Det Norske Teatret in Oslo

Det Norske Teatret, one of Oslo’s liveliest and most influential theatres, has topped up the quantities of Robe ESPRITE moving lights for its 250-capacity flexible Scene 2 performance space, with the purchase of 11 x ESPRITE Profiles, which join the 15 x ESPRITE PCs acquired in 2022.

The profiles are replacing the previous tungsten front lighting with an LED source. While it made a lot of sense to match the upstage ESPRITE PCs with moving lights from the same manufacturer, as with any major purchases, a thorough assessment of the available options was conducted, together with an on-site shoot out, explained Det Norske Teatret’s Per Willy Liholm, the technical co-ordinator for Stage 2 and also a lighting designer.

He and the theatre’s head of lighting, Torkel Skjærven, worked closely together to choose the best new lighting solution, and being a theatre with a diverse production programme, certain characteristics were key to this decision.

Quality of light is the first and foremost element they look at, and specifically in the context of colour temperature, colour mixing and fine detailing of the light source.

CRI is another obvious one, together with the shutters – which needed to be consistently sharp throughout the entire zoom range – plus super-smooth dimming. Intensity is high on the list as well, but not the only criteria for the venue where finesse of the fixture together with quietness are also critical, especially as actors can and do react to the smallest and subtlest of sounds.

Stage 2 also only has one designated lighting technician, so they ideally wanted a fixture that was light enough in weight to be a safe one-person lift, which is certainly possible with the ESPRITE.

They already knew from their experience with the ESPRITE PCs that the fixtures would be reliable and offer good value as well as being “a perfect match in terms of the LED engine.”

Per Willy also mentions that ESPRITES work extremely well alongside some of their other theatrical light brands and ranges.

Torkel notes that while Robe’s LED engine features distinctive colour attributes that have essentially become “their white,” they still did a full shootout, especially as there has been plenty of technical advancements in the intervening 3 years since they brought the PCs. However, once all the evaluation and testing was completed, it underscored that Robe still offered the best options for their needs.

He further highlighted the advantages of limiting the number of brands in a space, which means less external administration to deal with, and a scenario offering more chance to build up their own expertise and knowledge base.

They liked all the ESPRITE Profile’s features, and the new lights were installed just ahead of the new season.

It was another step in the ongoing mission to eventually replace all the tungsten light sources with LED. For the moment, some tungsten lights will be kept going as so many theatre LDs still love and swear by them! “One day, those old luminaires will become the effect lights of the future!” stated Torkel.

The theatre works with a range of internal and external lighting designers on all their productions, most of which are fully produced in house by the talented Det Norske Teatret creative team.

The program embraces a range of theatrical genres, including musicals and new, classic and contemporary Norwegian and European drama, presenting approximately 20 new shows a year and attracting around 260,000 visitors in that same timeframe. Det Norske Teatret has built a reputation for innovative production and tackling hot-button topics, as well as celebrating traditional and multicultural Norwegian stories.

Torkel mentions that Robe’s Norwegian distributor Prostage is a “solid and well-respected supply partner,” and was delighted when Lars Kristian Bakke, who worked on technical sales for the previous distributor, joined Prostage, citing this as another reason to stay with the brand.

Apart from all of that, everyone was amazed that the original Robe ColorWash 750AT Tungsten products – which were replaced with the ESPRITE PCs in 2022 – were still in such great shape after 10 years of hard work! Nor could a single note or mention of ever having to repair or replace anything be traced, which “Represented outstanding value,” Torkel concluded.

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