe was the moving light brand of choice - with nearly 200 units - at the opening ceremony of the 2015 European Maccabi Games (EMG2015), Europe's biggest Jewish sports event, staged at the Waldbühne amphitheatre in Berlin's Olympic Park, and officially declared open by German President Joachim Gauk.

A lighting scheme was designed by leading Israeli LD, Ronen Najar for the occasion, working for the combined Israeli and German production team.

Ronen frequently specifies Robe for his work. He is prolific in both television and live events and known for his fresh and innovative approach to crafting light. He designed the last Maccabi Games OC in the Teddy Stadium Jerusalem in 2013 and has worked internationally on several high profile projects with the ceremonies' director Ran Tzahor over the last decade.

For the EMG OC, a stage was erected at one end of the circular

Italy - The Mon Amour nightclub in Rimini combines a high quality dining experience with late night DJ sets and live music by top Italian artists. A recent audio upgrade saw Mon Amour added to the long list of Italian venues which trust Yamaha products to deliver high class entertainment to their customers.

The upgrade was carried out by Promo SRL of Alba Adriatica, which has been installing Yamaha equipment in prestigious projects for eight years.

The company installed four Installation Series IF3115 three-way, UniPhase loudspeakers to cover the dining area. Featuring a 15" low-frequency driver, eight-inch midrange driver and three-inch HF compression driver, the IF3115 can deliver a calculated continuous SPL of 127dB, with exceptional clarity. This makes it suitable for nightclubs where seamless sound is required between the dance floor and surrounding areas.

In addit

USA - Since delivery of its new Meyer Sound Leopard line array loudspeaker system, Nashville-based Mid-Coast Sound has seen an immediate growth in its live sound business on the home turf and in events stretching from Kentucky to Mississippi. The team expects the power-to-size ratio of Leopard to play a major role in the company's future projects.

"For most events we do, Leopard is just about the perfect loudspeaker," says Bruce Bossert, owner of Mid-Coast Sound. "To use a boxing analogy, it punches way above its weight. It has the horsepower of most competitive boxes weighing twice as much. It allows us to support large-format events in buildings where it would be a struggle to fly other systems."

Mid-Coast has used its Leopard system at the Silver Star Convention Centre in Philadelphia, Miss. for artists such as Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Merle Haggard,

UK - On Tuesday 24 November at The Pavilion Theatre Rehearsal Space, Glasgow, the d&b audiotechnik GB team will present a new breed of point source loudspeakers with sales partner The Warehouse Sound Services.

The event marks the Scottish debut of the d&b audiotechnik V-Series point source loudspeakers. Oran Burns from d&b audiotechnik GB Education and Application Support will showcase the V7P, V10P and V-GSUB.

Oran will host two presentations one at 11:00 and another at 14:00. Both demonstrations will offer industry professionals the chance to familiarise themselves with this new breed of loudspeakers and all their rigging options.

Janet Murray, director at The Warehouse Sound commented: "We're really delighted to be showcasing the V-Series point sources which we think are exceptional. The design of the mid range horn means that the vocal performance is extraordinary.

China - In Sichuang province, an Allen & Heath ZED-436 4 bus mixer has been installed in Mingshan stadium, one of the key reconstruction projects following the 2013 Lushan earthquake.

The recently completed stadium is a multi-functional venue capable of hosting sporting events, conferences and exhibitions, and large-scale cultural and theatrical performances. The venue covers an area of 4000sq.m and can accommodate 2,500 people. It features a central basketball court, surrounded by some fixed stands, with a temporary stage and additional stands.

Designed and installed by EZPro, the ZED-436 was chosen for audio mixing and control.

"The ZED-436 is the perfect choice for this application because it provides enough input channel and professional grade sound quality." said Mr Lian, technical manager at EZPro. "The mixer features 32 mic or line inputs plus 2 dual st

UK - Central Presentations Ltd. (CPL) brought expertise, innovation and full technical production - sound, lighting and video - to the recent high profile ID Live roadshow by L'Oréal, working for producers Bright Productions.

The intense four-date back-to-back tour visited Dublin, Glasgow, Leeds and London. It is L'Oréal's widest attended event showcasing the latest cutting, colouring and styling trends for AW15, offering live and close-up education from L'Oréal's team of ID artists across four evenings of action, inspiration and fashion.

CPL's project manager Lee Gruszeckyj worked closely with Andy Oswin from producers Bright, who initiated the roadshow's overall concept, set and video design and developed the video content to ensure the presentation environment was as cutting edge as the hair-art.

The show design involved a 20m long runway denoted by a

USA - British rock powerhouse Coldplay premiered new visuals for 2015 in Las Vegas and New York this autumn designed by video director Ben Miles of Mixed Emotions, London, using Avolites Ai S4 servers.

Coldplay performed one-off shows at the two live music events: The Global Citizen Festival in Central Park in New York City, which also featured Pearl Jam, Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran, was timed to coincide with the launch of the United Nations' new Global Goals designed to fight inequality, protect the planet and end extreme poverty by 2030; the other was the iHeart Radio Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, with a plethora of acts including Sam Smith, Jason Derulo and Duran Duran.

"The band wanted me to produce some screen treatments for these one-off shows that were fresh and new," says Miles. "Having worked with Coldplay for so many years now I

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