UK - HSL, technical partner for Hope Mill Theatre, has updated the lighting rig of the Manchester production space with a number of profile, Fresnel and flood fixtures.
Hope Mill Theatre, an alternative arts production space based at a former Victorian cotton mill in Ancoats, partnered with HSL two years ago. HSL undertook a structural survey followed by the design and installation of a trussing mother grid in the roof.
While an assortment of lighting kit has been supplied over the last two years, this this has now been reviewed and updated to include a standard rig of ETC Source Four profiles, 1K Fresnels, and Acclaim Fresnels together with a variety of floods.
Moving lights and other specials will be supplied as required by the individual productions. The original mothergrid has also just been extended with some new sections, giving more capacity for the quick and simple addition of specials.
Hope Mill Theatre is the brainchild of Joseph Houston and Will Wheton, working with producer and co-artistic director Katy Lipson of Aria Entertainment. The 120-seat theatre can be set up to accommodate shows in different formats, and recently welcomed its first technical manager, Alice Longson (pictured).
The venue has received three equipment transfers from London already and HSL has vowed to provide “more and a wider range” of lighting equipment for the forthcoming season and the future.
Hope Mill’s next big musical number in the autumn will be the Andrew Lloyd Webber's Aspects of Love.
(Jim Evans)

UK - The PLASA 2018 Members’ Day and AGM took place on Thursday 31 May at the Royal College of Physicians in Regent’s Park, London to reflect upon a year of specialist projects, industry collaboration and growth.
Members and guests enjoyed a productive day with an insightful AGM, followed by a networking afternoon in the venue’s unique ‘physic’ garden. The lively guest speaker, Caroline Russell from The Ideas Centre Group, encouraged audience participation with her creative approach to problem-solving, then attendees were invited to stay for drinks into the evening.
PLASA Treasurer Mark Surtees presented the 2017 accounts and announced that PLASA is in a place of financial stability, highlighting an increase in profits due to commercial growth within Events and Media. Newly elected Chair, Adam Blaxill, added later that all profits funnel back into the Association, enabling PLASA to generate and implement more initiatives to directly benefit its members and the wider industry.
Managing Director Peter Heath described how the last 12 months has been ever-changing and that PLASA has been proactive in connecting and collaborating with its members. Blaxill bolstered this by encouraging members to get involved with the Association’s activities and work within specialist groups if they feel they have something to offer. Both Blaxill and Heath also noted that although Brexit is looming PLASA has continued to reach out to European members to help unify the industry and raise working standards.
There were several presentations f

Germany - Christian von Kaphengst, Till Brönner, Wolfgang Haffner, Torsten Goods, Bruno Müller and Ida Nielsen are just some of the well-known German and international artists to have graced the stage at Musik Kontor in Herford – a high-profile club that has been making waves on the Nordrhein-Westfalen music scene since opening its doors in 2012.
Looking to stay on the cutting edge of entertainment, the club recently updated its visual presentation with a collection of Chauvet Professional fixtures. Emphasising movement, intensity and vivid colours, the new lighting package includes Rogue R1 Spot fixtures, with Amhaze Whisper foggers added for atmospherics.
“We arrived at a point earlier this year when we decided it was time to inject more feeling into live performances with a set of dedicated moving heads,” said Musik Kontor’s Christian Eder. “The combination of the Chauvet Rogue and Amhaze fixtures provided our designers with the opportunity to create a wide array of immersive looks on stage.”
The Rogue R1 Spot fixtures are also very effective at pumping up excitement with aerial effects and engaging the crowd with audience lighting. “In their first appearance at the Ida Nielsen concert in March (Ida Nielsen was the last bass player of Prince), the sharp beams and cutting movements of the Rogues were able to impress both band and audience,” commented Eder. “Thanks to their versatile palette of saturated colors, the beams have had a truly transformative effect upon the atmosphere within the club.”
To provide additional

Australia - The first in Australia and one of the most spectacular border lighting shows in the southern hemisphere has been launched by Twin Towns as they unveil their new dynamic digital media facade.
The exterior of the Twin Towns Club’s main building in Wharf Street, Tweed Heads, has been transformed into a huge digital canvas, creating a dazzling attraction for both locals and tourists crossing the Queensland and New South Wales border.
The ULA Group was engaged in this project from the early concepts, working close together with the team at Twin Towns, managed by CEO Rob Smith.
Smith has said he and the Board are extremely excited to see the project come to fruition. “It’s been over five years in the planning and we believe the end result is truly spectacular, not just for Twin Towns, but for the entire community.”
“We’re thrilled, we’re excited. We have turned the vision into a technical reality, and we couldn’t be happier with the result,” says Cuono Biviano, managing director of the ULA Group. “We feel extremely privileged and proud as a local Australian business and global organization to be a part of this iconic digital artwork that has transformed Twin Towns and the local area.”
The original brief was given in early years with the intention for projection and colour onto the building. However, as technology has advanced over time, the project has evolved immensely.
The ULA Group engaged the services of the Bruce Ramus and his team to not only create the content, but to assure that the technical d

Japan - Having expanded from its flagship venue in New York City, 1Oak, which stands for 1 Of A Kind, has recently opened a three-floor, 1000-capacity venue at the base of Roppongi Hills in Tokyo.
Sacha Robertson reports, “At the heart of the 1Oak approach is a focus on differentiation through design and function, capturing and curating the energy in each club. Interior design and lighting combine to play a major part, but ultimately that energy has its origin in sound.”
When it came to choices for the Tokyo venue, the interior design process was led by New York-based contemporary artist Roy Nachum, who was Grammy-nominated in 2016 for his cover artwork on Rihanna’s Anti album. With the club interior complete and the opening date fast approaching, 1Oak engaged the local d&b team to design and implement the all-important sound system.
1Oak owner Salvatore Morale says: “As a DJ I appreciate sound. At around the same time we were building the club I had started to notice that in all the places I visited around the world and heard great sound, whether that was a big festival, a hotel bar or an opera house, I was seeing d&b speakers. This was a clear sign for me.”
As with 1Oak clubs around the world, the latest Tokyo venue is not simply a nightclub. Founder Richie Akiva’s vision is that of an entertainment venue; an inspiring space capable of hosting live music, launches, premieres, after-parties and VIP events. Versatility without compromise underpins the business model.
Central to 1Oak Tokyo’s layout is a d&

Europe - In the field of outdoor event and broadcast production, adverse climate and other environmental conditions can impact negatively on the performance of equipment and the ultimate quality of production work.
Environmentally sealed connectors are in great demand for heavy-duty and harsh environment applications with entertainment equipment like PA systems, lighting, signage and LED screens. So, for critical production applications, in the most challenging conditions, there is now a range of resilient and reliable solutions, in the shape of Neutrik’s new TOP product range.
The new series includes the powerCON TRUE1, etherCON and XLR products, which have been certified in accordance with IEC 61076-2-103, IEC 60320, UL 1977 and UL 498, and which now also meet the requirements for outdoor use and UV resistance as laid out in UL50E.
“It is now possible to find products on the market that provide protection only against moisture and precipitation. The sun and ultraviolet rays are, in our view, also an important factor because they too influence the material and product quality over time,” says Norbert Nachbauer, product manager at Neutrik AG.
(Jim Evans)

UK - PLASA has been invited as one of six European Associations to attend the upcoming EU Commission meeting to address the proposed updates to the Eco-Design Working Plan 2016-2019 that would require all stage lighting to meet efficiency targets in line with domestic and office lighting. The proposed changes to the Eco-Design lighting regulations would have a commercially devastating effect on the industry should it become legislation in 2020.
“The impact this law would have on the whole entertainment industry is huge: venues, manufacturers, rental companies, and indeed lighting designers would be greatly affected,” says PLASA's MD, Peter Heath. “Video projection has been granted an exemption - this is what we and other trade bodies are now pushing for - the same exemption for stage lighting.”
Adam Bennette of ETC will represent the interest of PLASA members at a meeting in Brussels on 17th May. The meeting will address the EU’s proposed Eco-Design changes and give representatives of affected parties an opportunity to request exemption.
Adam Blaxhill, PLASA’s Chairman and the director of Stage Electrics, comments: “In drafting these new regulations, they have clearly not considered the impact they will have on the entertainment industry. Venues, rental companies, and sales operations all have significant sums invested in lighting inventory, which will be devalued by these proposed regulations - the financial impact on the entertainment industry is potentially huge.’’
All sectors of the entertainment industry are urg

UK - The transformation of the vacant former Bradford Odeon cinema into a 4,000-capacity live music, entertainment and events venue has been further bolstered with an extra £4m confirmed from the Government’s Northern Cultural Regeneration Fund. The funding has been secured by the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership.
The 1930s cinema has been vacant since 2000. The redevelopment will be one of the biggest of its type in the country outside of London and will bring Bradford back on the national touring circuit.
The venue, due to be run by NEC Group International, will aim to put on around 225 events to more than 270,000 people every year, creating 50 jobs in the city. The project is being led by a not-for-profit social enterprise, Bradford Live, assisted by Bradford Council.
Programme manager, Kirsten Branston from Bradford Live, said: “We would like to thank all those who backed the bid which has benefited from cross party support, in particular the efforts of Bradford Council and Bradford’s MPs. The redevelopment of this iconic building will be a magnificent legacy project for the Great Exhibition of the North.”
Phil Mead, managing director for Arenas and NEC Group International, added: “This is a project already generating a huge amount of excitement and goodwill – both as a building with tremendous history in its own right but also as a flagship investment that will help deliver a fantastic new venue for the city and support Bradford’s on-going regeneration as a vibrant, thriving destination. This latest funding news

UK - Yamaha Commercial Audio UK has a key commitment to training the sound engineers of the future. One of the ways that the company achieves this is through taking training ‘on the road’ to education facilities around the UK. BA (Hons) Live Sound degree students at the Plymouth campus of dBs Music have been the latest to benefit from a session, provided by Yamaha’s Tom Rundle and Chris Irvine.
Founded in 1998, dBs Music provides a range of professional sound courses, aimed at students who want to be a DJ, composer, performer, producer, a live or studio engineer. The Live Sound degree course started in September 2017, with the emphasis very much on practical experience.
dBs has invested in a Yamaha CL5 digital console, plus Rio3224-D and Rio1608-D I/O units, for the course. To give the Live Sound degree students a more comprehensive rundown on Yamaha’s digital mixing systems, Tom and Chris travelled to Plymouth with QL5, TF5 and TF3 consoles, a second CL5, plus DXR10 loudspeakers and headphones.
“An important part of our Live Sound degree is guest lectures and technical presentations to enhance the curriculum, allowing students to see the latest technologies and to network with audio professionals and subject experts,” says course leader Jim Parsons.
“We have a long relationship with Yamaha Commercial Audio and it was an excellent next step to get an expert like Tom to explain the more complex aspects of our CL5, as well as demonstrating other consoles in Yamaha’s digital range.”
Tom led the day with a series of practi

UK - Planning permission has been granted for the £48.8m transformation of Bristol’s Colston Hall.
The redevelopment of the venue includes refurbishing its historic facade, remodelling and upgrading the Main Hall and The Lantern, and utilising the Victorian cellars as a third performance space and education suite with classrooms and a technology lab.
Bristol Music Trust, the organisation that runs Colston Hall, and Bristol City Council have selected construction company Willmott Dixon as preferred contractor. Work will start in June and the new Hall is expected to re-open in 2020, with the Foyer set to stay open throughout the transformation.
Louise Mitchell, chief executive of Bristol Music Trust, comments: “Now our plans have been approved we’ve reached the final milestone as we approach the start of the Hall’s transformation. We are incredibly grateful for the hard work and dedication of our partners and supporters who have got us to this stage.
“The Hall hasn’t been updated since it opened in the 1950s, so it’s long overdue a transformational refurbishment that will give Bristol and the South West a world class venue to be proud of as we make our detailed plans a reality.”
Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol, adds: “Bristol has an internationally-renowned cultural offer, which also makes a major contribution to the local economy. We are really pleased that the Arts Council has committed this funding alongside our own investment and that of other city partners.”
Over £41m has been raised towards the project thro

Turkey - J&C Joel, in conjunction with their regional distributor Eramita, received the Turkish President’s seal of approval when they were commissioned to fit the stage engineering solutions at TCCB National Congress and Cultural Centre.
The Congress and Cultural Centre is one of the largest multi-purpose halls in Turkey and is located within the grounds of the Presidential Palace Complex in Ankara. The venue will be home to several types of performances ranging from concerts, operas, theatres, musicals to congresses or big meetings.
J&C Joel’s engineers took on one of the company’s biggest ever installations despite being caught in the middle of an attempted military coup in the country’s capital city. The installation in the 2,042-seat theatre took around seven months to complete with a team comprising a site project manager, four UK fitters and three local labourers.
J&C Joel’s project engineers carried out a full installation of the private theatre’s stage engineering solutions and drapery. This included a 45-axes powered flying system to provide over-stage suspensions for lighting, scenery and stage drapery, and a complete lift system consisting of a front of house lift and two orchestra lifts driven by Serapid Link-Lift systems.
The company also manufactured and installed main FOH curtains from custom-dyed Vegas Velvet Velour. Forestage Loudspeaker Hoists were also installed for the suspension of speaker clusters and the company also supplied a full Wenger ‘Diva’ Concert Shell system and all the loose Wenger

UK - As the want of returning sound designers has become more adventurous by the visit, and sound designs and PA systems have grown in complexity, so Manchester’s Royal Exchange theatre has stepped up to match the requirement by expanding its existing TiMax SoundHub to provide an impressive 48 x 48 analogue and MADI inputs/outputs. The upgrade also included a new Digico SD10T main console and QLab over MADI.
TiMax has been integral to the theatre’s sound control for just over two decades and the main productions appearing at the Royal Exchange have long benefitted from the advanced spatial programming that can be achieved effortlessly in TiMax. Head of sound, Sorcha Williams, who oversaw the last upgrade in 2014 to TiMax2 SoundHub, when the theatre’s original system came to its end of life after 16 years, notes that sound designers accompanying productions from elsewhere are amazed by the difference the Exchange is able to engineer. “Though all the settings remain the same, there’s disparity in the detail we’re able to pick out here and play with.”
The extra capabilities of the embellished TiMax system means the theatre can offer its sound designers greater possibilities with the in-house equipment and keep show budget for very specific requirements or building onstage practicals. With the added advantage of MADI, Williams explains, “We have essentially doubled our output capabilities as not only do we have the 48 channels dedicated to TiMax we also have another 56 analogue outputs from the SD rack and a further 8 on the console itself.

UK - With a prime site off London’s Leicester Square, Studio 88 has opened as a new concept in entertainment, billed as “a non-stop, audience requested, live music experience”.
The brainchild of Alan Lorrimer, founder of The House of Song, the venue features a stage that has been equipped with a premium Martin Audio sound system by W1 Productions, using a variety of the company’s components and control.
Every night, two piano vocalists and accompanying musicians form a six-piece band who play a non-stop repertoire of music through the Martin Audio system - decided only by the customers themselves who populate the 350-seat restaurant.
Both W1 Productions MD, Stuart Turvill, and operations manager, Alan Beck, have wide experience in using Martin Audio systems in their various guises, the latter having first encountered the legendary Philishaves and split bins while running FX Music with brother Dave back in the ‘80s.
“I have always been a Martin Audio person, and so it was a no brainer to specify the brand,” said Beck.
Here, the company has designed an ingenious stage system based on the venue’s extremely low ceiling height. Two XD12, mounted horizontally stage left and right, are complemented by four CDD8 in a pelmet line, which project the sound forward towards the main dancefloor. Low frequency extension is provided by three strategically placed Martin Audio S18 bins, and a further CSX112 sub.
W1 Productions had been recommended to the client by a mutual friend, and Stuart Turvill put together the design after vis

UK - In one of the company’s biggest ever projects in the UK, J&C Joel, helped keep sound in check by installing their acoustic solutions in the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire’s performance spaces.
The £57m facility is an international music and drama academy, which is part of Birmingham City University. It has over 500 students on undergraduate, postgraduate and research programmes, as well as a junior department of over 200 students. In 2015, renowned cellist and conductor Julian Lloyd Webber was named as Principal.
The Conservatoire has moved to a new building adjacent to Millennium Point, where Birmingham City University already has a campus. The new building includes The Concert Hall – a 500-seat concert hall with a large stage, to accommodate a symphony orchestra. Other venues include The Recital Hall with retractable seating, The Lab, a cutting edge, completely flexible black-box studio, and Eastside Jazz Club, the first permanent jazz space in any UK conservatoire
For the multifaceted project J&C Joel provided an array of stage engineering and acoustic solutions for The Concert Hall. This included 24 acoustic concertina banners, rolling beams, moving stage, temporary demountable forestage and an acoustic reflector rigging system.
One of the most important aspects of the job was the acoustic properties in the performance spaces. To improve the acoustics in The Concert Hall, 24 acoustic concertina banners were installed ranging in size from 2.2m wide to 4.5m wide.
The banners were manufactured by the in-house fabri

France - Green Hippo announces the appointment of ESL France as its French distributor. The agreement will see ESL France exclusively distribute Green Hippo’s line of cutting-edge hardware and software throughout France’s hugely significant economy.
Founded in 1992 by Alain Cornevaux and Olivier Verlet – with Serge Thiriot joining the duo shortly after launch – ESL has since added Paris premises to its Montpellier headquarters. In 2013 the company launched its Architectural Lighting Service, and today’s ESL France continues to offer a global service in the field of stage lighting.
Commenting on the new partnership James Roth, head of sales and marketing at Green Hippo, said: “France is a crucial market for Green Hippo. We fully recognise not only the size of the French economy, but also its population’s enduring love of live events. ESL France brings the necessary understanding of this region – as well as of the Green Hippo line – to help further grow our brand during 2018 and beyond. And we thoroughly look forward to helping them succeed.”
René Pujalte, managing director of ESL France, said: “We are big admirers of Green Hippo the company as well as its products. An award-winning product range is just part of what Green Hippo brings – its technical support, including the likes of HippoSchool training, is just one example of it going the extra mile in support of its end users. We are delighted to team with Green Hippo and we’ll also be going the extra mile – or kilometre as we might say! – to make this new collaboratio

USA - CrossRoad Baptist Church in Ames, Iowa was at a crossroads. The sound system it had relied on to deliver spirited services in its 450-seat auditorium had never possessed the kind of intelligibility the church members and staff had hoped for and age wasn't helping matters.
Originally called in with the hope that improved acoustics could do the job by itself, A/V integration firm Communication Innovators (Des Moines, Iowa) diagnosed the larger and deeper issues that were preventing congregants from fully immersing themselves in CrossRoad's services. The church's new Dante-connected digital system relies on a bank of high-value, high-reliability Ashly Audio nX-Series multi-channel amplifiers with optional Dante I/O.
"CrossRoad Baptist Church already had some acoustic treatment to deal with the reflective surfaces and they hoped they could address complaints by getting the remaining exposed surfaces covered," explained Eric Bishop, AVLI engineer with Communication Innovators. "We analysed their space and their existing system and found that the acoustics could be improved but there was also uneven coverage from the speakers preventing them from getting the kind of intelligibility they desired. In fact, reduced reverberation in the space may have reduced the perceived coverage of the speakers! We outlined the improvements that made logistical and financial sense given the age and capabilities of their existing equipment."
The main element worth keeping was a relatively new Midas M32 digital console. Bishop replaced the analogue snake they were usin

Russia - When Moscow’s original Luzhniki Stadium was demolished in 2013 to give way for the construction of a new stadium, it was with the 2018 FIFA World Cup in mind.
At the end of 2015, a new tender document was drawn up on behalf of the principals, The Big Sport Arena Luzhniki, for the 81,000 seat stadium, with the technological requirements detailed by Moscow integration specialists S-Pro Systems, together with the German company Broadcast Solution.
Selected by the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup bid as the venue for the Final, the Stadium will also be used as a heritage venue after the Championship.
At the heart of the new network broadcast transmission are some 57 Optocore and BroaMan fibre interfaces, designed in a fibre ‘star’ out of the ring topology, and supplied by Moscow-based distributor Audio Solutions. After the bid was accepted they became involved in the project as an S-Pro partner, with responsibility for equipment supply and warranty service management of the whole system.
They were able to demonstrate the advantages of producing a site-wide multi-node fibre transmission system and broadcast/multi-format links to the OB vans.
According to Igor Kovalev, who manages Audio Solutions’ pro audio department, “Optocore and BroaMan create a perfect synergy, providing an extremely robust optical network system for audio transport and auto routing functionality.
“Optocore I/O modules also have a wide working temperature range, which was one of the important criteria for choosing equipment for this project.”

Denmark - Aalborg Theatre is in the heart of Denmark’s attractive fourth largest city’s old town area. Established in 1878, it has a rich and colourful history and is known as a ‘heavyweight’ on the Danish theatre scene. This long standing critical fortitude was further advanced with the arrival of Hans Henriksen as artistic director in 2015, who had several key objectives including one to make the production programme more dynamic, cutting-edge and accessible.
One of the ways in which he’s achieving this is by changing the scheduling to repertory style, with several productions running simultaneously in rotation over several weeks, and this fundamental shift in turn demanded a different approach to lighting.
The installation of Robe DL series moving lights has helped complex shows to be quickly and efficiently turned around - de-rigged, re-rigged and re-lit on demand.
Robe was selected primarily on the recommendation of three lighting designers working regularly in the theatre – Kasper Daugsberg, Stine Fumz and Matthias Hersland.
An initial purchase of five DL4S Profiles at the start of the 2016 season (September) was followed by a further investment of 13 x DL7S Profiles in mid-2017. These were the first profile moving lights that the theatre has owned.
The fixtures can be moved between any of the three performance spaces – a 450-seater main auditorium, a studio seating 150 in different configurations and an experimental space that can accommodate 50 people. However, the DL7S’s so far have been used primarily in the mai

Switzerland - The Zurich Opera House entered the 2017/18 opera and theatre season following an extensive technical renewal that included new audio equipment, modernisation of its workflows, and fresh approaches to its sound reinforcement.
The Lawo mc²66 mixing console that was previously installed in the sound control room has been replaced with an mc²56, with a second an mc²56 also installed in the auditorium – making the sound control desk and auditorium desk mirrored consoles. Operated in mirror mode, the configurations, snapshots and adjustments of parameters that are performed on one console can also be recalled at the other. This ensures efficient preparation of performances, particularly where Microport systems are increasingly being used. Managed in this way, musical and children's opera projects planned for the future will be easier to mix in the hall.
The new Lawo mixing consoles offer 48 faders in the control room – a 32-fader console with a 16-fader extender that can also be connected to the hall console – and 16 faders at FOH, with both sharing a common core. Previously installed with the mc²66, this core remains the heart of the system and has been expanded with Wave SoundGrid with Gold Bundle, along with an additional Dante card. The capacity of the redundant routing card is 8192 x 8192 mono channels; four DSP cards provide 192 DSP channels of processing.
Both consoles can be used standalone or in two-person operation so that, for example, recordings are activated and controlled from the sound control room while the auditori

World - Mojo Barriers is supplying almost 2km of its bespoke touring barrier this autumn to a range of this year’s most anticipated tours.
With Mojo’s European office supplying tours including The Rolling Stones, Queens of the Stone Age and Queen & Adam Lambert, and the US office working with Katy Perry, Gorillaz, Guns N’ Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bruno Mars, 21 Pilots and Nick Cave, Mojo Barriers is in the midst of a busy touring season.
For Katy Perry’s Witness tour, the shape of the stage thrust required a carefully considered barrier configuration. The final design consisted of over 100m of barrier with many vario corners which enabled Mojo to create a flawless barrier set which followed the unusual contours of the stage perfectly. The system will be used for the remainder of the American leg and will continue to be used when the tour reaches Europe.
For the Rolling Stones’ European tour, No Filter, Mojo supplied a full front of stage set comprising of 200m of barrier. The creation of two VIP areas either side of the stage required a special configuration of barriers including six emergency exit gates. Mojo also provided a new product, Pipe & Drape, with 200m being used, along with two custom transport carts, to ensure the drape could be loaded and unloaded with ease.
Queen & Adam Lambert’s tour required full front of house and front of stage barrier sets. These comprised of 160m of barrier with a high number of fixed corners and a minimal amount of vario corners in order to create a continuous f

Finland - Helsinki City Theatre, the biggest professional repertoire theatre in Finland, has recently reopened its doors after an extensive three-year refurbishment and upgrade process. The technical part of the multi-million Euro renovation project was designed and managed by international theatre consultants Theatreplan.
“We were first approached by HCT in 2014 to work with them on a complete refit of the entire building,” explained Theatreplan director and stage engineering specialist, Dave Ludlam. The project started in March 2014 and was delivered in July 2017 for inauguration in August to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the modern Finnish nation.
Theatreplan carried out work on two of the six stages within the building: the ‘big stage’ with a capacity of 947, and the 347-seat ‘small stage’. The big stage now benefits from a re-shaped proscenium which has improved sightlines; increased power flying capacity; two new concentric revolving stages with three elevators inside.
“The revolves are now much more flexible and it’s a lot easier to reconfigure the orchestra pit,” said Ludlam. “We also put in a new modular floor which is much easier to use than the previous solution, and all goes towards making the stage a far more versatile and easy-to-work-with space. The small stage also benefits from a new revolve, modular floor and expanded point hoist system with significantly increased capacity.”
Theatreplan also designed brand new audio and lighting installations for both venues.
HCT technical director, Antti

UK - L-Acoustics ARCS WiFo system was specified for the Belfast Empire’s Empire Laughs Black Comedy Club to cope with the venue’s challenging configuration and architectural restrictions.
Owners Wine Inns Ltd required a new, high specification FOH sound system installed that would deliver excellent audio coverage across the venue’s dancefloor, as well as the raised tiers of seating areas and audience vantage points. The company’s technical manager, Will Barrett, contacted technical production company, Adlib, who recommended the L-Acoustics.
“The venue operator required an updated sound system that would supplement and support live performances for a wide number of genres from spoken word and comedy, to folk music and rock ’n’ roll at their vibrant and very popular city venue,” says Adlib director, Roger Kirby. “The venue’s ornate interior architecture presented challenges and limitations for any installation, with original wall surface finishes of wood panelling and extensive panelled timber surfaces amplifying and exciting mid-band frequencies,” Roger explains. “There is also a very large feature mirror feature in place forming a 10m long back bar, which again had the potential to generate additional unwanted high frequency reflections.”
Adlib arranged an initial on-site meeting with the client to undertake listening tests, SPL measurements and to discuss the pros and cons of the existing rig before finalising the brief for any new system, which would take all these elements these into account. The venue was then modelled