UK - Marquee Installations has recently completed the design and installation of the audio system for the Wahaca Southbank Mexican restaurant at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. Designed by renowned architects Softroom, the innovative Wahaca Southbank Experiment is a new two-storey temporary installation, constructed from eight recycled shipping containers on the outdoor terrace of the Queen Elizabeth Hall at the Southbank Centre.

The audio system for Wahaca Southbank is divided into four zones covering ground and first floors, walkways and outside areas. To provide simple but flex

UK - Previewing from 31 August at the Bristol Hippodrome, The Lion King UK tour will be one of the heaviest touring productions in the UK at the moment, requiring Unusual Rigging to undertake a serious upgrade to the roof truss at the Bristol theatre.

Although the show's total weight does not exceed the limits of the Hippodrome, most of the weight is concentrated in the downstage area, necessitating the strengthening of the four roof truss bays to enable each one to take the full weight at any one time. This meant each bay had to be capable of carrying 30 tonnes, the theatre's

UK - A number of important additions to the London edition of the PLASA Professional Development Programme have been announced. The 80 free-to-attend sessions form the backbone of the 2012 edition of the PLASA Show, which takes place on Sunday 9 - Wednesday 12 September, live at Earls Court in London. From the creative minds of world-renowned LDs and sound engineers, to the visionaries of tomorrow's technology, the PLASA Professional Development Programme is the largest free knowledge sharing event of its kind.

"The new style programme forms a roadmap for the next twelve months i

USA - Problem-solving theatre design consultancy Charcoalblue is crossing the pond to open a studio in the heart of New York's fashionable Chelsea district.

Since completing the Royal Shakespeare Company's new award-winning HQ in Stratford-upon-Avon, opening Glyndebourne Opera's new Ebert Recital Room and embarking on a multi-million pound transformation of the National Theatre in London, the company has sought to share its wealth of experience in performing arts consultancy service internationally.

As part of that initiative Charcoalblue's co-founder, Jon Stevens, will be opening t

UK - Exactly 30 years after Jo Longthorne appeared in the final Talk of the Town production at the Hippodrome, the historic London venue has reopened. This follows a major £40m refurbishment, which drew on the innovative theatre design expertise of theatre consultants Charcoalblue LLP.

The Grade II listed venue, built in 1900 by the famous theatrical architect Frank Matcham, has been converted into London's first super casino, combining gaming and live performance with a first-class restaurant.

Charcoalblue was appointed to assist London-based architects Cadmium Design

UK - Software developers Stardraw.com have announced major changes to the company's structure and operation, starting with the announcement that Rob Robinson, currently marketing director, is to become CEO with immediate effect. David Snipp, founder of Stardraw.com and current CEO, remains a major shareholder at Stardraw.com and assumes a role of non-executive board director.

At the same time, Stardraw.com announced the acquisition of intellectual property rights associated with Stardraw Control, their award-winning universal control platform, by manufacturer of IP and WiFi-enabling p

USA - Like most of New Jersey's seaside communities, life on resort island Brigantine near Atlantic City is affected by the seasons. In the summer months, the sun seekers and beach lovers help to swell the congregation at St. Thomas the Apostle from 1,000 to more than 3,000 - well beyond what their existing sanctuary can handle. As Bobby Harper, VP of Sales at Egg Harbor-based ACIR Professional explains, the church came up with a creative solution.

"It's an older structure, and it has some history, and they didn't want to just tear it down and build something bigger," says H

UK - As part of its music and arts promotional campaign, coffee shop chain Caffè Nero is hosting an ongoing series of free live gigs by up-and-coming artists at its UK outlets. July has seen guitarist/singer-songwriter Jamie Abbott nominated as the retailer's Artist of the Month, accompanied by a compact K-array KB-1 audio system as he travelled across the UK.

Abbott's tour has visited 30 Caffè Nero outlets, tying many of them in with sets at local radio stations. This has meant that he was often playing two or three gigs in different towns or cities on the same day.

Accompanied b

Australia - As part of the new Darling Quarter precinct and in a collaborative effort between Lend Lease and Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority (SHFA), a new state of the art children's theatre and performance space has been created. Lend Lease and SHFA jointly selected Monkey Baa Theatre Company as the resident company for the new Lend Lease Darling Quarter Theatre. The venue houses the company's office, as well as facilitating rehearsals and performances.

The theatre is the only purpose-built performance space for children in Australia and the first major addition to Sydney's arts i

UK / Spain - LS-Live has created a custom triple size DJ booth to boost the visual performance of A-list DJs for live music/dance hotel brand Ibiza Rocks.

Unveiled at new electronic dance night We Are Rockstars (W.A.R!), which kicked of the summer season of events on 8 June, the performance platform is a pioneering adaptation of the LiteConsole product which is used by Zane Lowe and Magnetic Man, who said it would "work perfectly". Example & DJ Wire, Major Lazer and Doorly also enjoyed playing on the console on the opening night.

The 3m long DJ booth features a fron

Sweden - Ranking among the coolest venues in the world, Dalhalla is located in a 60m deep former limestone quarry, seven kilometres north of beautiful Lake Siljan and the town of Rättvik in central Sweden.

The 4000 capacity open air theatre was opened in 1995 and presents a summer season of around 30 performances - from operatic and choral works to full on rock 'n' roll.

This year's festival production lighting design by Anders 'Hebbe' Herbertzon from High Voltage Designs includes Robe MMXs and LEDWash 600s which were recently purchased by locally based lighting rental company Park

UK - Black Light has been part of the team that has been working on the new Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow. This building, named in tribute to the athlete, is one of the most significant new sports venues in the UK.

"The project highlights our ability to work on high-profile projects that demand exceptional levels of performance," says Phil Haldane, Black Light's head of business development. "It also demonstrates our ability to work with consultants to deliver projects to strict cost specifications."

Black Light was commissioned by the building's electrical

UK - Community continued the successful track record of its high power R-Series loudspeakers with around 230 systems installed at multiple venues for the London 2012 Olympics, including the Handball Arena, Basketball Arena, Water Polo Centre, Aquatic Centre, Outdoor Water Sports Centre and the Main Olympic Stadium.

The 22 models in the R-Series range provide a comprehensive choice of throw distances and coverage patterns and are used outdoors, from theme parks like Disneyland to the flood warning system of the city of Venice, and indoors at large convention centres and airports.

The

UK - Three years ago, entertainment lighting specialist White Light supplied lighting equipment to an innovative new production of the timeless classic Peter Pan, staged in a giant tent in London's Kensington Gardens. This summer, White Light has once again returned to the majestic Kensington Gardens, supplying lighting to a new production of another timeless classic - CS Lewis' The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.

The Threesixty° production, playing until 9 September, takes the audience on the fantastical and complex journey of siblings Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lu

UK - The PLASA Awards for Innovation, sponsored by AED Rent and Lighting&Sound, were presented at the PLASA Show in London yesterday evening, along with the announcement of the prestigious Gottelier Award.

During the show's opening two days, 47 products were judged 'live' in front of a crowd of show visitors and camera crew by an independent panel of expert judges who toured the show floor to view each product presentation.

John Meyer of iconic pro audio brand Meyer Sound was honoured with this year's Gottelier Award in recognition of his life as one of the pioneers of the mo

UK - A.C. Special Projects (ACSP) has designed, supplied and installed complete technical facilities for the Sidney Stringer Academy's (SSA) new theatre in Coventry.

The SSA has gained a reputation as an innovator that encourages experimental teaching practices, and offers a range of BTEC vocational courses including Performing Arts and Music, for students aged 11-19.

The new multi-purpose theatre stages full productions by SSA and can be hired by local community groups and organisations.

The project was led for ACSP by Dave Cowan, who worked closely with SSA's head of drama, Mich

Russia - Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre has undergone a major refurbishment. As well as renovation and construction work, the theatre management decided to invest heavily in state-of-the-art communications equipment.

The nerve centre is the largest RTS professional intercom system for stage management worldwide with six interconnected individual stage-manager systems, and here they were prepared to accept no compromises. For this reason, the Hamburg-based specialist Amptown System Company was charged with the installation.

"The new intercom system had, above all, to guarantee one thi

UK - Bristol's historic Theatre Royal has reopened its newly refurbished auditorium to rapturous applause following a £12m redevelopment, which drew on the expertise of design consultancy Charcoalblue LLP.

The Grade I-listed 1780s Georgian theatre, which is home to Bristol Old Vic, has been sensitively refurbished to upgrade and install modern technology into the original auditorium.

A major element of the brief for the works was to provide up-to-date technology, comfort and improved sightlines whilst working around the original timber structure and delicate plasterwork.

Cha

France - For the sixth consecutive year, French rental company, Polygone Equipement provided production support for the Foire de Douai at the Gayant Expo.

The 68th edition was held at the beginning of September, and inside Hall 3000 (at the Carré Brasserie) Polygone provided a premium RCF TTL-33A line array system for 10 nights of performance - commencing with Italian legend, Umberto Tozzi.

Polygone Equipement has been using RCF solutions for 30 years and managing director Ge?rard Coucke has enjoyed a passionate relationship with the brand throughout that period. "We wer

USA - For Mike Ross, creative arts director at The Pointe Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana, choosing the right audio equipment is an important part of his mission. In addition to great sound quality, Ross requires solutions that are flexible, reliable and easy for multiple singers, musicians, pastors and volunteers to use. With Line 6 microphones and digital instrument wireless systems, Ross and his team experience the hassle-free setup and crystal-clear audio they need to stay on message.

Ross' first exposure to Line 6 digital wireless was the Relay G50 instrument system, which he has b

Norway - The Hålogaland Theatre in Troms°, Norway, is putting its new DPA d:fine Headset Microphones through their paces on a production of Les Misérables, which opened on 6 September 2012.

The theatre has replaced its old stock of DPA 4060 omnidirectional miniature microphones with 40 directional d:fine Headset Microphones and 40 d:fine omni microphone booms, which are being used with a new 32 channel Shure Axient wireless system. The microphones were supplied by sound company Lydproduksjon Troms° AS, in conjunction with DPA's Norwegian distributor Lydsystemer.

Finland - In 1954 the novelist C.P. Snow wrote animatedly about the tension between the arts and the sciences: the traditionalists and those wanting to engage with new technologies. The New Men was recognised as an iconic twentieth century text that examined the continuous conflict between the old and the new. Over half a century later it remains an ongoing item on the agenda of every restoration and renovation of architectural masterpieces and buildings of national importance across the globe.

The Svenska Teaten, or Swedish Theatre, in Helsinki is a case in point. Built origin

Turkey - SGM's new generation LED strobes have arrived on the Aegean coast. In one of the world's biggest open air venues 18 of the XC-5 RGB strobes pulse beneath the night sky of Bodrum. The stylish Halikarnas, which overlooks the Aegean, was completely redesigned this summer by its millionaire owner Süleyman Demir.

Lighting stalwart Andy Graves, of Turkish-based LEDsistem, supplied 18 of SGM's innovative XC-5 RGB strobes among the lasers and special effects that animate this luxurious multi-zone venue. They had been specified by Arch Lite's Matthew Button and Trent O'Connor, who be

UK - The Bristol Old Vic, one of Britain's most historic theatres, founded in 1766 by 50 merchants, lawyers and politicians, has been given a spectacular £12.26m makeover in the first phase of a major redevelopment.

Originally designed by the Bristol architect James Saunderson, the theatre is believed to be the oldest working theatre in the UK. Stage Electrics was awarded the contract to design and install a completely new technical infrastructure and production lighting, audio and communications systems. The project has been headed by consultants Charcoalblue with design by Joh

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