De Goudse Schouwburg, Gouda (2023)
Over 200 Robe Fixtures for Schouwburg Gouda
De Goudse Schouwburg (Gouda
Schouwburg) is a busy municipal theatre and hub of the arts community in the
city of Gouda in the Netherlands – also world famous for its cheese!
As part of a recent
major technical upgrade on lighting, it has taken delivery of a substantial
quantity of over 200 Robe LED luminaires, including 94 x T11 Profiles, 40 x
ParFect 150s and 32 x iBar 15s, the latter specifically for cyc lighting, plus 34
x T1 Profiles, 20 x T2 Profiles, 24 x LEDBeam 150s and 32 x LEDBeam
350s.
The new lights
have transformed the venue into an all-LED house for stage lighting, and the
project was driven by the desire to shift to greener and more sustainable
lighting that is more cost-effective to run. It is the first time that Robe
products have been in the theatre, and they are already making a massive
difference to the quality and potential of the lighting offered to all
productions in De Goudse Schouwburg’s
busy schedule.
The new
luminaires are in use in the Schouwburg’s two performance spaces. The large auditorium
features two semi-circular balconies, seats 813 people and has a 24m
high fly-tower including 67 computer-controlled
electric 500kg flybars plus trolley beams and chain hoists. The
fully flexible small auditorium is a cool studio space with an audience
capacity of 232 and 5 fixed lighting bridges.
The popular Goudse Schouwburg produces
some shows and receives many others embracing a vibrant range of genres
including music,
opera, musical, dance, theatre, cabaret and comedy, staging over 300 performances a year. Often there are multiple shows on one day, so
there is never a dull moment for head of technical Bart Peijen and his team of
7 who run all things technical.
It is now
proudly an all-LED lighting house.
The theatre and
the city of Gouda both decided it was time to commit to more sustainable and
flexible lighting, so the spec was drawn up in consultation with the technical
crew, and a competitive tender issued. This was won by sales and installation specialist
Controllux proposing Robe fixtures.
Bart also
manages the overall building as part of his remit, while stage manager Sandra
Schenke oversees everything happening onstage. The lighting team includes technician
Jelle Turk, and all have been pleased with the new lights, which have made a
big practical and creative impact on how shows can be lit.
“LDs and
operators have a lot more choices in front of them now when working here, and can
be a lot more adventurous,” he says.
Some productions
are created by the theatre, but the vast majority are received shows playing for
one or two nights, so there’s a constant turnover.
“Having all the
Robe in house now also means we have to do less work at height,” elucidates Bart,
“and it also means we can work more quickly and efficiently – less manual
focusing!”
In the main
hall, the Robe luminaires are distributed across the three brigades and strategically
on their winched fly bar system, and rigged in the side stage positions with
the general task of being able to cover everywhere onstage. The longest throws
are around 18 metres, so they benefit from the T-series multispectral LED light engine.
The luminaires
started arriving in summer 2023 and assisting with the installation was Controllux’s
Jeffrey de Werker.
These fixtures
are the first Robes in the house, although all of the crew have been aware of
the brand through their various experience and also with Robe frequently being brought
in by visiting shows in their floor and specials packages.
RGB colour
mixing was a specific requirement, so the T-series luminaires were an ideal
pick to cater for the range of theatrical shows.
The T-Series has been crafted to
enable designers to practice their art across multiple disciplines without restraint.
The multispectral LED light engine
technology has an excellent output, and the fixtures offer outstanding colour
control and finesse. Advanced technologies include DataSwatch virtual colour
libraries, beautiful L3™dimming, AirLOC™ cooling, PLANO4™ shutter modules and
high-definition optics.
Bart adds that
they appreciate the zooms on all the new moving lights – it has always been a
big hit on the LEDBeams – together with the brightness, accurate shutter control
of the T-series as well as the colour matching between all of them and super
smooth dimming.
The combination
of T-Series and the RGBA LEDBeam which produces slightly warmer colours is a
popular one for a diversity of installations.
Bart notes that
the superior colour mixing of the Robe lights are a good colour match with some
of the other brand LED fixtures in the house, and Jelle adds that the brand’s reputation
for reliability and good engineering is another reason they are pleased to now
be a Robe house.
Service and
support from Controllux is also “something we can always rely on,” commented
Bart, and Robe’s Benelux distributor is constantly pushing boundaries to ensure
that this stays world-class and another great reason for theatres in the region
to choose Robe.
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