Stage Electrics upgrade for Scarborough theatre
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The theatre turned to Stage Electrics, who were able to offer advice, guidance and demonstrations of the latest equipment available. “The Stephen Joseph Theatre approached us with a clear inclination that now was the right time for them to make the change to LED,” comments Andy Elsegood of Stage Electrics. “During the wake of the EU ECODesign stage lighting regulation changes, it would have been unwise to replace their longstanding tungsten equipment with new tungsten, so I was glad when they informed me they were already considering an LED solution.
“After evaluating several different possibilities with Stage Electrics, the theatre settled on ETC’s Source Four Series 2 Lustr profiles and Ambersphere’s Ayrton Ghibli moving head LED spots. This was not an overly difficult decision as the ETC Lustr’s deliver some of the boldest colour rendering available and the Ghibli is equipped with a framing system that offers unlimited creative possibilities.”
Since Stage Electrics delivered their new LED fixtures, the theatre has used them extensively. “We are overjoyed with our Source Four and Ghibli fixtures. We can’t tell the difference between the old tungsten fixture’s output and the new LED ones, they’re just as bright - if not brighter,” says Paul Stear, chief electrician at the Stephen Joseph Theatre. “The Source Four can do every colour one can imagine, whilst the Ghibli is phenomenally bright with an exceptionally flexible zoom size, this fixture is able to project light to the size of a tennis ball or light up the whole stage.”
Since investing in over 40 new LED fixtures, the theatre also installed a lighting control desk from ETC, the Gio @5. “Previously we owned and used ETC’s Ion control desk and the transition from Ion to Gio @ 5 has been unbelievably easy,” adds Stear.
The Stephen Joseph Theatre has a busy summer season ahead of it – including the 40th anniversary production of the Alan Ayckbourn classic, Joking Apart directed by the author, and a critically acclaimed production of Patrick Barlow’s The 39 Steps, directed by Paul Robinson.
(Jim Evans)
