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European Theatre - Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) will acquire five new venues in Germany as it confirms a takeover of theatre operator Mehr! Entertainment. The deal, agreed for an undisclosed amount, brings the company’s global portfolio of venues to 51 and ATG’s first major international purchase since the 2016 management change and the stepping down of co-founders and joint chief executives Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire.
ATG’s purchase of Mehr! Entertainment means it will operate the Starlight Express Theatre in Bochum, the purpose-built venue which has been home to the long-running musical since 1988. It will also take over the Mehr! Theatre in Hamburg, the Admiralspalast in Berlin, the Capitol Theatre in Dusseldorf and the Musical Dome in Cologne. ATG chief executive Mark Cornell said: “These major venues across Germany are each unique and captivating in the

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UK - Eat to the Beat has recently returned from a tour with comedian John Bishop. Following the success of his Winging It show, he was back on the road throughout the first quarter of 2018 with an additional 26 shows.
Venues along the way included Birmingham's Genting Arena, the BIC in Bournemouth, Bristol Hippodrome, the London Palladium, Southend's Cliff Pavilion. The tour drew to a close with a homecoming show at the Liverpool Arena on 30 March.
The team at Eat to the Beat provided crew and artist catering for the tour.
In a bid to improve the impact on the environment, the tour provided all the crew with a refillable water bottle rather than offering individual plastic water bottles in catering. This was an initiative and fitted in with Eat to the Beat's own ethos of trying to reduce their plastic usage wherever they can.
A spokesperson for the

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Oliviers Oversight - Organisers of Sunday's Olivier Awards have apologised for omitting director Sir Peter Hall from a tribute segment shown during the ceremony. "We are hugely sorry for the oversight of leaving Sir Peter Hall out of our In Memoriam," said the Society of London Theatre (SOLT) in a statement. The founder of the Royal Shakespeare Company and former National Theatre director died in September, aged 86.
The failure to mark his death prompted dismay and disbelief on social media. Olivier-winning choreographer Sir Matthew Bourne said the omission was "unforgivable", while actor Christopher Biggins called it "disgraceful". The In Memoriam segment came midway through the ceremony, held at the Royal Albert Hall in London and subsequently broadcast on ITV.
In a statement on Monday, SOLT described Sir Peter as "a wonderful and inspiring figure within the U

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USA - As part of a worldwide rollout that began with the English release in September 2017, global design and BIM software developer Vectorworks, Inc. has announced the release of the Chinese version of its Vectorworks 2018 software line, which includes Vectorworks Architect, Landmark, Spotlight, Designer and Fundamentals, as well as BraceworksTM, a structural load analysis add-on module. The Chinese language version is the final installment to join other languages, including Dutch, French, German, Japanese, Polish, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese and Spanish.
“Year after year, Vectorworks makes strides to continue as a superior, global design tool, and this year is no different,” said Cecil Fung, managing director of Mad Macs Technology Distributions, Ltd., the Vectorworks distributor in China. “Chinese designers choose Vectorworks because it offers dual platform capa

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Creative Funding - A package worth more than £150m to help the creative industries thrive has been unveiled by the government.
The creative industries sector deal includes a new fund, worth £20m, that towns and cities will be able to bid for a share of. The money will be used to invest in creative and cultural activities and has been set aside following the success of Hull’s turn as City of Culture in 2017, which saw almost £220m invested in tourism and culture, and nearly 800 jobs created.
The government has also pledged £33m towards “immersive technologies”, such as interactive art shows and “augmented reality experiences in tourism”.
In addition, £2mwill be provided to support a “sustainable talent pipeline”, with a package to ensure “there is a larger and more diverse intake of talent and a broader range of routes into the creati

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USA - InCord made their second donation to Behind the Scenes on 16 March during the recent USITT Stage Expo reflecting a percentage of profits from sales of their Theatrical Safety Netting Systems.
The Behind the Scenes is a charity that provides entertainment technology professionals who are seriously ill or injured with grants that may be used for basic living and medical expenses.
Joe Menhart, InCord’s theatrical sales manager, presented the cheque. He comments: “All of us at InCord take pleasure in supporting such a worthy charity as Behind the Scenes. Both InCord and Behind the Scenes are dedicated to the well-being and safety of personnel. I can’t imagine a better pairing and this contribution gives much greater meaning to our Theatrical Safety nets.”
Rick Rudolph, the chair of Behind the Scenes, accepted the cheque along with other BTS Board member

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UK - Peterborough-based touring and event power company Pearce Hire recently hosted a workshop on generator safety measures.
Organised by James Eade, with Patrick McGinley from the HSE, the event was set up for a group of Health and Safety Executive (HSE) electrical inspectors with the aim to shed light on the application of generator safety measures, especially in relation to earthing requirements, and to discuss safety concepts proposed by Eade for new IET guidance on the subject.
Eade comments: “The current guidance on generator earthing in particular has not seen many changes for years. The advent of modern technologies such as inverter generators coupled with the widespread availability of residual current devices for protection is driving a need to revise current practices.”
Current British standards and associated guidance categorises generators broad

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UK - Monacor UK, the UK subsidiary of German company Monacor International, has announced an exclusive distribution partnership with RocknRoller to supply the UK and Irish markets.
The new deal will see Monacor UK stock and distribute a wide selection of RocknRoller Carts and accessories, as well as providing after service support through their own UK service centre.
Vice president of sales for RocknRoller, Dave Andrus said, “We are delighted to welcome Monacor UK as a partner for these key territories. Monacor UK is a long-established company and offers us their exceptional local sales and marketing expertise as well as a stable logistical solution for RocknRoller products.”
Neil Clayton, managing director for Monacor UK added, “We have long been aware of the RocknRoller brand and their excellent product portfolio, and see them as a perfect fit alongside o

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Mayoral Warning - London mayor Sadiq Khan has warned the capital risks becoming a “dormitory” city unless more is done to protect cultural buildings from housing developers. Khan said once arts venues close, they are “gone forever”, and the rate at which London is losing live music spaces should be a “concern for all of us”.
Speaking at the launch of his cultural strategy at Battersea Arts Centre, Khan said: “Once these things are gone – arts centres, live music venues, they’re gone forever, they’re not going to come back. But we’re also making sure the new generation of developments think about having theatres, community spaces, pubs, because what we don’t want is a dormitory city. So it’s keeping what we have, but also making sure that new developments have this recognition that a good community has good places to live, work and play.”
He

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UK - The first Comfest, a comedy night in support of technical entertainment charity Backup, helped raise £14,000 for the organisation.
Held at the Royal National Theatre, London, the event was described as “a fantastic night where all the comedians went above and beyond to say thank you to the industry that supports them”. A particular highlight of the night was headliner Al Murray, the Pub Landlord, performing Under Pressure with a member of the audience.
Organisers said Comfest 2019 is already on the cards and thanked all the staff at the National Theatre, sponsors SFL, White Light and TSL, all of the audience members, The Cloggz and the comedians.
Upcoming backup events include Golf-fest 2018 which is scheduled for 18 April. The annual live events Charity Golf Day is back and even more fun to be had on the day. As 18 teams go Tee - Tee, we have s

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Europe - Evago Group has become the world's exclusive rental partner for all Terraplas turf protection products since taking over the American rentals branch for Terraplas USA in March.
German event supply and industrial services company Evago Group (Evago) and the Anglo-American Checkers Safety Group, who purchased Terraplas in 2015, have agreed a long-term partnership for Terraplas rentals internationally. Having acquired Mojo Barriers in 2017, Evago then bought the UK Terraplas rental business, and immediately fulfilled demand for the specialist stadium pitch protection for concerts. This new deal will see the Terraplas range be available throughout the Evago Group and Mojo’s global network.
Goran Marincic, CEO, Evago AG states: “Terraplas products are unique in the market and complement our existing product portfolio perfectly. They have become highly trusted t

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Summer Sounds - Fairport's Cropredy Convention music festival has confirmed that Brian Wilson will perform the Beach Boys album Pet Sounds at Cropredy on Thursday 9 August 2018. Acclaimed for its ambition and sophistication, Pet Sounds is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential albums of all time. Released in 1966, Wilson's masterpiece is number 2 in the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, only beaten to the top spot by The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper. The festival will be held over three days (Thursday 9, Friday 10 and Saturday 11 August 2018) at Cropredy near Banbury, Oxfordshire.
Money Matters - Regional theatre workers have voted to accept pay increases ranging from 3% to 4.7%. The agreement will see a 4.7% increase for workers covered in grades four and five of UK Theatre’s agreement with union BECTU – bringing

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UK - We all know how tough it can be as a freelance in the entertainment technology industry. The hours are long, you’re away from your family and you only earn money when you’re working. What happens if you can’t work because you’re ill, you have an accident, or someone in your family needs your help and support? You probably do not have a stash of cash put away to see you through. What then?
That’s where Backup – The Technical Entertainment Charity can help and that’s why it is putting on Comfest – an evening of outstanding comedy with the legend that is Al Murray The Pub Landlord and a great supporting line-up at The Dorfman Theatre on 25 March 2018.
In case you don’t know, Backup provides financial support to industry technical professionals working in live events, theatre, TV and film. It offers support and help to get you back on your feet.

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Creative Funding - Arts Council England has launched a £14.4m fund for research and development projects. The money will be made available to individual artists and practitioners, “without the immediate pressure of showing their work publicly”. Recipients of the Developing Your Creative Practice fund will be able to use the grants – of between £2,000 and £10,000 each – to support periods of research, develop new ideas, international work and training, networking or mentoring.
Arts Council chair Nicholas Serota comments: “Every creative person needs time to breathe, to broaden their experience and to develop their ideas. We want all our arts organisations to continue to commission and present new work from a diverse range of artists but we also need to invest in the future. This fund will give creative talent of different ages from different backgrounds th

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UK - Midas’ generators beat the Beast from the East to power London Marathon Events’ Vitality Big Festival in Greenwich Park on 4 March (Sunday), across the finish line from the inaugural Big Half, which Mo Farah won in 61’ 40’’.
11,000 amateur runners, many from host boroughs Tower Hamlets, Southwark, Lewisham and Greenwich, followed the elite athletes’ race along the 13.1-mile route from Tower Bridge, the majority joining friends, family and supporters at the festival afterwards.
Event management specialist Relevent commissioned six Midas sets for the contract, providing for stage production, the sponsors’ area, including a New Balance shop and a fitness centre, a run of street stalls and the production village.
James Hodgson, director at Relevent, comments: “We have worked with Midas for a good many years. It’s an independent company that I

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UK - Broadcast and event lighting specialists Version 2 has continued its investment into its power distribution equipment offerings. The company offers state-of-the-art monitoring utilising its propriety SMARTdistro technology.
The company once again turned to its manufacturing partners SES Entertainment Services who have built the companies entire distribution inventory since its inception. The design process was led by Sam Crook, Version 2’s technical director who collaborated with SES managing director Mark Cooper on the specification of the latest units.
SES’s Mark Cooper comments: “SES love working with companies like Version 2; they come to us with a clear outline of what they want both technically and physically, but still allow us to build their units to meet our exacting standards.”
Sam Crook of Version 2 concludes: ‘’This significant inves

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Elf on Tour - An arena version of the West End musical Elf will tour the UK this Christmas, it has been announced. The musical, which is based on the Will Ferrell film of the same name, will feature Martine McCutcheon and David Essex, and Tam Ryan in the lead role of Buddy. The company also includes Louise English and a cast of more than 70 performers.
The show previously ran in the West End in 2015 as well as on tour in 2017. It was also filmed and shown on Channel 5 over Christmas. The tour will visit Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena from 14-16 December, before visiting the Genting Arena in Birmingham from 20-24 December and Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena from 28-30 December.
The original staging will be upscaled to include giant screens showing computer graphic backdrops and live action close-ups. It will be presented on a 70ft stage with scenes taking place aro

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UK - Theatre design associations and trade unions have formed a working group to address workplace issues affecting professional lighting designers.
The Society of British Theatre Designers (SBTD) and the Association of Lighting Designers (ALD) have for the first time joined forces with Equity and BECTU to “evaluate and unpack the complex nature of current working terms and conditions for designers” and address fair pay, career paths, workplace abuse, harassment and bullying.
The aim is to “work towards fair, clear and robust models of engagement”, increase diversity and ensure transparent career paths and address concerns about fees and contracts “within the wider context of fear, bullying and harassment that we are now beginning to evidence has been endemic across the whole of our industry”.
In a joint statement, the organisations say: “If a profe

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Northern Lights - The Kaiser Chiefs, Postman Pat and Turner Prize-winning artist Lubaina Himid are all on the line-up for the Great Exhibition of the North, which will take place this summer. The 11-week festival will celebrate "great art, culture, design and innovation from the north of England". Staged in Newcastle and Gateshead, it will be paid for with £5m from the government's Northern Powerhouse fund. After the opening ceremony on 22 June, the event will run until 9 September.
It will begin with performances by the Kaiser Chiefs and poet Lemn Sissay and will feature what's said to be the UK's largest water sculpture - an 80m-long fountain - on the River Tyne. On the opening weekend, members of the public will be invited to join in with wandering groups of dancers, while three choirs will make their way through the cities. John Lennon's last piano and the original Post

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South Africa - The Ultra South Africa music festival took place in February over two legs, visiting the Cape Town Stadium on 9 February and the Expo Centre in Nasrec, Johannesburg on 10 February.
Supplying the full technical for the Ultra events, Gearhouse Group was going into the production raincoats. For the Johannesburg leg of the tour, Gearhouse invested in 128 Selbyguard Rainroof covers and bases, along with 12 Selbyguard Air Domes from DWR Distribution. To transport these items, a further 11 Dolly Rainroofs and 2 Dolly Airdomes were bought.
The Gearhouse team was spot on in its predictions about the rain and utilised 128 bases with Rainroof covers (64 medium and 64 extra-large) and the preplanning really paid off - in JHB not a single fixture went down this year.
Setting up the Selbyguard covers is simple and is really like rigging a standard moving light.

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Plastic Ban - Plastic bottles could be banned from next year's Glastonbury Festival, organiser Emily Eavis has said. Ms Eavis, the daughter of founder Michael Eavis, told Radio 6 Music the ban was "the big project" for 2019. A Glastonbury spokesman confirmed the plans were in the pipeline but said it was "a bit early to put any flesh on the bones" regarding details. He said: "It's a massive thing which everyone at the festival is working on."
The festival, held in Pilton, Somerset, since 1970, is having a fallow year in 2018 to allow the ground to recover. It is due to return in 2019. At the NME music awards in London on Tuesday, Ms Eavis told BBC 6 Music: "There's lots going on at the moment. We're working on banning plastic bottles... which is an enormous project and it's taking a lot of time to tackle it with all the different people we work with.”
When asked how

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South Africa - The South African entertainment industry bid farewell to Peter Anthony Crowther, a popular Durban-based electrician, who has passed away. Messages on Facebook poured in as tributes were made to a ‘very special and caring gentleman’.
“The news came as a shock to the entertainment industry, losing a friend, a colleague and good drinking buddy,” says Nicholas Barnes from DWR Distribution. “Peter was always there to help when help was needed and will be missed by friends, colleagues and family. So, here's to Pete, may you rest peacefully bud!”
DWR Distribution’s SOS Charity fund joined hands with the industry to contribute to Peter’s funeral cost. A celebration of his life was held on Friday, 16 February at the Slip Inn, which was Pete’s local for the past 17 years.
(Jim Evans)

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UK - Hearing loop system providers Ampetronic has recently announced a new partnership with Trinity fire and security systems.
An independent fire and security services company, Trinity has 10 regional offices around the UK and has been trading since 1997.
Founded in 1987, Ampetronic offers a full range of induction loop and hearing loop systems and technologies. By working together, Ampetronic and Trinity can install and fulfil multiple customer requirements with minimal disruption and downtime.
(Jim Evans)

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Cast Adrift - Cultural leaders have advocated for a special visa for performers and other creatives after Brexit, warning that Britain will be “cast adrift” if a solution that protects the arts is not found. Speaking at a House of Lords committee session, Andrew Hurst, chief executive of dance body One Dance UK, and the Musicians’ Union’s general secretary Horace Trubridge both argued that special immigration measures needed to be considered for cultural workers in the Brexit process due to the industry’s unique working patterns
These include touring to multiple countries, short-term contracts and the need to access talent at short notice. Trubridge said: “We feel that cultural and creative workers should be seen as a very distinct, atypical workforce who need special treatment post-Brexit. We would like to see a Europe-wide visa they could use to enable them to
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