The three original venues of the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) in Brisbane, have undergone an extensive lighting overhaul. The 2,000-seat Lyric Theatre, the 2000-seat Concert Hall and the 320-seat Cremorne Theatre opened in 1985 and, together with the 850-seat Optus Playhouse, now form the largest installation of ETC lighting and control systems in Australia. The Cremorne uses one of two Express 250 consoles purchased for QPAC's two new rehearsal studios, but will inherit an Obsession II from the Lyric when it is replaced by an Obsession II 1500. The Concert Hall uses two Express 72/144 desks, while the 850-seat Optus Playhouse boasts an Obsession II 1500 channel desk with full tracking back-up, as well as the largest installation of ETC Source Fours in Australia, with 457 Source Fours and 20 Source Four Pars.

Miss Saigon closes at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on October 30th following a record-breaking run of more than 10 years. White Light have been with the show from the very beginning, supplying David Hersey's complex and ambitious rig and then supporting and updating it through the years. The original rig included one of the earliest uses of the now-ubiquitous Rainbow scrollers along with 110 CCT Silhouettes, 80 Par cans, 12 R&V beamlights and over 110 Coda floods of various types, as well as classic lanterns such as Patt 264s and Patt 23s used to dress the club scenes. Control for the rig was from the theatre's Galaxy 2 console for the length of the run. Miss Saigon also saw the first use of a colour-changing version of the motorised light curtain earlier used on Les Misérables - an effect achieved using a then-newly developed Rainbow light curtain scroller.

Los Angeles-based UV/FX has produced a new scenic design for Rick's Place nightclub in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with the help of their new Day to Night and 3D scenic painting technique. The painting was completed by UV/FX's creative director Kent Mathieu and lead scenic artist Rhett Butler (yes, really) in two weeks on-site. The effect produced is of a rain forest with a 'day' appearance under normal light and a 'night' appearance under ultra violet light. This is coupled with a 3D effect, and 3D glasses are distributed to customers to provide the full experience.

Cardiff-based Theatre Vision are busy supplying equipment to a number of key projects surrounding the Rugby World Cup in October and November. The largest of these has been the World Cup supporters Village in Bute Park, a 2,500 capacity venue with a large Megascreen LED screen, a music stage and a 100ft bar. Theatre Vision supplied all mains distribution to the massive site for catering, show, site LX, heating and many other elements. The main stage lighting, designed by Tim Routledge, is suspended on a Slick ground support tower system comprising three large goal posts wrapped in drapes, with the screen providing the focus on the event. The rig consists mainly of Martin's Mac 600 and 500 luminaires, with some generics. As a special feature, a number of Mac 'chandeliers' were constructed, with Mac 250 and 300 moving lights mounted on Trilite truss shapes.

St. George's, Brandon Hill, is a well-established Chamber Concert hall, created in the shell of a disused church. In recent months it has undergone substantial renovation in a phased programme, of which Phase I is now complete, and has involved primarily the securing of the external fabric. Stagetec were awarded the sub-contract to design, supply and install new stage lighting, sound and communications systems in association with theatre consultants Carr & Angier. The luminaires utilised to fulfil the specification were the Selecon Pacific cool beam profile spots (Acclaim PCs and Profiles) and the ETC Source Four MCM PAR. The Pacifics and Acclaims provided the front light and the Source Fours the down light over the stage area. The Source Fours were controlled from individual CCT Freedom dimmers and the remaining luminaires from Light Processor Paradime hardwired dimmer packs. A Compulite Photon lighting desk provides the main control system complete with riggers control and DMX splitter. The existing Lightolier houselight control system was refurbished and integrated into the new installation. The contract also included a PA system which had to be discrete and not interfere with the architecture of the building - to this end RCF column speakers were distributed around the building.

The Athlone Stadium in South Africa's Western Cape province has been chosen to be the regional home of soccer, and will receive a 49m Rand (£4.85m) upgrade. The first phase of the project (12m Rand - £1.18m) will see the replacement of the stadium's floodlighting system. The second phase will involve the upgrading of the existing west stand and the construction of an open east stand. The new west stand will have 14 private boxes, VIP seating, adjoining recreational space and players' facilities to meet FIFA standards. Construction of the first phase is due to be completed by April or May 2000.

Contact: Mr Saleem Mowzer, Cape Town City Council, Exco Committee Chairperson, PO Box 298, Cape Town, South Africa 8000. T: +27 21 400 1111 F: +27 21 418 6036

Nashville's new Outer Limit club is something of a hybrid venue. Within the complex, situated on the outskirts of Music City, are four different club venues: Coconuts has a South Pacific feel complete with Adirondack chairs, palm trees, tiki huts and a waterfall on stage, Hysteria has a Kiss-style multi-level stage with a large lighting rig, outfitted in diamond plating with a neon dance floor, Lava Lair has a gothic feel to it, including cast iron gates and a 30-foot long plaster dragon and erupting volcano, whilst Neptunes, as one might expect, comes complete with pirate ship and open seas. The one thing these venues have in common is that each of their unique sounds are heard thanks to Electro-Voice speaker systems. Dan (Tracey) Castonguay, the Outer Limit's sound designer spec'd the system which includes 22 Electro-Voice Sx80 compact fill speakers. Coconuts has two T55 top boxes, two Sb180 subs, one PSX2000 mixer and one R Series wireless system. Hysteria includes four MTL-1 Dual 18-inch subs, four MTH-1 top boxes, four Sx500 dance fill speakers, and one R Series wireless system. Lava Lair" hosts six MTL-1 Dual 18-inch subs, six Sx500 top boxes and one R Series wireless system. Neptunes has four MTL-1 Dual 18-inch subs, four Sx500 top boxes, and one R Series wireless system.

The Hammersmith Palais has undergone a major refurbishment - the 2,300-capacity venue has reopened after two years of disuse, thanks to a £1 million refurbishment which has given the famous 80-year old dancehall a new lease of life. Part of the upgrade includes a new sound system spec, the contract for which fell to Tarsin Ltd who in turn worked with Marquee Audio to supply the complete order. The new-look Palais boasts six bars and a VIP area. The main club system is based around a Nexo Alpha E loudspeaker system, driven by Crown MA amplification, and mixed through an Allen & Heath GL-3300. The outboard rack is plugged with industry standard Yamaha SPX-1000s and Roland SDE-330s. The front-end club and other source equipment also meets a high specification, and includes Tascam DA30 DAT player, Tascam 202 cassette player, Sony MDS-E55 and DRE1 minidisc recorders, three Technics SL1210 turntables, two Pioneer CDJ500 CD players and a Rane MP24 DJ mixer.

Island East is a massive new commercial and high class residential development in Hong Kong. Its remarkable 'by appointment only' corporate visitor centre includes show areas, meeting rooms and marketing suites tailored to different kinds of customers. One of the key features is a 180° video show, designed by Electrosonic, which uses five Barco 707 projectors, with butted images projected onto a metal mesh. The mesh screen has lighting effects behind and during the show, the centre screen splits to reveal a rear projected image. All video sources are from Electrosonic MPEG2 video servers. Electrosonic ESLINX is used to control the 48 channels of dimming, the video servers, the Peavey X-Frame Media Matrix and the motorised doors.

Good news for clubland, because there's a brand new clubbing venture on the way for 2000! The former Music Factory, situated on the outskirts of Sheffield's City Centre on London Road, has been taken over under the Gatecrasher Group of Companies. Despite various rumours circulating, this will not be a 'Gatecrasher 2'. The Music Factory is a venue synonymous with Northern clubbing and bears an enviable history of successful club nights. The 1,270 capacity venue has been closed since April this year and will welcome a much-needed interior and exterior refurbishment. Plans for an extensive refurbishment, launch details, plus artist and resident information with a twist will be revealed shortly.

UK distributor Sound Dept has supplied an EAW sound system and Crest amplification to the discotheque Club 2000, which is situated within the Grill complex in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal. The installation contract was won by Scotland-based Northern Light following a visit by David Nazir and a demonstration of the system to Paul McGlinshey, owner of the 1,500 capacity venue.Nazir specified four three-way ASV 7652s, which are flown, and four SB528EP subs, configured in pairs and sited under the two dance podiums. A further four EAW MK5194s are used for infills, along with part of the old main dance system which was replaced. A pair of Crest CA18s power the subs, supported by a pair each of CA12s for the bass, CA9s for the mids and CA6s for the tops. The whole system is processed with a Rane DSP device. Nazir has commissioned another EAW/Crest system on behalf of Northern Light, for Polo Lounge club and bar in Glasgow, for King City Leisure.

Ethos Acoustics' newest loudspeaker, the Performer, has been delivered for installation in the soon to be re-opened Royal Opera House in London's Covent Garden. Selected for both on-stage use and for auditorium in-fill, the Performer exceeded the exacting performance targets set by the House, both in terms of accuracy and power from a small enclosure. The ROH joins existing user Trans World Television (TWI) with their selection of the Performer Pro variant. The speakers are rugged but unobtrusive, incorporating facilities for a full pan and tilt bracket, secure fixing for a safety chain and steel protection grilles over the over the drive units.

Abbey Road Studios has opened a new remastering and audio restoration suite, where award-winning engineers Simon Gibson and Andrew Walter will be working to provide clients with state-of-the-art technical equipment and the benefit of their experience in the production of high quality remastered recordings. The new facility is equipped with 5.1 surround sound monitoring to enable the remastering of multi-channel recordings for DVD, offering a one-stop shop for clients considering the transfer of archive material to DVD.

Pro Sound & Light Services was recently commissioned to design a specific audio system for the Cross nightclub in London's Kings Cross area. The company's Andy Linklater designed and installed the system using RCF's Vision Series contractor loudspeakers. In designing the system, Linklater had to deal with brick archways, low ceiling heights and potential noise complaints from local residents. A total of 10 RCF Vision PA281 enclosures, four RCF Vision PA261 enclosures and eight RCF 18s800 chassis in custom-designed sub bass enclosures were used to realise the seamless coverage patterns.

Maltbury's Special Projects team has recently completed a major project for the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea, where it supplied and fitted a bespoke, demountable seating tier system, comprising 64 special Metrodeck frames, to the 1,000 seat auditorium in the art deco, Grade 1 listed building, situated on the town's seafront. The £800,000 refurbishment and restoration of the auditorium is part of a wider refurbishment programme of the Pavilion and was completed within the five-week 'window' in August and September.

The Royal Court Theatre in London's Sloane Square is in the final stages of a massive rebuild programme, costing in the region of nearly £26m. Bristol-based Stage Electrics won the competitive tender to supply and fit the production lighting, sound and communications systems worth around £1million, to a specification originated by the Royal Court and their consultants, Theatre Projects.

After 12 years of planning, the Dream Factory finally opened its doors officially for the first time last month. The permanent Warwickshire home of the Playbox Theatre, the Dream Factory is the first purpose-built young peoples' theatre in the UK. Sceno Plus, the design arm of Cirque du Soleil, was responsible for the theatre design, the technical aspects of which were put into practice by Northern Light. Lighting is Strand throughout, whilst the sound is simple but effective, with a variety of Crown-powered Martin Audio cabinets, a 24-channel Soundcraft K1, with FOH and backstage paging amps from TOA, and a Baldwin Boxall induction loop system.