01 August 2012
With courtesy Sarah Rushton-Read South Africa’s largest performance venue has invested in 77 new Philips Selecon SPX luminaires. The 1,300-seat State Theatre, in the heart of Pretoria, chose the fixtures for its front of house positions to ensure its high profile national and international visiting theatre, opera and ballet companies get the sharp, clean front of house washes and projections they expect. 
Aubrey Ndaba, Muthiyane Trading; Dave Whitehouse, DWR Distribution; Simon King, State Theatre; Duncan Riley, DWR Distribution; Mpho Serunye and Lordwick Muthavhatsindi of Muthiyane Trading
The theatre complex comprises six venues including a main opera venue, a drama venue and two theatre spaces and receives numerous number one tours from around the world.
Philips Entertainment brand partner DWR Distribution supplied the SPX luminaires to local installer Muthiyane Trading. Duncan Riley of DWR says: “The Philips Selecon’s SPX range delivers more light to the stage for its energy consumption (up to 63% more than current industry benchmarks). This allows venues to consider energy saving options such as the use of a lower wattage lamp or using SPX at lower dimmer levels (less power).”
“The Pretoria theatre had a lot of older lighting stock that needed replacing,” continues Aubrey Ndaba of Muthiyane Trading. “The SPX luminaires were the right choice because they consume less power and are much brighter than the existing fixtures. They’re also low maintenance so ideal for rigging in those awkward to get to front of house positions. Plus they’re easy to adjust and focus so for us the choice was pretty clear.”
Simon King, head of lighting for the Pretoria Theatre, highlights another key reason for selecting the SPX luminaires. “The fixtures are compact and insanely bright. They produce a crisp white light with no pinkish hues or other colour cast to deliver high definition pattern projection as well as the colour results our visiting companies expect. The interchangeable lenses also make them ideal for our various versatile venues.”
“The South African State Theatre saw the birth of, and was the driving force behind, the establishment of the performing arts in all spheres in South Africa,” comments Graham Eales, general manager for Philips Selecon. “The Pretoria Theatre plays a leading role in the development of the performing arts, and is a regular host to the colourful variety of entertainment found in the diverse cultures of the country. The fact that this influential international receiving theatre has chosen to specify so many Selecon SPX fixtures is very important to Philips Selecon and the business we do in South Africa and beyond.”
