After the Theatre De Blauwe Kei - one of the most established theatres in the Netherlands - decided upon moving to a new purpose built 650-capacity facility in the CHV Noordkade venue in Veghel, the Netherlands, the theatre’s owners decided to set an unprecedented benchmark: to be the first 100% LED theatre in the country. Central to achieving this goal was an exclusively CHAUVET Professional Ovation rig consisting of 20x Ovation E-260WW, 36x Ovation E-910FC, 4x Ovation F-265WW and 40x Ovation F-915FC fixtures supplied and installed by Stagelight.

“For the new location, the theatre was questioning whether it was still necessary to invest in traditional incandescent ellipsoidal and Fresnel fixtures,” said Robert Frijns from Stagelight. “We tried looking at what other theatres in the region had installed, but it turned out there were no 100% LED theatres yet in The Netherlands. De Blauwe Kei decided to go all in, and the results have been quite astonishing.”

By specifying the full selection of Ovation LED fixtures, the theatre ensured that cumbersome dimmer packs were no longer required to support the fixtures. Despite this, the fixtures retain the classic dimming curve of tungsten fixtures, thanks to Ovation’s advanced 16-bit dimming technology.

Positioned from above stage truss to the front and sides of the stage, the Ovation fixtures provide a wide range of looks for different purposes. The E-260WW and E-910FC fixtures, for example, were specified for their ability to provide a mixture of soft and concentrated wash effect lighting for the stage.

The Ovation F-915FC fixtures were specified for their ability to provide high-power, full-color Fresnel-style mixing. Thanks to its RGBAL LED system, the fixture provides a beautifully soft field of light, from subtle pastels to punchy saturates and nearly any temperature of white. Features such as adjustable motorized zoom (with a range from 30° to 85°) and 16-bit dimming curve ensure the Ovation F-915FC fixtures provide all the tools for a full spectrum of theatrical lighting.  “The output and the colors of the Ovation fixtures are very good,” Frijns commented.

Given that CHV Noordkade is an industrial venue, home to organizations that work in the food, culture and entertainment industry, the new lighting installation had to meet a certain standard in terms of providing impressive visuals. Thanks to a number of standard features of the Ovation profiles, such as exceptional color rendering, the theatre is fully equipped to tackle a whole range of different plays and performances on stage.

“The reaction to the all-LED installation has been incredible,” commented Frijns. “Both the theatre technicians and the audience have responded very enthusiastically to the results. They simply didn’t expect this!”

In addition to providing Theatre De Blauwe Kei with a number of classic theatre looks, the new fixtures offer a number of practical advantages in terms of maintenance and running costs thanks to the LED technology. What’s more, thanks to the advanced cooling technology of the fixtures, longevity and reliability of the fixtures are guaranteed.

Having unofficially opened its doors earlier this year, the official opening party is scheduled for September 2018 to coincide with the start of the new theatre season (2018-2019). “Theatre De Blauwe Kei has proven it’s possible to have a 100% LED fixture theatre,” said Frijns. Perhaps most importantly, however, the Ovation fixtures ensured that no compromises were made in terms of the overall visual capacity of the theatre.