Clear-Com Deployed For London's West End

Clear-Com's FreeSpeak II wireless intercom system has been used as part of London's West End production of Disney's Aladdin. The system was supplied and installed at the Prince Edward Theatre by Autograph Sound via Tyrell CCT.

A FreeSpeak II base station and 14 beltpacks were installed at the start of the four week set-up phase which enabled the sound, lighting and stage teams to communicate while running cables and installing equipment throughout the theatre. FreeSpeak II was then deployed during rehearsals to connect the creative and technical teams in public and private conversations. In addition, the system is being used to call every performance during the show's run.

Due to limited space within the theatre, the base stations are mounted on a specially-built platform at Stage Left, far above the stage. Andy Brown, Senior Production Sound Engineer at Autograph Sound, and his team mounted five antennae around the theatre in order to maintain signals despite the thickness of the walls.

He said: "We needed to be sure we could have several individual conversations running at the same time, and FreeSpeak II gives us that invaluable flexibility. Another major benefit of FreeSpeak II is that it runs on the 1.9GHz band. We have a lot of equipment in the theatre, plus there are several other shows in the area using the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies, so audio 'traffic' can get very busy – it's great to be able to steer clear of it all on the 1.9GHz band.

"We're currently using 12 beltpacks, but there's plenty of room for future expansion if needed. Anyone can talk and listen simultaneously, which is especially important in a theatre environment where large sets are moving about continuously with scenery being hooked up on pulleys and hoisted high into the wings when it is not in use. Safety needs to be our first concern, and the FreeSpeak system keeps everyone up to date on what's going on. It is very well-built, and everyone finds the flashlight on the back of the beltpacks useful as well!"

Damien Egan, Regional Sales Manager at Clear-Com, added: "A show of this scale requires clear and reliable communications to allow the whole production team to talk to each other constantly. We're proud that FreeSpeak II was chosen to support such a highly anticipated show, and has proved its worth from set-up to show-time."

www.clearcom.com

(JP/LM)