Aktuelle News & Schlagzeilen

Artscape Theatre invests in Robert Juliat LED followspots from DWR

Artscape Theatre in Cape Town, South Africa, has invested in four Arthur 800W LED followspots and three Oz 600W LED followspots from Robert Juliat, supplied by the manufacturer’s exclusive distributor for South Africa, DWR Distribution. The decision to invest in Robert Juliat was made jointly by Johnny Scholtz of DWR’s Cape Town branch, working in close conjunction with Artscape Theatre’s Head of Lighting, Faheem Bardien.

“Artscape’s in-house technical facilities are designed to cater to a diverse range of artistic genres, including opera, ballet, drama, contemporary dance, musical theatre, corporate seminars, and pop or rock shows”, says Bardien. “It’s paramount that Artscape’s lighting staff has a comprehensive understanding to support the local and international lighting designers who visit our facility, and our in-house lighting equipment must adhere to international standards.”

The installation of Arthur and Oz followspots was part of a wider transition of the venue’s lighting inventory from tungsten to LED lighting which saw Artscape’s existing tungsten followspots updated to the new Robert Juliat LED fixtures. “Throughout this replacement process, initiated in 2016, we observed that our Robert Juliat Victor 1800W and Lucy 1200W tungsten followspots lacked sufficient power against the newer LED lighting fixtures”, explains Bardien. “In response to this, we carried out in-depth research which considered the specific requirements of our production spaces, and identified the Arthur 800W LED and Oz 600W LED followspots as the most suitable LED lighting solutions to replace these units with.”

The four Arthur followspots were strategically positioned on the Opera stage, considering factors such as the 40 m distance to the stage, the angle of the followspots’ booth, and the physical dimensions of the auditorium which has a 1,500-seat capacity. This approach was also applied when selecting the three Oz units for the Theatre stage with its 540-seat capacity and throw distances of 30-40 m. “The 6000 K colour temperature perfectly complemented the rest of our lighting fixtures and the optics were a factor that we were unwilling to compromise on”, adds Bardien. “Brightness was crucial, as ninety percent of our lighting units operate at 6000 K on open white.”

Artscape Theatre’s production programme has already seen Arthur and Oz hard at work this season, on productions that include Pieter Toerien’s “My Fair Lady”, Emo Adams’ “Father Love”, Showtime’s “Ndlovu Youth Choir”, Showtime’s “Dear Evan Hansen”, and Cape Town City Ballet’s “Giselle”.

Pictured (left to right): Shayna Gleave (Production Manager), Roy Hoffman (Artscape Lighting Technician), Sidney Savage (Artscape Lighting Technician), Johnny Scholtz (DWR), Patrick Manicom (DWR), Monique Bowes (Artscape Stage Manager), Faheem Bardien (Artscape Head of Lighting), Liam Cooksen (Artscape Head of Sound). (Photo: Johnny Scholtz)

www.robertjuliat.com

www.dwrdistribution.co.za

© 1999 - 2025 Entertainment Technology Press Limited News Stories