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Auckland’s Basement Theatre invests in Robe

The Basement Theatre in Auckland, New Zealand, purchased its first Robe LED fixtures, two CycBar15s, in 2022 - a sale in proportion to its production needs that has made a big difference to how shows can be lit.

Squeezed into an old industrial building, once part of a large grain silo development, the theatre has been on the site for fifteen years, making the most out of a challenging layout with some out-of-the-box reimagining that has ensured it has everything needed for a busy venue to function as a cultural melting pot. A diverse programme of shows run Tuesday to Saturday in the two intimate spaces, attracting generally younger audiences together with those who might not necessarily entertain more traditional theatres.

The Robe fixtures are rigged in the 100-capacity main space and were purchased with support from Robe distributor Jands New Zealand at the start of 2022. The venue’s then technical manager Michael Trigg was looking for a specific piece of kit. It had to be low profile due to the 2.5-metre ceiling height, and had to be an LED source with a good throw as well as decent angles that would work in the space.

“The CycBar 15s can be a front wash, a back light, a wash or a top light or they can be rigged vertically for more of an effects look, and the individual pixel control was something that really appealed for this”, says Trigg, adding that the fixtures can also be rigged on side booms for dance shows. They can paint the walls with light using the CycBar 15s, then change the colour one minute and flip the fixtures around the next and use them for key lighting using the diffusion panels.

Most incoming Basement productions there will bring their own lighting designers and will use the house rig which contains about forty fixtures, sometimes augmenting this with a few of their own specials. Michael Trigg, who was already familiar with Robe products through his work in events, left Basement Theatre earlier this year after several years in the post. The new technical manager is Paul Bennett.

The theatre confirmed an order to triple their Robe inventory, adding two iBar 15s - an updated and IP65 rated version of the original CycBar - and two ParFect 150 LED source ACL style beam fixtures.

(Photo: Louise Stickland/Paul Clarke)

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