Sydney Coliseum Brings Immersive to Town
17 December 2019
It’s rare to see a new theatre being sold so heavily on its technical superiority. There again, the new $100m Coliseum Theatre in West HQ has gone extra hard to impress with its technical credentials.
The Coliseum is part of the greater Rooty Hill RSL complex. It’s a brand new 2000-cap theatre that looks the part. The sweeping staircase, the huge LED chandelier, the seven marble-lined bars all point to a design that’s sure to imbue glamour and a sense of occasion.But it’s inside the theatre itself where the real magic happens.For starters the theatre is incredibly versatile. There might be 2000 seats available but a retractable seating system allows for a flat floor configuration for 650 in banquet mode or as a standing-room concert venue with additional balcony seating. What’s more, there’s an orchestra pit available for musical theatre productions etc.While we’re talking theatre specs, the stage is 15m wide, 14.7m deep, the proscenium height is 9m and the effective fly tower height is 23m. This is not your average stage, it can cater for most any production, and with an 80-line fly system and seven fly bars, there are winches and staging for days.
Jands (L-Acoustics): www.jands.com.au
IMMERSIVE L-ISA PA
The headline in-theatre tech is the L-Acoustics L-ISA Hyperreal immersive PA. It’s the first such installed system south of the equator and it’s sure to make some waves.For those at the back of the class, immersive audio systems do away with the traditional left/right hang of a traditional PA, and replaces it with five or seven arrays across the front. It allows instruments to be better localised across the sound stage. More arrays do less work and the result is a more enveloping, natural-sounding mix with better intelligibility and connection with the audience.L-Acoustics is an immersive evangelist and the install is a big deal for the continued acceptance of the format as a mainstream platform for mixing, rather than a novelty you might only hear on a global smash hit tour.
NEC DIGITAL SMARTS
The theatre has partnered with NEC on some nifty LED display systems for menus, wayfinding, and interactive customer promotions, powered by CiscoVision IPTV. NEC has also taken care of the CCTV security systems, network infrastructure, and across the entire eight-hectare site, free Wi-Fi for guests. Facial recognition kiosks assist customers to sign into the venue and navigate their way through to the theatre faster and more conveniently; no doubt a window into the way of the future for entertainment venues everywhere. Testing of the 20 kiosks installed at West HQ by NEC prior to the official opening has seen verification and voucher-issuing times as low as nine seconds per person.
TECH SPEC
LOUDSPEAKER SYSTEM
L-Acoustics Hyperreal Loudspeaker System
L-ISA Hyperreal sound 50 KARA modular WST line source hung in 5 rows across the proscenium
L-Acoustics KS28 subwoofers 6 centre flown
L-Acoustics X8 under balcony fill 4
L-Acoustics X8 forestage fill 5
MICROPHONES
Shure Beta 52a 2
Shure Super 55 1
Shure SM57 10
Shure Beta 57a 2
Shure Beta 58A 12
Shure SM81 2
Shure Beta 87A 3
Shure Beta 91a 2
Shure Beta 98 (w/drum mounts) 4
Shure MX418C (lectern) 2
Shure KSM 27 2
Shure KSM 137 2
Sennheiser e604 4
AKG D112 1
Neumann KM184 (stereo set) 1
Radial J48 Active DI 12
FOH MIXING CONSOLE
Digi-Co SD12 digital mixing console 1 72 Input Channels
LANTERNS
All luminaries are LED
Profile HP with combination of lens 34
Profile HP 34
Fresnels with manual zoom and barndoors 34
Fusion Par H X11 wash lights 48
iLED stage blinders P200 RGBW 8
iLED Cyc2 RGBAL 10
FOLLOW SPOTS (PROVISIONAL)
Robert Juliett Victor 1800W MSR 2 – 7 to 14.5
LIGHTING BARS (PROVISIONAL)
Jands JLX PRO in 6m lengths with power and data looms sufficient for 6 x 18m long lighting bars
LIGHTING CONTROL
Grand MA3 – Light
DMX (PROVISIONAL)
A DMX Data via Pathport S.ACN or Artnet network is installed throughout the theatre, alongside 5-pin DMX
POWER
Two x 200 Amp per phase power supplies are available in the PS Wing for touring lighting systems
30 x LSC – APS 12ch x 10a advanced power distribution
RESPONSES