Robe UK enjoyed a busy, successful, and positive ABTT (Association of British Theatre Technicians) expo, staged at Alexandra Palace in London, where the company presented two dynamic exhibition areas – a stand upstairs in the main hall, together with a large demo area located downstairs in the venue’s Palace Suite.

Robe also delivered four presentations that were integral to the ABTT’s extended 2024 seminar and discussion programme, which touched on topics related to sustainability and creative lighting.

The clean and streamlined main Robe booth occupied a prime position in the main exhibition hall and featured some of Robe’s newest lighting technologies designed for theatre, performance, TV, and broadcast scenarios, together with selected Anolis, Avolites and Artistic Licence products. Atmosphere and haze specialist MDG, which is distributed in the UK by Robe, was also present on the stand. 

A video wall at the back offered four separate brand windows / digital messaging boards for snapshotting information, two dedicated to Robe, one to Anolis and one to MDG. 

Robe products showcased on raised displays around the stand included the TX1 PosiProfile, LEDBeam350, PAINTE moving light, the FOOTSIE 1 Slim footlights fixture, the popular T11 Profile, and the T15 Fresnel. Here the sales teams enjoyed the buzz, energy, and conversation from a constant stream of visitors. 

Running in parallel downstairs from the main exhibition – for the second year – Robe coordinated product talks and a black box demonstration area to demo more fixtures ‘in situ’. 

The product presentations from Robe’s Will Blackie, Chris Purnell, and David Catterall, each lasted approximately 10 minutes and were sharply tailored to run through all the pertinent points quickly and efficiently, capitalising on attention spans! 

Robe expanded this demo element this year after the demo space proved such a big hit last year, offering an appropriate environment for those wanting to engage in more techie conversations and get hands-on and close up with some of the products. 

Robe product manager and specialist Dave Whitehouse noted that the products attracting the most attention were the T15 Fresnel / PC, the T32 Cyc and the iFORTE LTX moving light. 

The iFORTE LTX was demonstrated complete with a LightMaster kit which turns it into a programmable manual follow spot with a near equivalent 4K HMI output – a hugely powerful, space-and-energy efficient option for theatres and performance venues where real estate is often tight.

Visitors – which included an animated mix of theatre and creative arts professionals, installation and rental companies established and aspiring designers and technicians as well as some working in the broadcast sector – all loved the T32 Cyc. 

They were impressed with its 1:6 height-to-distance ratio and optical design, together with the smoothness and even spread of light thanks to its asymmetric beam and patented VertiSpot motorised hot spot control. The designers especially liked the amount and detail of the control and the extremely bright and high-quality output, plus the double blue chip that gives those sumptuous super deep blues that LDs covet!

The T15 attracted plenty of attention as a compact fresnel / PC (depending on the choice of lens) and the output which is equivalent of more than a 2Kw tungsten source in open white. Powered by Robe’s MSL-TE™ 350W multispectral LED engine, the colours are even more vibrant and bright. People loved the very wide motorised 10 - 72 degree zoom – which is lockable remotely from the console – and the true barn door cut off and definition when any shaping is applied. 

Another product that everyone was looking at was the iProMotion, Robe’s moving head effects and video projector, which can have custom artwork, photographs and videos uploaded and has a live streaming input facility from external HD multimedia interfaces plus an array of controls including keystone, iris and motorised focus.

The ABTT seminars were staged in an adjacent space to Robe’s demo area, and a full programme featured plenty of edifying, interesting and related topics and ran throughout the two-day expo. 

David Catterall hosted two of Robe’s presentations. “What has sustainability done for me?” which explored some of the ‘secrets’ of sustainability in lighting, and “Upgrading to LED? – Planning for financial and artistic success” which focused on the transition from tungsten to LED and was packed with interesting financial and artistic facts-and-figures for those considering the conversion.

Dave Whitehouse talked about “CRI and Colour Temperature – why they are so important?” including sharing vital info on how to make the best LED selections for lighting people, costumes, and sets.

In “Planning to replace your houselights? - what to consider” – Anolis’s Ashley Popple discussed the importance and impact of houselights in installations, highlighting safety and architectural features and how to plan and execute upgrade projects.

The seminar programme was very popular this year, and the Robe team was keen to share its knowledge and experience as part of ABTT’s educational and learnership initiatives. 

Robe’s architectural sister brand Anolis displayed products from its Ambiane, Eminere and Calumma ranges and ran an iProMotion demo in the Palace Suite. People noticed the Ambiane Pendant HP111 fixture in particular as Anolis, together with all the Robe businesses, benefitted from being associated with the highly visible Robe booth.

Avolites – a Robe Business – highlighted their D9 and Tiger Touch II lighting consoles in the Palace Suite demos, with busy sessions overseen by Ron Carrington and Sarah O’Gorman.

Robe UK’s Ian Brown concluded, “ABTT is always a great show! It feels completely unique from others around and allows for professionals to come together to interact with familiar faces, as well as make new connections. With the demo room arrangement, the team could showcase products to visitors for around 20 to 30 minutes each, which worked very well. Utilising headphone technology, both the ABTT seminars and the Robe demos which were in the same area could run simultaneously and more efficiently without interference.”