STRATFORD UPON AVON, U.K. – The Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RST) reopened recently after a major renovation that created a new main auditorium with a thrust stage and updates to the adjacent Swan Theatre, with a colonnade connecting the two. Stage Electrics played an extensive role supporting the sweeping upgrade. The original goal, in the words of artistic director Michael Boyd, was to create "the best theatre in the world to perform the works of Shakespeare." Stage Electrics was contracted to provide and install the Theatre Electrics Package, including every electrical, audio and lighting system within both the RST itself and the Swan Theatre.
"Our work began by taking the basic designs from theatre consultants Charcoalblue, engineers Buro Happold and architects Bennetts Associates, and then providing the detailed designs for installation," said Stage Electrics project manager Jonathan Porter Goff.
Starting five years ago, Stage Electrics began work for RSC's Courtyard Theatre, which was designed as both a temporary replacement for the original RST during its transformation and a proving ground for new design concepts including the large thrust stage. Having also worked on the RSC's Chapel Lane offices, Stage Electrics was then contracted for the transformation of the RST.
The company's CAD department, based at the Bristol main office and headed by Giles Philips, modeled the building in 3D to direct the placement of each piece of trunking and facility panel, and the numerous audio, lighting, video, motion control, comms and relay networks – a total of some 330 miles of cable. From that, the team produced an AutoCAD model of the entire containment infrastructure to determine precisely how it would fit the fabric of the building, amid the seating, steelwork and concrete.
"It was a big tool in terms of resolving clashes before it got to the stage of installing containment onsite," Porter Goff said, of the CAD department's work. "It solved all sorts of problems and allowed the client to see for themselves, and all of us to work out whether they could fly things past or even safely walk past it."
Stage Electrics also supplied the house lighting (co-designed with the RSC) and all stage lighting, auditorium sound, site-wide communications and audio-video paging/relay system.
As technical coordinators its team worked with key suppliers Delstar (under-stage engineering) and Trekwerk (over-stage engineering) for the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC)'s Project Team, which was headed by project director Peter Wilson OBE, deputy project director Simon Harper and project coordinator Flip Tanner.
The installation included the provision of paging and relay systems using facilities panels that Stage Electrics custom-fabricated in-house, incorporating both audio and video relay, which helps staff and cast keep abreast of each performance.
On top of the manufacture and population of over 600 custom facility panels, Stage Electrics' in-house manufacturing department produced a number of custom solutions including stage managers' desks, custom house light fittings and purpose designed Mains Distribution units.
Lighting was very much a team effort, with the RSC's head of lighting, Vince Herbert, working closely with Trekwerk to design the 30 unique lighting clusters that were flown from Trekwerk-designed dual line hoists and powered by a 600V DC bus featuring regenerative technology.
Motion control is provided by a Trekwerk console running custom 3D software which also feeds positional data via ArtNet to the grandMA2 lighting controller – itself chosen by the RST lighting team after a year-long trial against another model. The system's major benefit, said Herbert, is that lighting clusters can be lowered individually to stage level for maintenance, improving safety. "Once you have the health and safety right, the art can follow," he noted, referring to the creative possibilities provided by the 30 clusters, which can be moved into 53 positions.
The clusters were equipped by Stage Electrics with Swisson dimming and a pair of moving lights from a stock of Martin TW1s, Vari*Lite VL1000s, VL1000 Arcs and VL500s, and a large complement of ETC Source Fours. Each cluster also carries an integral composite cable management system with 32A single-phase power, DMX and Ethernet, and is stabilized by an integrated RSC Lightlock device.
House and stage lighting dimming, also supplied and installed by Stage Electrics, is provided by ETC Matrix iSine sine wave dimming in remote dimmer rooms.
"Stage Electrics has spent quite a lot of the last five years involved with the RSC, in The Courtyard initially, then the Chapel Lane offices and most recently at the RST and the Swan," said Porter Goff, summing things up. "We've enjoyed it enormously; it's been a great privilege to be involved in the transformation project for the RSC."
For more information, please visit www.stage-electrics.co.uk.
