Artscape Theatre in Cape Town, South Africa, has invested in four Robert Juliat Arthur 800W LED followspots and three Robert Juliat Oz 600W LED followspots, supplied by DWR Distribution, Robert Juliat’s exclusive distributor for South Africa.
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, all of which must be carefully considered when procuring lighting fixtures and other technical support systems,” said 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,” Bardien continued. “We are therefore committed to remaining at the forefront of technological advancements to ensure that our clients have access to the latest equipment to meet their production requirements.”
The installation of RJ Arthur and Oz followspots was part of a wider transition of the venue’s lighting inventory from tungsten to LED lighting that 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 RJ Victor 1800W and Lucy 1200W tungsten followspots lacked sufficient power against the newer LED lighting fixtures,” said Bardien. “In response to this, we carried out in-depth research which considered the specific requirements of our production spaces, and identified the RJ Arthur 800W LED and RJ 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 40m 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 30-40m.
“The RJ LED units consistently ranked at the top of our list, instilling us with an unwavering confidence in their ability to meet the expectations of all our clients,” said Bardien. “The 6000K colour temperature perfectly complemented the rest of our lighting fixtures and the superb optics were a factor that we were unwilling to compromise on. Brightness was crucial, as 90% of our lighting units operate at 6000K on open white. And, although our follow spots are unlikely to be frequently relocated, the robust build provides us with the assurance that the followspots will endure the anticipated lifespan.”
Artscape Theatre’s busy production programme has already seen Arthur and Oz hard at work this season, on productions that include Pieter Toerien’s My Fair Lady, Emo Adam’s Father Love, Showtime’s Ndlovu Youth Choir and Dear Evan Hansen, and Cape Town City Ballet’s Giselle garnering some very positive feedback from the lighting designers and followspot operators along the way.
Lighting designer Denis Hutchinson was pleasantly surprised by their brightness and optics: “I had to instruct the spot operators to reduce the intensities to 20% lower than what we’d usually find acceptable for that range,” he said.
The operators meanwhile observed that the Arthur and Oz were “well-balanced, the movement is smooth, and the fading mechanism is smooth and accurate.”
Bardien was full of praise for the service Artscape received from the team at DWR. “Artscape Theatre Centre operates 365 days of the year, with DWR providing 24/7/365 aftersales service,” he said. “DWR staff has consistently adhered to this commitment, recognising the value of prioritising client-centredness as the central focus. This level of dedication is invaluable, providing us with the assurance of having the ultimate aftersales support team available on standby.”
