AUDIO
HARMAN PROFESSIONAL SOLUTIONS
Cover all
Congress Theatre’s renovation delivers a flexible solution
that is delighting audiences and sound crews alike
Opposite page: The Congress
Theatre following the
overhaul of its sound system
Below: The JBL AC16
loudspeakers were used
for fill duties
T he Congress Theatre in Eastbourne,
UK, reopened in March 2019
following a two-year, multimillionpound
renovation. The work
involved a complete overhaul of
the venue, including seating, lighting, heating
systems and sound.
According to the project’s AV consultant,
Sam Wise, there had been very few changes
to the built-in infrastructure or systems since
the building opened in 1963. This meant that
cables dragged through the auditorium, and
some audience members reported that sound
was too loud or quiet depending on where they
were sitting in relation to the balconies and
loudspeaker arrays.
Today, the venue hosts shows ranging from
rock and musicals through to comedians and
conferences, so any solution had to be flexible
to suit a wide range of potential performers.
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Simon Hine, chief electrician at the Congress
Theatre, explains that he was looking for a PA
system to cover the whole auditorium. “We
haven’t had that before,” he says. “We wanted a
line array because it fitted the way the building
works, and something quick and easy to rig.”
96 AUDITORIA 2019 VOLUME ONE