The Theater De Blauwe Kei, Netherlands has moved to a new purpose-built 650-capacity facility in the CHV Noordkade venue in Veghel; setting an unprecedented benchmark in becoming the first 100% LED theatre in the country.
Central to achieving this goal was an exclusively Chauvet Professional Ovation rig consisting of 20 Chauvet Professional Ovation E-260WW, 36 Chauvet Professional Ovation E-910FC, 4 Chauvet Professional Ovation F-265WW and 40 Chauvet Professional Ovation F-915FC fixtures supplied and installed by Stagelight.
Robert Frijns from Stagelight said: “For the new location, the theatre was questioning whether it was still necessary to invest in traditional incandescent ellipsoidal and Fresnel fixtures.
“We tried looking at what other theatres in the region had installed, but it turned out there was no 100% LED theatres yet in The Netherlands. De Blauwe Kei decided to go all in, and the results have been quite astonishing.”
By specifying the full selection of Ovation LED fixtures, the theatre ensured that cumbersome dimmer packs were no longer required to support the fixtures. The fixtures retain the classic dimming curve of tungsten fixtures, thanks to Ovation’s advanced 16-bit dimming technology.
The Chauvet Professional E-260WW and E-910FC fixtures, for example, were specified for their ability to provide a mixture of soft and concentrated wash effect lighting for the stage.
The Chauvet Professional Ovation F-915FC fixtures were specified for their ability to provide high-power, full-colour Fresnel-style mixing Robert commented: “The output and the colours of the Ovation fixtures are very good”.
Features such as adjustable motorised zoom (with a range from 30° to 85°) and 16-bit dimming curve ensure the Ovation F-915FC fixtures provide all the tools for a full spectrum of theatrical lighting.
Robert added: “The reaction to the all-LED installation has been incredible, both the theatre technicians and the audience have responded very enthusiastically to the results. They simply didn’t expect this!”
The new fixtures offer a number of practical advantages in terms of maintenance and running costs thanks to the LED technology.
Robert concluded: “Theatre De Blauwe Kei has proven it’s possible to have a 100% LED fixture theatre, perhaps most importantly, however, the Ovation fixtures ensured that no compromises were made in terms of the overall visual capacity of the theatre.
