Lighting

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15 April 2025

Netherlands - M&S Showtechniek is a lively, ambitious and fast-growing full production – lighting, rigging, audio and video – and rental company based in Amersfoort, The Netherlands, run by Pim Muller and Jeroen van der Stap.

They started the company in 2011 while still at high school and formalised the structure as soon as they graduated, deciding to target the delivery of quality events wanting an imaginative approach and quality production values. From the outset, they kept ploughing profits into new and innovative equipment, a policy that soon led them to Robe moving lights.

The first Robes to join the M&S inventory were 24 x LEDBeam 150s in 2017. At this stage, M&S Showtechniek was among the first companies in the Netherlands to invest in these handy and powerful little moving lights, which have been a popular and successful prod

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15 April 2025

Netherlands - Dakota Theater, one of The Hague’s eight cultural anchors and a vibrant artistic hub of the Dutch city, has taken a significant step into the future with the installation of a cutting-edge LED lighting system by Elation. The upgrade marks a major improvement in functionality, creative flexibility, and energy efficiency, providing enhanced creative possibilities for designers and a richer visual experience for audiences.

As one of the key cultural venues in The Hague, Dakota Theater hosts an array of artistic productions, from experimental theatre and festivals to film screenings, musical performances, workshops, and presentations. With a 184-seat theatre, 64-seat movie theatre, and an affiliated school, the venue required a modern lighting system that could meet the diverse demands of its programming.

Recognising the need for an upgra

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15 April 2025

Brazil - Located in Penha, Santa Caterina, Beto Carrero World is the largest theme park in South America. Amongst its many attractions is the big, bright and colourful Madagascar Circus Show, a musical extravaganza themed on the third in the children’s film series Madagascar, in which the characters dance and perform circus stunts.

Over 30 artists work to create this energy-filled spectacle against a backdrop of 120sq.m of LED screens. With a show of this size and vividness, a powerful followspot was needed to deliver enough emphasis and delineation for the amazing performers and their acts. Bring on the dancing Robert Juliat Arthur followspot, an 800W LED powerhouse which answered all the challenges the flamboyant circus show could throw at it.

Two of the Arthur 1014 models - in the first ever installation for Brazil - were suppl

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15 April 2025

USA - City Theatrical has released a new update to its DMXcat app, version 2.1.0.9.0.0, which includes the Flicker Finder function in the DMX Tester app, among other enhancements, when connected to City Theatrical’s DMXcat-E test tool device.

DMXcat-E users can start using these new features by updating their DMXcat smartphone app from the App Store or Google Play (requires Apple iOS 13+ or Android OS 6.0+, 64-bit). As outlined in City Theatrical’s DMXcat-E Quick Start Guide, the DMX Tester app allows the DMXcat-E and DMXcat devices to Analyze DMX, View Levels, and perform the Flicker Finder function.

The Flicker Finder function allows the user to find the source of any DMX Flicker on the DMX universe by setting levels and noting if any levels have changed. Flicker Finder allows you to take a snapshot of the slot levels of an incoming un

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14 April 2025

Germany - The world of events is changing – it is becoming smarter, more immersive, and greener than ever. Prolight + Sound 2025 demonstrated how the industry is actively shaping this change – with innovative products, interdisciplinary know-how, and practical applications. Over 23,000 trade visitors from 108 countries used the 30th anniversary of the show to gain fresh inspiration for their work and make new contacts.

Technology was brought to life in all areas – from intelligent lighting and sound solutions to automated camera systems and sustainable concepts for energy-efficient events. 491 exhibitors plus numerous well-known brands presented their innovations and solutions for tomorrow.

Prolight + Sound 2025 welcomed visitors from all over the world. For example, from Europe, especially from the Netherlands, France, Italy and Spain; from Ea

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14 April 2025

China - Over 50 Christie 1DLP laser projectors have redefined the cultural tourism experience in Hubei province with Ballad of Chu, an immersive theatrical performance that blends history and technology. As China’s first indoor immersive performance themed around Jingchu culture, this large-scale production sets a new standard for integrating projection technology into heritage-based attractions.

Located in Mulan Everbright Town, the home of folk heroine Hua Mulan, Ballad of Chu brings to life the rich heritage of Jingchu culture through visual effects and immersive storytelling. The 14,000sq.m venue comprises multiple performance spaces, including the third-floor theatre, the second-floor Zhaojun Goes to the Frontier performance, and the Battle of Red Cliffs projection zone. Jianye Display played a pivotal role in the p

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14 April 2025

UK - Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has offered his support for Production Futures’ forthcoming On Tour event at the city’s AO Arena.

The free-of-charge event which takes place on 28 April is set to attract a wide range of young people from across the North West of England, and promotes employability, transferable skills, diversity, free training, networking, and paid work opportunities to newcomers across the live event and broadcast production industry.

This will be Production Futures’ second visit to the AO Arena following last year’s successful event which was attended by a host of world-leading manufacturers, supply and production companies, venues and distributors.

Andy Burnham, who also visited last year’s event, comments: “Greater Manchester has a proud history of creativity and innovation in live events an

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14 April 2025

USA - As part of the company's continued product line expansion, with a focus on the mid-market of the professional entertainment lighting industry, ADJ has introduced two new DMX-over-Ethernet nodes.

Both units feature RJ45 Ethernet input and output ports and are compatible with standard DMX512, including RDM, as well as the Art-Net and sACN protocols. They can be used with both line voltage and Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) systems as well as DHCP or static IP addressing. A convenient 1.7” LCD display screen on the front panel of each model allows intuitive configuration via a menu interface navigated using a rotary push-to-select control. In addition, the devices can also be configured remotely via a web browser interface and feature LED indicators for each socket that signal data transmission activity.

The devices also feature a programmable memory

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14 April 2025

USA - City Theatrical founder Gary Fails has been recognised as the recipient of ESTA’s 2025 Lifetime Technical Achievement Award. This award was presented by ESTA executive director Erin Grabe at ESTA’s AGM at the Hilton Columbus Downtown Hotel in Columbus, Ohio. The event was scheduled two hours before doors opened at Columbus Convention Center for the first day of the USITT Annual Conference & Stage Expo 2025.

“I am truly humbled to be selected for this award, and it makes me reflect on my 53-year career in entertainment lighting,” said Gary Fails. “When I decided to go into manufacturing, we signed up for the ESTA membership, marketed to their member lists, and the ESTA dealer members became City Theatrical distributors, which City Theatrical still does business with today.

“I have a lot of respect for what Erin Grabe and

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11 April 2025

UK - PLASA Focus Leeds returns to the Royal Armouries from 13-14 May 2025, with its highly anticipated seminar programme now live. Designed to reflect the current needs and future ambitions of the live entertainment technology sector, this year’s programme will explore critical topics across audio, sustainability, emerging professionals, and artificial intelligence.

Across the two-day show, visitors will gain insight from technical pioneers, creative leaders, and forward-thinking organisations. All sessions are free to attend and take place on Level 1 of the Royal Armouries on a first come, first served basis.

Audio innovation in focus 

The 2025 programme brings a strong emphasis on professional audio, with highlights including an exclusive audience with FOH sound engineer Robb Allan, whose work spans from Radiohead to Mas

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11 April 2025

USA - R90 Lighting, one of the Pacific Northwest’s largest and most prominent lighting rental houses, recently received a delivery of Paragon LED profile fixtures just in time to deploy them on a private event with Gwen Stefani – one of the first major US shows to utilise Elation’s new flagship lighting fixture. 

“We didn’t have a single hiccup involving these lovely new lights,” said Joe Cole, owner of R90 Lighting, after the event. “Everything was great right out of the box, and the spares stayed in their cases. New products usually have some wrinkles to iron out, but these fixtures were dialled in from the start. We look forward to seeing these in action over the coming months on many shows.”   

The decision to expand R90’s inventory with 48 Paragon M fixtures is part of the company's commitment to offering the latest high-pe

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11 April 2025

UK - Lighting designer Ed Warren noticed the way light hit a mirror ball over his video wall and drape backdrop when rehearsing for Michael Kiwanuka's recently completed Small Changes tour, opening the door to a powerful creative opportunity.

"It was a happy accident," said Warren. "When we ran through things in rehearsals, I decided to hit the mirror ball with a single spot from below, wash out some blue light, add a bit of haze, and it worked perfectly – of course with the help of incredible visuals from my video designer Ed Hoare. We came up with a look that made it seem as if a single plume of smoke was rising up the backdrop. It really was a magical moment, everyone just stood there with their jaw on the floor."

That particular look was just one of many nuances that Warren called upon to set a deeply evocative aura on stage for his Gr

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10 April 2025

Belgium - Clouseau recently entertained audiences with a series of spectacular shows at the Sportpaleis Antwerpen, Belgium's largest indoor venue. The Clouseau 40 anniversary shows, celebrating the band's 40-year milestone, sold out the 23,000-capacity Sportpaleis an impressive 14 times, continuing their yearly live performance tradition at the venue which was first established in 2000. For these high-profile performances, the Follow-Me Track-iT system was integral to delivering the band's larger-than-life experience.

Clouseau is one of Belgium’s most famous and successful bands, renowned for their catchy melodies, heartfelt lyrics, and high-energy performances. Formed in 1984, the band has enjoyed decades of success, with numerous chart-topping albums and sold-out concerts. Led by brothers Koen and Kris Wauters, Clouseau has built a dedicated fan

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10 April 2025

USA - There are occasions when a massive rig can transform a stage, especially when it's designed and controlled with the artistry and precision that designer Jimmy Yeret demonstrated recently at the New Jersey Performing Arts Centre.

Working for his client, the Pivot Group, Yeret of Dynamic Vision tapped into a massive rig at the venue to create a transformative stage that morphed into an array of different looks for the 2025 HASC A Time For Music concert with timecode automation, a motorised sun structure, extensive staggered video walls, and a supportive lighting rig supplied by 4Wall Entertainment and Eagle Productions that featured 183 Chauvet Professional fixtures.

"Our stage rig dimensions were 72ft at their widest point downstage and 35ft at their narrowest point upstage with a rig depth of 32ft," said Yeret. "The venue's steel reach

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10 April 2025

USA - Country music’s rising star Alexandra Kay is out on the road on her headline tour, Cupid’s a Cowgirl, spanning 31 cities across the United States and Canada. The tour, with a lighting system from Bandit Lites, launched at the end of February and will run through 6 April 2025.

Having worked as Alexandra Kay’s LD for about a year, Corbin Alvae pivoted his previous experience of rock and metalcore to Kay’s style. 

“With AK’s show, the biggest thing I focused on was making sure it brought the visual side of what we envisioned when planning this design. Hints of flashy moments, but also big, fun moments and making sure she was lit up as the focal point,” he said. “I really went towards defining that her and the band looked like superstars on stage every night.”

The system ultimately landed on the vibe that Kay dub

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10 April 2025

Europe - Claypaky is featuring a number of newly released products at PL+S 2025 in Frankfurt this week.

Tambora Stormy Linear is a hybrid bar that delivers ‘bursts of stunning graphical strobes that cut through darkness’. With extreme brightness, pixel-perfect control, and seamless modularity, Tambora Stormy Linear transforms productions into an immersive experience that audiences won't just see but feel in their core.

Tambora Glare merges vintage aesthetics with cutting-edge technology. Whether you’re designing for a dynamic EDM festival, a theatrical production, or a live TV broadcast, Tambora Glare delivers ‘unparalleled performance and visual impact’.

Volero Twins is a hybrid fixture with dual powerful engines working in harmony, delivering versatility without sacrificing performance. This solution combines the creative freedom

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09 April 2025

Europe - Cyndi Lauper took a final lap of the UK and Europe with her Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour with PRG entrusted to supply a full 360-degree package, including lighting, video, rigging and audio, for the arena run.

The show is a mix of bright colours (her true colours if you will) bringing Lauper’s image into 2025, designed by Tom Sutherland and the team at DX7 Design; along with Brian Burke of Brian Burke Creative. The main event is an 'accordion-style' video screen lined with LED lighting fixtures, made up of 234 ROE Active CB5 video panels and surrounded by Pixel Line IP fixtures. To support the fixtures and create the seamless columns between the panels, PRG adapted the custom metalwork from the US tour as well as fabricating new metalwork to support pixel line ‘chevrons’ that sat on the front of the on-stage lighting trusse

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09 April 2025

USA - Jelly Roll, Katy Perry, Billie Eilish, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, John Mayer, Gracie Abrams, Pink and more – the stars came out in force for Live Nation's Fire Aid benefit concert. But behind the scenes there was also an array of talent that made this spectacular and very worthy event (it raised over $100m for those affected by the LA area fires) come to life.

Lighting designer Allen Branton and production designer Patrick Dierson led a talented team of professionals that created powerful, and often deeply moving looks, at two venues (Kia Forum and Intuit Dome) that connected not only to the live audiences, but also to the 50m who watched on various livestreams.

Although the shows looked seamless with the crisp coordination of lighting and video, well-timed rapid pan and tilt effects, and harmonious colour combinations, pulling them

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09 April 2025

Germany - Following the recent launch of the new GLP impression S500, the powerful successor to the proven impression S350 was put to use in December 2024 at the Tollwood Winter Festival in Munich. PRG Germany deployed 34 of the 500W LED profile fixtures for the spectacular show Duel Reality by Canadian company The 7 Fingers, which ran from 17-22 December in the Grand Chapiteau theatre tent.

PRG has been the full-service provider for the technical equipment of the festival for over 20 years, covering all tents as well as the entire outdoor and ambient lighting of the event, which is held twice a year (summer/winter).

The fast-paced show Duel Reality is a modern interpretation of Shakespeare’s classic Romeo and Juliet. Performed on a red and blue arena-style stage, two rival groups face off and deliver captivating feats of

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09 April 2025

South Africa - The 2024 Afrikaans is Groot (AIG) concert series was staged at SunBet Arena in Time Square, Pretoria, produced by Coleske Artist Management. Nine sold-out performances thrilled audiences over two consecutive weekends.

The show was lit by two of South Africa’s best-known lighting designers, Joshua Cutts and André Siebrits from Visual Frontier. On the lighting rig were Robe moving lights, all delivered by Johannesburg-based lighting rental company, MGG.

Cutts and Siebrits have both worked on the annual event previously. In fact, Cutts has clocked up around seven years as lighting designer and Siebrits at least six, the last four as lead programmer. 2024 was the 10th anniversary of the overall event which has proved enduringly popular with the Afrikaans community.

The general theme this year was gold, so for l

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09 April 2025

UK - Pharos Architectural Controls has announced it will continue its busy line-up of industry events in the first half of 2025, including its return to Leeds for PLASA Focus in May.

Hosted at the Royal Armouries on 13 - 14 May, this exhibition brings together the latest innovations and the brightest minds in live events, installation, and entertainment technology.

Located at stand N-D19, the team will meet with visitors and highlight key updates to their lighting control product ranges, Pharos Expert and Pharos Designer.

The team will be demonstrating what's new in the Pharos Expert range, including support for the Pharos RIO G4 – a four-port gateway that adds convenient Ethernet-distributed DMX ports to an Expert system.

At the show, Pharos will also showcase the latest improvements in its Expert 1.2 software, including RDM (Remot

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09 April 2025

Europe - Ayrton has introduced Stradale Profile, the most compact, lightweight, versatile luminaire in the Ultimate range. Built around the concept of minimising the fixture’s footprint while significantly enhancing its performance, Stradale Profile is the first ultra-compact luminaire in Ayrton’s brand-new 1 Series.

Seamlessly following in Rivale’s footsteps with a 15% reduction in visual footprint, Stradale Profile’s design embodies the principle of uniformity that defines the Ultimate range. Through meticulous engineering and extreme miniaturisation, every detail is optimised to streamline the structure, refine effect modules, and minimise component size, pushing integration to new limits.

The new format has led to the development of an all-new high-efficiency 330W LED module, precisely calibrated at 6,500K, delivering a luminous output of

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08 April 2025

International - The latest issue of LSi is out now, and can be read online for free here.

Inside our new April issue, Cat Strom catches up with the crew behind Kylie’s Tension tour at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena, finding a screen-heavy production that blends nostalgia with modern flair.

Also this month, Rob Halliday explores the new Sadler’s Wells East dance theatre in Stratford. Plus, Phil Ward visits London jazz club Ronnie Scott’s to hear its new sound system; Rachel Terzian charts the evolution of Slovakia’s SRS Group; and Claire Beeson meets the visionaries behind Clean Bandit’s recent London Palladium show.

We also explore the new sound and lighting

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08 April 2025

USA - Harman Professional Solutions has announced a major milestone in the success of the Martin MAC Viper XIP, celebrating the 10,000th fixture manufactured in its first 10 months. To mark the achievement, Martin has produced a one-of-a-kind MAC Viper XIP in the brand’s yellow colour, built as a commemorative piece honouring the milestone and the people behind its design and production.

With shipping that began in June 2024, the MAC Viper XIP quickly became a go-to solution for event production companies supporting music festivals, concert tours, television programmes, as well as installations in performing arts centres and theatres worldwide.

The 10,000th unit represents more than a sales milestone. It’s a testament to the engineering, design, and production excellence that is poised to define the moving head market for the next decade, just as