Philips Selecon at The Atterbury Theatre, South Africa

Philips Selecon has been specified for the Atterbury Theatre in South Africa.

With the explosion of festivals in South Africa, there is an increasing need for smaller theatres, outside of the festival scene, to provide performance space for newly created productions and to promote up and coming artists. The Atterbury is exactly that -- a 420-seat West-End-style theatre.

What distinguishes from other similar sized venues in the region is the sophistication of the entertainment technology it uses. A professional team, including Philips Entertainment distributor for South Africa DWR, has come together to design and specify the technical needs of the venue and Philips Selecon luminaires feature high on the lighting role call.

Selecon's South Africa reseller DWR Distribution worked alongside Pieter-Jan Kapp to design and supply the theatre lighting equipment. Kapp was appointed theatre consultant for the new Atterbury Theatre.

His involvement in the project started 18 months ago when he received a phone call from musician and producer, Matthys Maree. "I got more involved than I had anticipated," said Kapp. "The developers went to see a West End theatre and found there were lots of things they, being more accustomed to putting up shopping malls, were not familiar with."

Kapp worked alongside DWR Distribution to specify the best lighting solution for the project. He spent time at DWR's HQ to look at the various control consoles, light fixtures and equipment that would be fit for purpose and work within the budgetary constraints.

After careful consideration, a combination of Selecon SPX Axial 14-degree fixed profile spotlights, Selecon SPX Axial 19-degree fixed profile spotlights, Selecon SPX Axial 26-degree fixed profile spots, Selecon Rama Fresnels and Selecon Lui Cyc 3 Battens were installed.

"Opening night was a huge success. The response to the theatre, which looks warm, yet stately and elegant, has been very positive," comments Dan Riley, from DWR Distribution who headed the project. "SPX is basically the latest in Profile development," "There is also a certain energy saving what with the 800 Watt being more efficient."