The refurbishment of the art deco theatre - complete with gilt adornments and deep carpets - included work in the private members club, nightclub, restaurant, main bar and feeder bars.
Audio Sound Advice’s Peter Bawden designed the theatre audio system and he and business partner Kevin Jones spent three months working closely with Phillip Holmes, project manager for venue owners In The Pink Leisure to ensure that it met all the venue’s needs. (ITPL was founded over 20 years ago by Basil Newby and now operates many of Blackpool’s most colourful venues.)
The new audio system is built around Martin Audio speakers, an Allen & Heath 12-channel mixing console and EV amplification. Martin’s EM system has been installed in the bar and restaurant areas, whilst a Wavefront WT3 theatre system features within the main auditorium, with four of the arrayable 3-way compact enclosures at FOH, along with four WT UB compact under balcony enclosures and two WS2A dedicated ultra-low frequency sub bass systems. The WT3s, painted bright gold to match the architecture, have been installed in two pairs on each side of the main stage - one pair to cover the stalls and a pair to cover the balcony area. The WT UBs cover the lower circle and have been painted white. WS2As have also been installed under the bar, in front of the stage.Four Blackline F12 full range 12" + 1" multi-angled enclosures have been installed behind the line of sight above the stage, to provide seamless coverage for monitoring purposes. Control is from a Martin dedicated DX1 digital loudspeaker management system and an EMX1A system controller. A pair of F12s has also been installed on either side of the lower circle, to provide coverage between the stage, reception bar and restaurant. Finally, four EM15 ultra compact 2 x 5" trapezoid enclosures have been installed in the bar/restaurant area for low-level background music and announcements.
The Allen & Heath GL2200 controls the main WT3 PA, plus the set of under-balcony WTUBs fed from the group outputs. The GL2200’s auxiliaries are employed to provide mixes for the Martin F12 on stage monitors.
