The venue is both a producing and a receiving house, and in the Main Hall, the busy and vibrant programme of performance – embracing musicals, dance shows, cabaret, comedy, and concerts – can be lit with an all-Robe and fully LED lighting rig and investment funded entirely by the theatre itself.

Simultaneously, the venue purchased 12 x Robe ParFect 150s to replace their conventional PARS, another 4 x T1 profiles – bringing the current total to 12 when combined with others bought in 2022 to replace their ageing 2Ks on the FOH bridge with an LED source. Eight Robe TX1 PosiProfiles also joined the inventory positioned on the front bridge.

And there was more explained Kunstmin head of technical, Bart Meester, who is delighted with having all the new tech at his fingertips! LEDBeam 350s were purchased for the portal bridge, plus 14 x Tetra2s to light the cyc and more LEDBeam 150s to add to their existing stock, all also the for the large hall.

Bart explains that the first Robe products in the house were T1s and 150s purchased just before the pandemic shut down in 2020, which marked the start of the LED transitioning process.

Before that, LEDWash 300+s were specified in 2019 for M3, a fully flexible ‘bare floor’ performance space just up the road at Energiehuis, a venue also run by Kunstmin in a reimagined old power station now dedicated to culture and the arts.

It was these previously good experiences with the products and Robe’s Benelux distributor, Controllux, that led them back to the brand with the sale managed by Controllux’s Kuno van Velzen.

In the meantime, Kuno arranged a Robe factory visit for Bart and some of the Kunstmin crew, who were suitably impressed with the facilities and setup in the Czech Republic, and the fact that the products are manufactured in Europe.

Robe’s R&D team has specifically developed the T11 series to offer to theatres and other venues a small, bright, and highly versatile luminaire with a great zoom and other cool features as a ‘no-brainer’ to replace their conventional and discharge fixtures.

“The T11 optics are fantastic,” commented Bart after the initial shows using the new luminaires. “The beam is flat, wonderfully even, with absolutely no hotspots and the quality is amazing – this new technology brings multiple new possibilities,” he confirmed.

A fixed profile with manual adjustment was exactly what they wanted, and while it will also reduce the power requirements, that was not a primary reason for choosing T11.

Approximately 90 per cent of the incoming productions use the house rig, so there are plenty of happy lighting designers, directors and operators out there relishing the chance to work with their lighting, notes Bart. They can facilitate programming old or contemporary style with colour mixing or dimming and are completely flexible with a choice of FOH consoles.

New technical advantages enabled by the upgrade include the “excellent” optical elements of the T11s and the richness and detail of the colours. It’s significantly quicker than gelling up a rig of old-style profiles, spots and PCs, there are no gels to burn out and the lamps remain the same colour all season without depreciation. The bulb can always be on and will never break, and the output will also remain constant.

Bart and the lighting team like the T11s two-knob control and appreciate its low output-to-noise control.

Bart mentions how the pan / tilt options offered by the TX1 PosiProfiles make it an ideal solution for the main bridge which is a fixed position – built as part of a 2014 renovation – and while the structure can’t be moved, the TX1, which can be used as a full moving head profile or as a static repositionable profile, is perfect for positioning and operating in tight or limited access spaces. They are also smaller, less obtrusive, and brighter than their predecessor lights on the bridge.

On the choice of Tetra2s for cyc lighting, they wanted to be able to fly the fixtures and have the option of lighting from the top or the bottom, so a neat and compact fixture with plenty of punch was required, and secondly, they wanted a luminaire that was more than just a cyc light.

They had seen Tetra2s used in action for this very purpose when singer Herman van Veen visited Kunstmin, bringing in 10, and this inspired them to look at this approach.

The Tetra2s can be used for multiple functions, from lighting all different sized cycs to back or front lighting to effects if needed. “They have a serious output and are highly adaptable and well suited to working in this venue,” stated Bart.

They also purchased eight TetraXs intended broadly to replace the PAR 6-bars used for side washes and other effects for which this classic stage lighting product was the go-to for many years.

The TetraX LEDs are matched to the Tetra2s, so the fixtures can work seamlessly together.

“They are quick, simple to set up and easy to program,” said Bart on the TetraXs, adding that overall, he is “extremely pleased and proud” with what they have achieved with the new lighting that has revitalised this busy venue that hosts around 250 shows a year.

The venue can now offer higher production values which can be enjoyed and utilised by all the entertainment, shows, events and artists using the space, ultimately delivering slicker and more dynamic performance experiences to their wide-ranging audiences who enjoy the space year-round.

Photo Credit: Louise Stickland