The new Marquee reopens complete with a £4 million fit-out, as a 1,200-capacity club/restaurant live music and entertainment destination venue. Features include Michelin star executive chef Gary Hollihead and chic, modernist, distressed concrete interiors. Lighting for the contemporary Marquee Club is considerable more elaborate than the original club’s scheme! The 2002 Marquee’s visual elements have been designed and co-ordinated by Dan Cook, who vacated his post as technical manager of the Ocean Music Centre in Hackney to take up the exciting challenge of being the Marquee’s lighting manager.
Cook has designed a flexible lighting rig that will cater for the massive diversity of artists scheduled to play the Marquee. The equipment is supplied by Entec on a long-term rental basis to facilitate regular updates. Moving fixtures include Martin MAC 600s, High End Cyberlight SVs and Clay Paky Golden Scan HPEs. Added to that are Martin Atomic Strobes and a large variety of conventional fixtures, all of it controlled by an Avolites Pearl console. The desk was chosen for it’s ease of use and because so many visiting LDs will be familiar with the Avolites control platform. They are also using Avolites dimmers. Entec has also designed, built and supplied customised power distribution units for all its equipment in the Marquee.
Entec’s Adam Stevenson co-ordinated the equipment supply to the club, which additionally includes two legs of Tomcat ground support and two flown points for the lighting rig. Entec produced the rigging design and co-ordinated the installation of the hybrid flown/ground supported idea which was a lateral solution to the physical restraints of getting lighting rigging points installed around a complex air conditioning system. The working stage area is 28ft wide by 20ft deep including PA wings - considerably larger than the original postage stamp-sized stage at the Wardour Street venue!
Entec were asked onboard the project by Gary McGovern, Dave Stewart’s studio maintenance manager and Marquee Club technical consultant. A definite decision was made to employ a rock ‘n’ roll lighting designer and supply company for this element of the Marquee. Entec’s head of lighting Noreen O’Riordan comments: "It’s great to be involved with the Marquee again, and to have the opportunity to re-visit a venue in a new context, space and era. We’re looking forward to a long and healthy relationship with Tony Quinn, Dan Cook, Matt Talbot and all the others at the sharp end of the team in Islington."
For the opening, Entec also lit the N1 mall with City Colors and Mac 250+s fitted with Marquee logo gobos.
(Lee Baldock)
