Based at the Birmingham Hippodrome, the Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) is one of five major ballet companies in the UK. With an intensive touring schedule, the BRB required a reliable communication solution that could be deployed easily in a variety of venues. The answer came in the form of a punQtum and Riedel solution, specified by UK distributor Autograph.
Prior to this, the production team was using a two-stage system, composed of a one- or two-channel hard-wired system and a Motorola radio system. “Depending on the venue, we often found that their hard-wired systems were far from being able to accommodate the size and complexity of our productions,” said Johnny Westall-Eyre, technical manager of lighting/AV at the BRB. “That meant we had an in-house system we couldn’t rely on and that wasn’t maintained by us and our own Motorola system which only allowed for one person to speak at a time. It wasn’t ideal!”
Having made the decision to upgrade, Andrew Wilson, head of lighting and AV at the BRB, contacted Riedel Communications to learn about its solutions. “We were looking for a reliable, adaptable and flexible solution that would minimise risks of interference across channels and enable shows to be run in a safer and more efficient manner,” said Wilson. “It needed to be future-proof, multi-channel and easy to use, especially whilst the company is on tour across different venues.”
Riedel’s UK sales manager, Nacho Lee, put the BRB in touch with its integration partner, Autograph, who offered Wilson a solution combining Riedel’s wireless Boleros and punQtum’s digital wired solution, catering for both team members in fixed positions and those who need to move around during production.
When it came to onboarding the new system, punQtum’s digital wired partyline was reserved for team members who maintain a stationary position throughout the production. This included key team members such as the stage manager and assistant stage manager, who also benefit from having a wired communication system in case of signal drop-out. On the other hand, hard-to-reach positions, such as follow spot operators, were assigned wireless Riedel Boleros due to cabling limitations.
On tour, the BRB now has a system designed for reliability and that is familiar to the crew. “The system we’ve built with Autograph means we simply roll the rack in, plug in some cables and do a little testing before it’s ready to play,” said Scott Smith, senior lighting technician at the BRB.
On the success of this project, William Cottrell, technical sales engineer at Autograph, said: “Not only does this installation bring better communication, but it also allows Birmingham Royal Ballet to tour with confidence. They can plan their comms in advance and enjoy a level of consistency from one venue to another.”
