International News

LONDON – Theatre design consultancy Charcoalblue’s work was in the spotlight at USITT, as the transformation of the Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres won the USITT 2012 Architecture Honor Award.

HONG KONG – More than 950 exhibitors from around the world gathered April 6-9 for the fourth edition of the HKTDC Hong Kong International Lighting Fair (Spring Edition) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Seminars focused on trends in LED lighting, and new regulations and standards in lighting products, as well as buyer forums on doing business in the Middle East and Russia.

SYDNEY  – Australia Day celebrations Jan. 26 at Sydney’s Darling Harbour featured Clay Paky Sharpys in the choreographed display of lighting, lasers, pyro, fire and water.  Production Designer/LD Paul Collison chose the Sharpys for various reasons including their searchlight effect and their light weight in the rig.

FRANKFURT, Germany — D.T.S. staged its third Excellence Awards at the Tryp Hotel here during Prolight + Sound. The annual event honors the company’s most successful dealers, recognizes innovative uses of the company’s products and, this year, featured the company’s new JACK and NICK NRG high-power compact moving heads.

LOS ANGELES – Circus Flic Flac stopped touring to concentrate on single shows and special events, such as their recent Christmas run in Nuremberg, Germany. As the shows ran through through the holiday season, lighting was challenged by plummeting temperatures, condensation, dust, fog machines, and humidity inside and outside the tent. GLP Spot Ones were chosen to combat the elements.

BLACKBURN, UK – HSL supplied lighting equipment and LED screens to the first production tour for the UK’s boyband, One Direction. Dave Lee’s lighting design was based around complementing the video footage commissioned by show producer Louise Doyle that unfolded the show’s narrative. This followed ‘The Boys’ – Niall, Harry, Liam, Zayn and Louis – through two holidays and a term at high school.

TEL AVIV – Two recent major productions in Tel Aviv have used Robe’s ROBIN fixtures as key elements of the lighting design: the Willy Russell classic “Blood Brothers” at the Beit Lessin Theatre and the ongoing “I Gave You My Life” at the Rubina venue of the Habima (National) Theatre. Israeli distributor Danor Theatre & Studio Systems supplied the gear.

BERGAMO, ITALY – The historic stage of the foremost Russian theatre has reopened after six years of renovation and restoration. Clay Paky’s Russian distributor DOKA played a key role in renovating the Bolshoi Theatre starting in 2005. Much of the equipment installed was manufactured by Clay Paky, featuring more than 350 moving heads, projectors and color changers, as spec’d by the Bolshoi’s chief LD, Damir Ismagilov.

BERGAMO, ITALY – The 62nd Italian Song Festival in Sanremo was as much a festival of Clay Paky lighting as it was for music. Sharpys, Alpha Spot HPE 1500s and Alpha Spot HPE 1200s dominated the set, designed by Gaetano Castelli.

BERGAMO, Italy – Danish LD Kasper Christiansen of VisuaLies chose Clay Paky Shotlight Washes and Alpha Profile 1500s to for punk band Sort Sol’s recent Danish tour. AED Rent supplied the fixtures to Denmark’s Victory Tour Productions, which was the tour lighting vendor.