As part of a recent major technical upgrade on lighting, it has taken delivery of a substantial quantity of over 200 Robe LED luminaires, including 94 x T11 Profiles, 40 x ParFect 150s and 32 x iBar 15s, the latter specifically for cyc lighting, plus 34 x T1 Profiles, 20 x T2 Profiles, 24 x LEDBeam 150s and 32 x LEDBeam 350s.

The new lights have transformed the venue into an all-LED house for stage lighting, and the project was driven by the desire to shift to greener and more sustainable lighting that is more cost-effective to run. It is the first time that Robe products have been in the theatre, and they are already making a massive difference to the quality and potential of the lighting offered to all productions in De Goudse Schouwburg’s busy schedule.

The new luminaires are in use in the Schouwburg’s two performance spaces. The large auditorium features two semi-circular balconies, seats 813 people and has a 24m high fly-tower including 67 computer-controlled electric 500kg flybars plus trolley beams and chain hoists. The fully flexible small auditorium is a cool studio space with an audience capacity of 232 and 5 fixed lighting bridges.

The popular Goudse Schouwburg produces some shows and receives many others embracing a vibrant range of genres including music, opera, musical, dance, theatre, cabaret and comedy, staging over 300 performances a year. Often there are multiple shows on one day, so there is never a dull moment for head of technical Bart Peijen and his team of 7 who run all things technical.

It is now proudly an all-LED lighting house.

The theatre and the city of Gouda both decided it was time to commit to more sustainable and flexible lighting, so the spec was drawn up in consultation with the technical crew, and a competitive tender issued. This was won by sales and installation specialist Controllux proposing Robe fixtures.

Bart also manages the overall building as part of his remit, while stage manager Sandra Schenke oversees everything happening onstage. The lighting team includes technician Jelle Turk, and all have been pleased with the new lights, which have made a big practical and creative impact on how shows can be lit.

“LDs and operators have a lot more choices in front of them now when working here, and can be a lot more adventurous,” he says.

Some productions are created by the theatre, but the vast majority are received shows playing for one or two nights, so there’s a constant turnover.

“Having all the Robe in house now also means we have to do less work at height,” elucidates Bart, “and it also means we can work more quickly and efficiently – less manual focusing!”

In the main hall, the Robe luminaires are distributed across the three brigades and strategically on their winched fly bar system, and rigged in the side stage positions with the general task of being able to cover everywhere onstage. The longest throws are around 18 metres, so they benefit from the T-series multispectral LED light engine.

The luminaires started arriving in summer 2023 and assisting with the installation was Controllux’s Jeffrey de Werker.

These fixtures are the first Robes in the house, although all of the crew have been aware of the brand through their various experience and also with Robe frequently being brought in by visiting shows in their floor and specials packages.

RGB colour mixing was a specific requirement, so the T-series luminaires were an ideal pick to cater for the range of theatrical shows.

The T-Series has been crafted to enable designers to practice their art across multiple disciplines without restraint.

The multispectral LED light engine technology has an excellent output, and the fixtures offer outstanding colour control and finesse. Advanced technologies include DataSwatch virtual colour libraries, beautiful L3™dimming, AirLOC™ cooling, PLANO4™ shutter modules and high-definition optics.

Bart adds that they appreciate the zooms on all the new moving lights – it has always been a big hit on the LEDBeams – together with the brightness, accurate shutter control of the T-series as well as the colour matching between all of them and super smooth dimming.

The combination of T-Series and the RGBA LEDBeam which produces slightly warmer colours is a popular one for a diversity of installations.

Bart notes that the superior colour mixing of the Robe lights are a good colour match with some of the other brand LED fixtures in the house, and Jelle adds that the brand’s reputation for reliability and good engineering is another reason they are pleased to now be a Robe house.

Service and support from Controllux is also “something we can always rely on,” commented Bart, and Robe’s Benelux distributor is constantly pushing boundaries to ensure that this stays world-class and another great reason for theatres in the region to choose Robe.

Photo Credit: Louise Stickland, Jaap Reedijk