Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025
City Theatrical - Banner - July 2025

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USA / UK - TAIT has announced the acquisition of Stage Technologies and Delstar Engineering. A statement from TAIT says: "This acquisition sees the merger of the world's market leaders in the field of automation, staging and engineering for the live entertainment industry. The enhanced capacity of the groups provides the ability to offer unrivalled technology and expertise across the globe from locations on the East and West coasts of America, Belgium, Macau, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, China and Australia.

"The increased breadth and depth of the company will provide clients with an extensive palette of cutting edge technologies, which will include eChameleon, Navigator, F:Light, Sculptor toolkit for 3ds Max, plus a comprehensive range of winches and staging solutions for con

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UK - Lighting rental companies Fineline and GLS were among the first two on the UK mainland to receive delivery of Robe's new Pointe fixtures.

Southampton based GLS took 24 and Bristol-based Fineline took 12 units in this initial delivery ... which was co-ordinated by Ian W Brown of Robe UK.

However Fineline's fixtures also went directly from Robe to GLS - and straight out on their first cross-hire - on European shows for the Flaming Lips, with lighting designed by Eric Cathcart.

After that, they finally found their way to Fineline where they went out again on the Eden Sessions staged at The Eden Project in Cornwall for which Fineline was contracted to supply lighting and rigging for the first year.

Fineline's Rob Sangwell comments, "We are delighted with the Pointes. They are small, bright and really versatile units that do a whole load more than the nearest competit

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UK - Every year since 1993, the Goodwood Estate in Sussex, UK has hosted the Festival of Speed; a motoring event celebrating the greatest automotive marques and vehicles.

XL Events, working for client Shelton Fleming and their producer, Dan Rees, supplied an innovative interactive audio and video package for Audi UK's brand activation at the 20th Anniversary Festival of Speed event.

Audi's stand, the largest at the show, was located in the manufacturers' area and incorporated 1,700sq.m of external show space and a 400sq.m pavilion in which the experience was staged.

Based on Audi's victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2012 & 2013, the experience presented a series of Audi innovations that were designed for high performance racing and now feature in road cars.

Teaser and competition promotion videos were presented on four waterproof outdoor plasma screens from XL Events as

LSi 40 - Banner - July-Nov 2025

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UK - Richard Martin Lighting (RML) has recently added the Robert Juliat Alex Followspot to its already extensive inventory, available to hire today.

The Alex Followspot is a 2500w Tungsten unit and suitable for television studios and theatre productions. It contains a mechanical dimmer, which allows a constant colour temperature during dimming while additionally maintaining the flat beam which, as we know, is important when using sensitive camera equipment. Having a tungsten lamp allows for the units to be used with conventional theatre and television lighting, making sure no hot spots are visible.

With a G22 locking system exclusive to all Robert Juliat products, a localised on/off switch, and 7° to 14.5° zoom, the Alex Followspot is a product designed for big impact and ease of use.

Steve Wells, operations manager at RML said of the purchase, "Investing in Fol

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USA - Austin's Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is America's first purpose-built Formula One racing track. Completed in late 2012, COTA's campus includes the main grandstand with VIP lounge, the Grand Plaza with food court and shops, a 251ft (77m) observation tower and the pit building with an adjacent media centre. The track includes bleachers at several locations to supplement the grandstand seating.

Although the Formula One and other races are the site's main attractions, A/V systems play major supporting roles. Architect Tilke's Formula One designs include race control systems and basic audio and video systems but Circuit of the Americas chose to upgrade and/or supplement the A/V systems in many areas.

Circuit of the Americas retained consultant Acoustic Dimensions for many of the venue's networks and for the audio and video system upgrades. Acoustic Dimensions value enginee

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Our House Revival - Madness musical Our House is to be revived in a new actor-musician version of the show this autumn. The production will open at the New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich on 24 September, following previews from 12 September, and will then tour the UK.

Written by Tim Firth with music by Madness, the new production is directed by Peter Rowe, with choreography by Francesca Jaynes and musical direction by Dai Watts. Set and costume design is by Mark Walters, with lighting design by Ben Cracknell, sound design by Simon Deacon and video design by Will Dukes and Mike Higgs. Casting is by Debbie O'Brien.

Our House's original production won the Olivier Award for best new musical in 2003. It ran for 10 months at the Cambridge Theatre and was directed by Matthew Warchus. The musical was revived for a UK tour in 2008, also directed by Warchus.

Theatre Fundin

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UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) Ltd's lighting division supplied a significant quantity of SGM X-5 Strobes to lighting hire company Neg Earth for use on Glastonbury Festival's Other Stage.

Tom Lesh, house LD for The Other Stage chose to rig 28 SGM X-5 Strobes across three trusses as he explains: "We rigged 28 of them across three trusses - and kept two spare - to add some visual depth to the stage both for the audience and of course for the TV cameras. We also needed something that would cut through in the bright summer sunshine and these strobes were ideal. They were a big hit on the Other Stage during the festival, being used by LDs for the three high-profile headline acts, as well as many others further down the bill.

"For those bands that played in the daylight the SGM X-5s were also welcome additions. Bands included the Foals, Alt J, Tame Impala, Th

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UK - Entertainment lighting specialist White Light was recently chosen to supply lighting for the new musical version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which opened earlier this year at London's Theatre Royal Drury Lane to critical and public acclaim.

Directed by Sam Mendes - returning to theatre after directing Skyfall, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory features an a-list creative team including Writers David Greig, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, Choreographer Peter Darling, Designer Mark Thompson, Sound Designer Paul Arditti, Projection Designer Jon Driscoll and Lighting Designer Paul Pyant, who has collaborated with Mendes regularly during and since his time at the helm of London's Donmar Warehouse.

Lighting designer Paul Pyant, working with associate lighting designer, David Howe, specified a very modern lighting rig, using moving lights and LED l

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UK - When the Barbican Theatre in the Barbican Centre Arts Complex closed its doors for a major 15 week overhaul in May, Unusual Rigging was brought in to put together an access platform to enable the replacement of the entire grid.

Originally a lyric theatre, and long term home to the Royal Shakespeare Company, the theatre is now called upon to host a far greater range of international touring productions as well as its own in-house productions. As such the entire flying grid and system needed replacing to keep up with the growing demands placed upon the theatre's technical team.

Ashley Pickles, theatre technical manager (systems and maintenance) at the Barbican Theatre said, "This is a major project for us, removing not just the existing flying grid and system but also some of the gallery and proscenium bridge structures in order to expand the width of the stage and gen

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UK - Voting is now open for the Technical Theatre Awards, with 36 talented theatre workers shortlisted for the 12 'individual' awards, some of whom have been working within their speciality for over 20 years and are already extremely well established within the industry.

Alongside the awards dedicated to extraordinary individuals, four companies and three theatres will go head-to-head for the two company-based awards that are up for grabs: the Hire Company of the Year Award, and the 'Spotlight Accounting' Receiving Venue of the Year Award.

An additional award is dedicated to the theatre that has demonstrated the most effective awareness of venue sustainability and will be chosen and presented by leading industry specialists, :entertaining sustainability.

Voting is open to all members of the theatre industry and organisers are promoting each of the nominee's on the TTA websit

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Lebanon - Martin Audio has changed distributor in Lebanon, appointing Beirut-based Technosound with effect from 1 July.

Founded in 1969, and with a large portfolio of sole agencies in the high end pro audio sector, the company made its first approach to the British loudspeaker manufacturer at the ISE 2012 show in Amsterdam.

According to Technosound director of sales and marketing, Pierre Fahed, the company will be focusing on all core markets - from high end concert touring systems through to discreet boutique installation speakers.

"Martin Audio already has good brand awareness in our local market but we want to improve on the distribution strategies," he said. "We have been receiving excellent support from [director of sales] Simon Bull and [export sales manager] Dominic Jacobson and plan to set up product presentation and local training for all Martin Audio

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UK - Milton Keynes' AV and large-scale LED screen hire outfit Vector Lighting is gives clients the chance to have a look behind the scenes as they open doors to show off some of their latest technology.

Vector Lighting provides lighting and audio visual hire solutions for a range of uses including conferences, exhibitions, corporate and special events, and a range of professional services including lighting design, retail installations and exhibition management.

From Thursday 1 August to Friday 9 August, Vector Lighting will open their doors to show some of their latest LED video wall solutions, video mapping, LED gobo and high-output LED lighting hire stock. With 20 years experience hiring lighting fixtures and AV solutions, the company has a wealth of experience working in the UK and Europe for clients including Harvey Nicholls and Levis as well as partner production agencie

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Russia - Clay Paky's lightweight yet powerful A.leda Wash K20 luminaires and pure beam Sharpys have teamed up to create a 'Las Vegas-style' light show to launch a new floating restaurant in Moscow.

The Moscow-based Arlecchino Group, which supplies lighting to events across the region, provided the robust and lightweight Clay Paky A.Leda Wash K20s and the high output Sharpys for the launch of the restaurant on a boat, named Чaйka, or 'Seagull', which is moored in the centre of the city.

"The idea was to create an atmosphere of Las Vegas, beaming powerful light beams into the sky," says Sergey Kupriyanov, general director Arlecchino group. "To achieve this we used 39 Clay Paky Sharpys complemented by the A.leda Wash K20s, which were positioned around the roof of the boat. These pointed outwards and moved up and down from a horizontal beam to beams proj

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Netherlands - A large and enthusiastic group of service managers and technicians from several countries visited Elation's Customer Care Centre in July for the company's Pro Service Day. The one day seminar provided attendees with in-depth training and detailed hands-on exercises servicing the company's popular Platinum Wash and Platinum Spot moving head series products.

"We were very pleased with the overwhelmingly enthusiastic response to our Pro Service Day," said Roger Hamers, R&D director for Elation Europe. "As a company, Elation believes that maintaining the highest customer service standards is essential to our success. The extraordinary level of interest we saw in our Pro Service Day demonstrates that our customers share this philosophy."

In addition to holding training events like Pro Service Day, Elation helps its customers deliver superior servic

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USA - It wouldn't be the Fourth of July without the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular and Robert Juliat Cyrano followspots helped light up the annual event, which was televised live from the Charles River Esplanade.

The free outdoor concert marked its fortieth anniversary. The event draws over 500,000 people each year to the Boston and Cambridge sides of the Charles River. Audiences wait with anticipation to hear the Boston Pops' now classic rendition of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture with real cannons, church bells and fireworks, The Stars and Stripes Forever with ceremonial American flag drop and confetti shot; and watch a final explosive fireworks array. This year musical guests included Susan Tedeschi, Ellis Hall, Howie Day, Ayla Brown, and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. Keith Lockhart conducted the Boston Pops Orchestra.

"The event was a lot of fun

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Belgium - Audio rental house Studio Haifax is the first Belgium company to take delivery of a Coda Audio ViRAY system. Purchased from Coda's Belgium distributor Apex Audio, the company has made this significant investment, says Studio Haifax Audio/System and Studio Engineer Yves Van Moerbeke, "because it sounds incredibly real".

Established over a decade ago, Studio Haifax has experienced a period of rapid growth over the last few years. "This has everything to do with the professionalism that every single one of Haifax's technicians brings to the job every single day," says Yves. "But with good intentions only, you don't perform a single show."

After the success of Belgium rock band Zornik's Less > More theatre tour, for which Studio Haifax supplied a Coda Airline LA8 system, the company became better known within the Belgian live entertai

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UK - Capital Sound Hire packed up its Nexo STM system in late June and headed down to Cornwall for the Eden Sessions, a series of outdoor concerts held in the beautiful grounds of the Eden Project. During the course of two weeks, artists including the Kaiser Chiefs, Tom Tom Club, Sigur Ros, Daughter, Willy Mason, the xx, Chic featuring Nile Rogers, Jessie J and A*M*E*, were part of what's been described in the UK press as "The most sublime summer music festival you could ever hope to experience," and "Magical... half Glastonbury, half Glyndebourne."

Capital configured the STM system in L/R arrays of 12x M46 Main cabinets and 12x B112 Bass units, with the M46s on the outside of the hangs, and 8x S118 Subs ground stacked per side. The main hang configuration remained the same for the duration of the event. "We thought this was the best option as the covera

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UK - Phil Christodolou and Graham Baker have announced that Alistage Ltd is open for business and currently operating out of Harlow, offering a full range of indoor and outdoor stage systems, dome roof systems, and front of stage barriers; available as both dry hire or with full service options for the event, conference, TV and film industries.

The stock includes the entire range of equipment previously available from Aliscaff Ltd who traded as Alistage.

The new company opened for business at the start of July and will be offering a newer streamlined service, with competitive pricing, as well as an option for full technical production support along with Centre Stage who currently operate within the live sound and lighting hire sectors.

Alistage Ltd can be contacted on 01279 406 270 or by email at sales@alistage.co.uk

(Claire Beeson)

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USA - Students rooting for the home team at Excelsior Springs High School in Excelsior Springs, Missouri, can now enjoy vibrant, crystal-clear sound as they take in football games and other events at their school's outdoor stadium. As part of a long-overdue audio upgrade, the school has installed two Technomad PowerChiton 500 modules at the stadium to drive its loudspeakers, significantly improving sound quality.

Kansas City, Missouri-based systems integrator Harvest Productions, which performed the upgrade, housed the new PowerChiton modules inside the stadium's scoreboard. The compact PowerChiton design enabled the unusual installation, ensuring they are not visible to spectators. The PowerChiton amplifiers now deliver 1100 watts at four ohms, with excellent sound quality across the stadium.

The weatherproof design also ensures better outdoor protection than the school's pre

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Switzerland - Reggaeton pioneer Daddy Yankee recently gave a well-received performance in Lausanne, his signature sound backed by D.A.S. Aero Series 2 professional sound systems. The concert was part of the I Love Reggaeton Festival held at Lausanne's Malley indoor arena, where over 6,000 fans converged to revel in the sounds of some of the biggest acts in the industry. The Puerto Rican artist headlined the festival, sharing the stage with a variety of world-renowned names in reggaeton like Prince Royce, Papa London and Rodri-go.

After weighing a number options event promoter Pro Sound & Light, with Paulo Martins at the helm, decided to roll out D.A.S. Aero Series 2 systems for the Daddy Yankee concert.

Led by sound technician Ricardo Peláez, the Pro Sound & Light team deployed 16 large-format D.A.S. Aero 50 line arrays for the main system in a typical left-right set-u

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UK - An integrated JBL / BSS Soundweb audio solution has been deployed by Sound Division Group - in London's most iconic building.

On the 31st and 33rd floors of the spectacular Shard, the tallest building in Western Europe, David Yeo, founder of Aqua Restaurant Group, has opened two diverse restaurants - aqua shard (31st floor) and Hutong (33rd floor). Situated halfway up the building, they offer panoramic views over the London skyline.

Having earlier worked at Aqua London in Regent Street, David Graham's AV integration company was awarded the contract to provide sound reinforcement and control at the new venues - along with a full CCTV package. They have designed elaborate background music systems, with facility for a punchier system at the 31st floor atrium bar, while Soundweb London devices, located in the central comms room on the 31st floor, distribute feeds over an exte

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