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Digital Reversal - Freelance theatre professionals are relieved to see the government’s controversial Making Tax Digital reforms dropped after unions lobbied intensively against the changes. The proposals, which included quarterly data submissions and covered all businesses with a turnover of more than £10,000, including self-employed individuals, were previously branded a “bureaucratic nightmare” by the union Equity.
Entertainment union BECTU also raised concerns about the reforms, calling for the sector to be exempted from requirements due to the nature of the work. Accountants had estimated that the impact on the average self-employed person in the industry could be about £1,250 per year, based on the costs of current software and tax administration.
But now t

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UK - Illumination specialists LED Creative has welcomed Tim Rees to the role of projects assistant as part of the small but growing team at their Hertfordshire base.
Having spent over 10 years delivering a broad range of production solutions, with a particular focus on lighting, Tim’s experience encompasses client liaison, budgeting and supplier management and is augmented by in-depth working knowledge of production equipment and IT systems.
Speaking about the new appointment, LED Creative’s Adam Howard says: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome Tim to our team. We pride ourselves on being able to offer the very highest levels of support to our clients - Tim’s technical understanding and strong project management skills are a fantastic addition to the LED Creative service.”
Commenting on his new role, Tim adds: “The opportunity to join such a dyna

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UK - Shure recently launched its Axient Digital Wireless System at the 2017 NAB Show in Las Vegas and will now host a London-based open day on 18 May at RADA to showcase their new high-tier wireless offering to the UK market.
Axient Digital builds on the benefits of Shure UHF-R, ULX-D, and Axient wireless systems to create a new, highly scalable system featuring a universal receiver that works across two transmitter ranges (AD and ADX series) to effectively replace UHF-R and Axient. Designed from the ground up - and having listened to key customer needs - the new system proudly features the world’s first micro-bodypack with an internal, self-tuning antenna.
Axient Digital Open Day is free to attend and will consist of a full product overview followed by drinks and refreshments. There are three allocated time-slots for the presentation throughout the day to enable vis
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Indochine X PixMob Fan Immersion

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's - 40 thousand LED pixels on a ceiling!!! Indochine's whirlwind tour transports fans to another level of the live experience - immersing them from floor to ceiling with PixMob's X4 wristbands, and an LED ceiling made entirely of its NOVA Minis! With the vision of Indochine's creative team, PixMob used its LED fan-technology to turn attendees and venues into an ocean of effects, and a starry sky of LED magic. Très très cool!

Read more about the Indochine tour in the latest issue of LSi

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UK - Earlier this year Pearce Hire, a Gold Sponsor of the e-Luminate Cambridge Festival, provided full production services, technical support and equipment for the stunning lighting event that, each year, dramatically covers the entire city of Cambridge.
The 2017 e-Luminate Cambridge Festival celebrated its fifth edition and during the past five years has become a key highlight in the city’s cultural calendar. The festival, which ran for 35 hours across six nights, commemorated the diversity and rich architectural offerings of this historic city – with ‘light’ as the star of the show.
Cambridge Live, the organisers of e-Luminate, which is recognised as a contemporary arts festival, approached Pearce Hire as their trusted technical production partner to work with the latest creative lighting fixtures to produce stunning architectural lighting illuminations at

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Belgium - As part of Bright Brussels Festival, ACTLD (ACT Lighting Design) contributed with a very innovative art installation as a total immersion of light, sound and mist. Lighting-wise, the spectacle totally comprised by SGM LED fixtures.
Mounted on a specially constructed trussing, forming a symmetrical matrix (35mx35m), 64 G-Spot moving heads played the leading role, strongly supported by Q-7 RGBW and Q-7 W flood/blind/strobes as well as P-5 and P-2 wash lights.
Koert Vermeulen, principal designer at ACTLD chose to explore the urban space of their hometown and offered a brand new experience to the public in a highly unusual location; a 70 x 80 meter construction site. Senior lighting designer and console operator, Luc De Climmer, explained: “Minimalism, geometry and reflection are some of the words that can describe this installation, playing with the industri

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UK - Following a run at the Watermill Theatre, Newbury and a UK tour in 2016, satirical play The Wipers Times has arrived in the West End with a limited run at The Arts Theatre. Full technical service provider Hawthorn were chosen to provide lighting equipment for this dark comedy from the trenches.
A stage adaptation of their award-winning BBC film, The Wipers Times by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman, tells the true and extraordinary story of the satirical newspaper that was created in the mud and mayhem of the Somme.
The team at Hawthorn worked with lighting designer James Smith to provide lighting equipment for the production when it toured in 2016 and were delighted to be asked to be involved once again when it arrived in the West End.
Smith, explaining why he chose to get Hawthorn on board once again, said: “After seeing the success of how Hawthor

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UK - Considered by many to be one of the biggest Broadway musicals of all time, 42nd Street has now arrived in London where it has received rave reviews from audiences and critics alike. Starring Grammy Award winner Sheena Easton, this all singing, high-kicking spectacle is currently playing at Theatre Royal Drury Lane – London’s biggest stage. WL was called upon the provide the lights on this production.
42nd Street tells the story of young Peggy Sawyer who is fresh off the bus from small-town America and just another face in the chorus line on Broadway’s newest show. Yet when the leading lady gets injured, Peggy might just have the shot at stardom which she’s always dreamed off.
The lighting design is by Olivier Award winner Peter Mumford. He comments: “Despite its iconic status, I have never lit nor indeed seen 42nd Street before. I’d say

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UK - The application deadline for the new Collaborative Doctoral Award, an initiative between the Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT) and the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (RCSSD), is fast approaching.
The Award, which offers a postgraduate student the opportunity to pursue a fully funded PhD at a leading centre for research in theatre and performance, together with the ABTT – one of the earliest organisations to represent the interests and needs of theatre designers and technical practitioners – has attracted much interest and praise for the legacy the resulting body of work will have for the industry.
The purpose of the Award is to enable a researcher to examine the historical context of the establishment and development of the ABTT, as well as its impact on the evolution of theatre design and standards of architectural, engineerin

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USA - Erik Parker has supported a variety of different bands from multiple genres with engaging lightshows. However, even he has to acknowledge that nothing in his portfolio was quite like his project for lighting Simply Three. “This was a new type of music for me,” said Parker of Chris Lisle Lighting Design. “It’s a three-piece string band that rocks to covers such as Take Me to Church by Hozier, Photograph by Ed Sheeran and Counting Starsby OneRepublic, as well as many classics from Puccini to Gershwin. Lighting them was challenging, but a lot of fun.”
Parker met this challenge in stunning fashion at the internationally acclaimed group’s recent homecoming concert at the Mesa Arts Center outside Phoenix with help from Chauvet Professional Maverick and Rogue fixtures, supplied by Creative BackStage. He positioned eight Maverick MK2 Spots and

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France - Hard Rock Café is arguably one of the most recognised names in popular, family-orientated dining, its mixture of American style food and music memorabilia continuing to attract millions of customers across the world. One of its newest outlets is in Lyon, France, which features a Yamaha Commercial Installation Solutions (CIS) system.
As with all Hard Rock Cafés, the Lyon outlet features dining, live performance, a shop and public circulation areas, as well as a private dining area and a meeting room. Systems integrator Eurosono was contracted to install the audio system, choosing a zoned Yamaha CIS solution because it delivers great sound with very flexible control.
“A main requirement was that each zone and a range of audio sources had to be managed from a centralised point,” says Frédéric Borde of Yamaha Music Europe France. “A Dante audio network w

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Italy - RCF is to open a new lecture hall for audio courses and seminars. The new Audio Academy, dedicated to the culture of sound, will be situated in a new building at the RCF headquarters in Reggio Emilia.
Set on pitched floor, and with 46 upholstered seats, the classroom has also been acoustically treated, while a natural/artificial mixed lighting system provides maximum comfort. Finally, the classroom is equipped with audio-video systems and includes a spacious foyer for reception and refreshments.
RCF Audio Academy will continue the series of state-of-the-art seminars hosted by RCF product specialists, teachers and engineers both in the new HQ and laboratories. Since 2010, 127 courses have been organised, welcoming more than 2,200 participants, 381 indoor product demos and 374 outdoor.
The new venue will also host the Sound-Engineering University Course, or

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New Zealand - GLP has appointed Kenderdine Electrical as its distribution partner in New Zealand..
Kenderdine Electrical was started in 1959 by Hugh Kenderdine, a working theatre electrician, as a hire service to the theatre industry. Over the years, the company grew to be a major supplier of equipment to the theatre and rock & roll industry. By the early 80s the company was purchasing and importing equipment for its own hire stock, but more importantly, reselling to customers around New Zealand.
In 1982, Chris McKenzie joined to form Professional Lighting Services to look after the growing film and TV markets in New Zealand.
McKenzie confirms that his company had been seeking a premium moving light brand to introduce to the New Zealand market. “We had been aware of GLP for a long time but at the time it was being represented by an Australian company who al

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France - Peerless-AV has announced the addition of Cédric Leoture to the position of channel account manager – France. Based near Paris, Cédric is responsible for stimulating existing channel relationships and driving new partner-based development activities to enhance Peerless-AV product knowledge and brand awareness in the rapidly growing French AV market.
“France is a major growth market for us so maintaining and strengthening our routes to market is crucial,” commented Melinda Von Horvath, vice president of sales EMEA, Peerless-AV. “Cédric is a great new addition to the export Sales team with an impressive background working with several of our French customers. His experience in AV and IT distribution means he has a solid understanding of channel sales and a high level of technical expertise, which will be instrumental in taking us to the next level in the re

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Europe - With the RTI Neo Oone, Laserworld presents a completely new laser unit that is concepted as modular effect for professional productions. DMX / ArtNET makes it compatible to existing control infrastructure, no other control system is required.
The RTI Neo One is designed as a multi-projector-laser-system: Several units can be attached to each other with a quick-lock system. Due to the octagonal shape, it is not only possible to use several units side-by-side, but also allows to create shapes of laser systems or mount them at unusual positions, like e.g. flanking the sound-line-arrays on big stages, arranged as circle or in other shapes on stage.
It is a powerful white light full colour laser system. With a power of 24W RGB per meter or 4W RGB per unit, it is also well suited to large scale and long throw applications. An internal playback system can be individu

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Ireland - EPIC, The Irish Emigration Museum is Dublin’s newest museum, dedicated to one of the pivotal facets of Irish history: that of Irish emigration. In the appropriate location, the museum is situated in Dublin’s Docklands on the Custom House Quay, the departure point for many of Ireland’s emigrants in the 19th Century. Within the museum are twenty themed interactive galleries that take visitors on a journey through Irish history and, through interactive and immersive technology, connects all those who claim Irish connections and heritage with powerful experience.
Amongst the myriad of rooms dedicated to the global influence of the Irish culture through migration is a space entitled Science & Innovation. Within this gallery, visitors are familiarised with those of Irish descent who have been key in the development of scientific and technology progress. As an i

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UK - Technical installation experts, Hawthorn was approached by Multiplay, a subsidiary of high street retailer GAME, as it launched its new studio.
Hawthorn has previously worked with Multiplay on the technical production of live events, so when they were looking for support to create a bespoke broadcast studio its Install team was more than happy to help.
Based at GAME head office in Basingstoke, this shared broadcast facility will be used for a wide range of live internet gaming programmes.
Steve Wilson, head of production and broadcast at Multiplay, asked Hawthorn to develop a specialist lighting and acoustic solution for the new broadcast space. Using their extensive experience in this area, Hawthorn utilised the latest ETC Irideon track lighting system along with ETC’s new ECHO modular control system. LED Tape and drivers from City Theatrical were used to

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UK - Adlib supplied an L-Acoustics audio system, with all associated rigging and crew for the recent UK and European leg of multiple award winning Scottish singer / songwriter Emeli Sandé’s Long Live the Angels tour.
Adlib was asked on-board by production manager Steve Martin (Tourhouse Productions) and was delighted to be working with Emeli’s FOH engineer Max Bisgrove and monitor guru Andrew Williamson.
Their system tech on the tour – fine tuning and looking after the PA each day – was Adlib’s Kenny Perrin, who commented, “It was a pleasure to work with everyone on this tour – amazing people, a great show and an extremely positive environment.”
The itinerary featured a mix of venues – academies, town halls and arenas – so the requirement was to cover all of these, for which they toured a selection of L-Acoustics K1, K2 and KARA loudspeaker

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USA - Heralded for its acoustics, which are said to rival those of La Scala in Milan, the Hungarian State Opera House has hosted many of the greatest artists from the orchestral and operatic worlds. Gustave Mahler called this building home as the opera’s director, as did Otto Klemperer. At no time in this Budapest landmark’s history, though, did it ever ring with sounds quite like those created in Rocktopia, a wildly original mash up of classical and classic rock music.
After making its global debut last year at the opera house in a PBS broadcast, Rocktopia is now bringing its far-ranging musical mix to the US with a tour of mid-sized venues. Supporting this eclectic concert is a lightshow created by Michael Stiller of upLight. Stiller’s design remains true to the flavour of that PBS special, while still being portable and road friendly, thanks to some he

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UK - Bristol Music Trust (BMT) has revealed the next stages in its ambitious £48.8m redevelopment programme for Colston Hall, including a name change for the venue.
Louise Mitchell, chief executive of BMT, said: “We are on track with our transformation campaign and at this stage in the process, we can now focus on the detailed plans for the redeveloped Hall, including what its future name should be.
“The name Colston does not reflect the Trust’s values as a progressive, forward-thinking and open arts organisation. We want to look to the future and ensure the whole city is proud of its transformed concert hall and so, when we reopen the new building in 2020, it will be with a new name. This overall rebrand is part of transforming the Colston Hall we have today into the new National Centre for Music Entertainment, Education and Enterprise.”
With two-thir

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France - Nexo’s home market of France has been quick to sign up for the new mid-size line array launched by the company at the ISE and PLS tradeshows earlier this year. Geo M10 inventory has been ordered by several leading French rental companies, and is already earmarked for an important installation project.
Créative Studio in Guadeloupe is the company that has taken delivery of the first 000001-registered module. Well-known pro-audio figure Franck Bessol runs this rental company, which has ordered M10 line array modules and MSubs.
Frederic Guinand’s company MK Plus from Lyon has placed its order for Geo M10 and MSubs inventory. In Besançon, Espace Concept has augmented its own purchase order for Geo M10 modules, adding a number of 45°N-12 line monitors. Blackline in Angoulême has recently taken delivery of Nexo’s STM Series modular line array and now adds

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Italy - Amodio and Luzzati’s renowned production of ballet classic The Nutcracker made its debut at Teatro Comunale in Modena in November 2016, before touring to other key Italian cities for 10 weeks. It was produced by Daniele Cipriani Entertainment and lit by Marco Policastro using Robe DL4S Profiles and the new Spiider LED wash beams.
This production – which had been originally staged by the company AterBalletto in the 1980s and 1990s – was again choreographed by Amedeo Amodio (then AterBalletto’s director) and featured eye-catching set designs by Oscar-nominated Italian designer, painter, animator and illustrator, Emanuele Luzzati.
It was also acclaimed for its highly imaginative shadow work which featured prominently in this show. This was devised for the original production by the artists of the Teatro Gioco Vita.
“Nothing has essentially
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