News

Stay up to date with the latest happenings in the live events and technical production industry. From product launches and training sessions to behind-the-scenes stories and project highlights, our news section is where you’ll find it all.

Get the scoop on what’s new at DWR, follow our journey with industry partners, and discover the people and moments that make our community so unique. Whether you’re looking for inspiration, information, or innovation — this is the place to be.

Donald Clark – C & S

When you’re a young twenty-something and a risk is more like an adventure than something to be feared, then anything can happen. And it certainly did for Donald Clark, owner of C & S, who through the years has pioneered through a tough Cape Town industry to come out tops with regards to

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Denis Hutchinson

Independent, honest, straight down the line and a gentleman through and through are words that describe eminent lighting designer Denis Hutchinson, known as “Hutch” by his friends. He was schooled in South Africa and his interest lay from aeronautic engineering to psychology. “The thing I never thought of was probably

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Debra Batzofin – Richard Loring Enterprises

There is a respect within theatre circles for Debra Batzofin, affectionately known as “Miss B”. She may prefer not to be centre stage, but her strong and perfectionist presence ensures that everything on and off stage runs impeccably. The saying “dynamite comes in small packages” couldn’t be more appropriate. Save

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Danie de Jager – Coco the Clown

09-11-1969 to 20-11-2008 It has been our intention to include Danie De Jager on Industry Legends for quite some time now. This passionate man had a colourful and vibrant story to tell. We are sorry that it’s at this sad time of saying good-bye that we finally get to share

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Dan Riley

Neil Daniel Riley (Dan) comes from an era were one of his first salary cheques, or better put, salary envelopes for the week ending 15 January 1959 was to the value of ?3.56! At the time he was employed by electrical contractors, P.G.M. Magnusson, where he was completing his electrician

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Costa Champanis – Ultra Sound

Costa Champanis from Ultra Sound was born and bread in Stellenbosch, in the Cape wine-lands. He went to Rhenish Primary School and thereafter moved to Paul Roos Gymnasium. Here he excelled in hockey, cricket, and karate; he achieved regional and provincial distinctions; academically he was an average student, he laughs,

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Claire Robins – Events and Installations

We know Claire Robins as the person behind Events and Installations, a magazine covering the South African entertainment and events industry news. Her life in theatre, however, has been remarkable and you may just look at Claire with different eyes when hearing her story….. if only we could write a

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Christiaan Ballot – Blond Productions

There’s no arguing that Christiaan Ballot is too young to be an Industry Legend, but here’s a young man who just proves that a bit of drive and initiative, mixed with an enormous amount of passion, is the combination to success and fulfilment. Living his dream at the age of

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Andrew Muller

  If he was not wearing a helmet, Andrew Muller, owner of Custom Gobos would have the wind in his hair delivering gobos on his motorbike and a typical onlooker may think, “Now there’s someone who’s got it made.” With hardly any competition, it would appear that Andrew is in

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Beavis II 32A 3-Phase Distro

Beavis II 32A 3-Phase Distro   APPLICATION: High quality scalable power distribution for the Professional Audio Visual, Rental, Staging and Installation Markets. KEY FEATURES: High Quality Enclosure Durable Laser Engraved Legend High Quality Circuit Breakers Rugged Connectors Microprocessor Controlled L1-L2-L3-N-E Status LED Designed to be used with our range of

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Beavis 32A 3-Phase Distro

Beavis 32A 3-Phase Distro   Application High quality scalable power distribution for the Professional Audio Visual, Rental, Staging and Installation Markets. Key Features High Quality Enclosure Durable Laser Engraved Legend High Quality Circuit Breakers Rugged Connectors Microprocessor Controlled L1-L2-L3-N-E Status LED Designed to be used with our range of 63A

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Magnimage EC90 morning training session

  Join Dylan Jones from DWR Distribution as he presents Magnimage EC90 Training on 11 March from 9 am to 12 pm at our Johannesburg office. Aimed at AV technicians, this course is awesome for understanding the EC90, a video switcher that includes 4K input and output, multi-layer management, and

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L-Acoustics Drive Training, JHB

Master the configuration, control, and monitoring of an L-Acoustics system from the source output to the loudspeaker inputs at the L-Acoustics Drive Training presented by Richard Smith on 13 March from 9am to 5pm at DWR Distribution. Delegates wanting to participate are required to have L-Acoustics certification: System & Workflow or System

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L-Acoustics Soundvision Training, JHB

  You are invited to join Richard Smith from DWR Distribution for L-Acoustics Soundvision Training. Delegates will discover the most advanced L-Acoustics software functionalities for 3D venue modelling, system simulation, and line source optimization.  The course will be held on 12 March from 9am to 5pm at our offices in

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Lighting Jedermann in Salzburg

      Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s Medieval morality play Jedermann has become a legendary and classic centrepiece of the world-renowned Salzburg Festival. First performed in 1920 – directed by Max Reinhardt – when the festival was inaugurated, it has been staged most years since then in the city’s magnificent Domplatz

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Hippotizer MX Series wins Best of Show Award at ISE 2025

  Barcelona, Spain – We are pleased to announce that the Hippotizer MX Series has won in this year’s Best of Show Awards at ISE 2025 in the Installation category. The awards recognise the very best products and solutions on display at ISE 2025, with hundreds of products and solutions considered.

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Vectorworks Training in Cape Town

Don’t miss out on an exclusive opportunity to learn Vectorworks Spotlight 2025 with Jade Manicom in Cape Town from 11th to 14th March from 9am to 5pm at DWR Distribution in Milnerton. This hands-on training session, designed for beginners and current users, is limited to just 12 participants to ensure

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Vectorworks Training, Johannesburg

Don’t miss an exclusive opportunity to learn Vectorworks Spotlight 2025 with Jade Manicom from 4th to 7th March, 9am to 5pm, at DWR Distribution, Johannesburg. This hands-on training session, designed for beginners and current users, is limited to just 12 participants to ensure a tailored learning experience. By the end

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L-Acoustics System & Workflow Training, JHB

Join Richard Smith for an L-Acoustics System and Workflow Training Course on 27 February, from 9am to 5pm at DWR Distribution in Johannesburg. Upon successful completion and certification, delegates will be eligible to attend future L-Acoustics training sessions. Don’t miss this valuable opportunity for professional growth! The L-Acoustics System and

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Clear-Com Invites ISE Attendees to Discover New Solutions at their 2025 Showcase

Clear-Com® invites attendees to ISE 2025 to explore the next generation of live event communication at stand #4N900 this February. Clear-Com will be launching a new product alongside featuring multiple solution updates designed to streamline workflows across live events, educational institutions, professional installations, corporate AV, museums, theme parks, construction sites

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Robe T11 Time for Kunstmin Dordrecht

The Schouwburg Kunstmin in Dordrecht is a busy, bustling theatre and performing arts venue in The Netherlands which has made another major purchase of Robe LED lighting fixtures with 83 x T11 Profiles. These have been added to their Main Hall house lighting rig, replacing all the old, fixed position

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Bart 32A 3-Phase Distro

Bart 32A 3-Phase Distro   APPLICATION: High quality scalable power distribution for the Professional Audio Visual, Rental, Staging and Installation Markets. KEY FEATURES: High Quality Enclosure Durable Laser Engraved Legend High Quality Circuit Breakers Rugged Connectors Microprocessor Controlled L1-L2-L3-N-E Status LED Designed to be used with our range of 63A

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DiGiCo Basic SD & S-Series Training in Johannesburg

Join DWR Distribution for a DiGiCo Basic SD and S-Series Training Session, led by Kyle Robson, in Johannesburg on February 20 from 9am to 5pm. This hands-on session will provide you with a solid foundation in the SD and S-Series consoles, covering essential configuration and operation skills. By the end

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tvONE to debut Hippotizer MX Series and 1RU CALICO PRO at ISE

  Barcelona, Spain, 01/21/25 – Fresh from leading video processing, signal distribution, and media playback solutions company tvONE at ISE 2025 will be the new MX Series of Hippotizer Media Servers and the 1RU version of the award-winning CALICO PRO video processor. The tvONE team is inviting ISE visitors to

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Astera at ISE 2025

  Wireless LED lighting specialist Astera has positioned its booth – P300 in Hall 6 – at the 2025 Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) expo in Barcelona, right at the heart of the rental and staging section to capitalise on the crossover worlds of live shows and events and film /

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Robe at ISE 2025 – Preview

The Robe Group and all its businesses will be at the 2025 Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) expo in Barcelona next week, on Booth P100 in Hall 6 (Lighting & Staging).  Robe launches two exciting new products, the iSTROBE™ and iESPRITE® LTL WashBeam, underlining the growing influence and importance of this trade show

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Allround Robe Festival Solution

  Allround Lyd & Lys (Light & Sound) based in Struer, Denmark, purchased Robe iFORTE LTX Follow Spots ahead of their busy 2024 festival season, so – in conjunction with their existing RoboSpot systems – going forward, they could offer outstanding follow spotting facilities with their dynamic festival stage lighting

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Astera Welcomes New Head of Sales Agata Birn

  Astera, a leading developer of innovative lighting solutions for film and events, is delighted to announce Agata Birn as the company’s new Head of Sales. Agata Birn brings over 12 years of experience in international business development and distribution strategy. With a proven track record of handling motion picture

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Theater de Bussel Invests in Robe T11s

A new installation of Robe T11 Profiles in the 200-capacity Small Hall at the Theater de Bussel in Oosterhout, southern Netherlands is helping to save electricity and enhance the scope of lighting shows and events there, explained the venue’s head of technical, Evelyn van ‘t Hof. The 32 x T11s

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Getting Wild with Astera PixelBricks

Lighting designer Elliot Baines from Spiralstagelighting reached for some Astera PixelBricks to help create an imaginative, memorable, and high-value lighting effect for the London show of Canadian indie band Wild Rivers, a showcase gig at the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire that was part of their 2024 UK tour. Introduced to their

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Robe Starts 2025 Strong

  Czech-based lighting manufacturer Robe lighting s.r.o. enjoyed its best ever year in 2024 and is expecting 2025 to be a continuation of that busy and successful trajectory. Expansion Robe starts the new year with an expanded factory premises, ramped up production capacity and a strong and innovative product portfolio

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Barco Event Master Level 1A Certified Operator Training

  You are welcome to join a Certified Barco Event Master 1A workshop presented by Dylan Jones on 4 and 5 February 2025 from 9am to 4pm at DWR Distribution in Johannesburg. Passing the grade is required to earn certification. Students will engage in classroom theory and hands-on activities in

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DWR Operating Hours

  Just a quick note to let you know that on Thursday, 12 December, the DWR offices will be closing a little earlier at 11:30 AM for our staff year-end celebration. We’ll be back on Friday, 13 December for any last-minute assistance before our annual shutdown. Holiday Closure Dates: We’ll

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grandMA3 Rocks Poland

The 30th Pol’and’Rock festival ensured that music fans enjoyed the best guest and musical experiences – whether listening to some of the best Polish and international bands on one of the five stages or engaged in other activities under the banner of “Love, Friendship, Music” – around the Broczyno airfield

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Robe at LDI 2024

Robe rocks back to Las Vegas for the 2024 Live Design International (LDI) show where the leading moving light manufacturer will be launching two exciting new products, the T.5 Profile – a smaller version of the acclaimed T1 – and the LedPOINTE, the new LED member of the famous Pointe

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L-Acoustics and DiGiCo for The Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre

The Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre at the University of KwaZulu-Natal has upgraded its audio capabilities with a new L-Acoustics A10i system, featuring A10i Focus, A10i Wide, and KS21i Subs on each side, powered by LA4X amplifiers. Additionally, the theatre recently acquired a DiGiCo S31 mixing console. The equipment was supplied and

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DWR closes for the holidays

What a whirlwind this year has been, yet looking back at 2020 feels like a lifetime ago. When our industry bounced back, it did so with incredible energy and determination. One thing that stood out this year is how seriously people are taking the work we do. We’re putting in

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Vari-Lite debuts world’s first all-digital entertainment lighting fixture

Vari-Lite, the originators of the modern moving head light fixture and Signify (Euronext: LIGHT) entertainment lighting brand, has announced the VLHive 151 Digital FX, the world’s first all-digital entertainment lighting fixture. This next-generation luminaire, designed and manufactured at Vari-Lite’s Dallas, Texas, USA factory, includes a digital light engine, with 45,000

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