Robe Gear Installed in Theater de Kampnje, Netherlands Theater de Kampanje in Den Helder, Netherlands, runs a diverse program of dramas, musicals, comedy, music concerts, and touring shows across its three performance venues. Also hosting business and corporate events, the annual schedule presents around 500 shows/events. It is based in the former Willemsoord naval shipyard, occupying a waterside naval hangar repurposed for staging contemporary performance. To transition to more sustainable LED lighting, the venue has recently invested in Robe LED products, starting with 12 TX1 PosiProfiles and 12 LEDBeam 350 moving LED wash beams, delivered by Benelux distributor Controllux. Head of lighting Jeffrey Filmer says the gradual transition started in 2015. In 2007, the company purchased mobile lighting gear including Robe 300E Spots and 300E Washes, used in the venues according to production needs. At that stage, some theatre lighting professionals were still wary about LEDs in that environment; by 2024, however, "We sensed the time was right and wanted to begin with a set of general over-stage LED lights," says head of technical and stage manager, Andre Woestenburg. The E Spots and Washes were still in use; Filmer and his team looked at various options before swapping them out for the TX1s and LEDBeam 350s. In 2025, when Kampanje received funding to change the tungsten fixtures on the bridges of two event spaces to LED, another 22 TX1s and 24 LEDBeam 350s to the inventory. The front bridge can be driven up and down the main space, and seven cranes positioned across the building help get technical elements into place, together with motorized bars above the stage in the main event space and theatre venue. Twelve LEDBeam 350s were deployed in the grid of the 125-seat Small Hall, a fully flexible space. Robe's TE (TRANSFERABLE ENGINE) LED engine in the TX1s appealed to the crew because it extends the products' potential longevity and enhances adaptability. The TX1's tight calibration impressed the whole crew; Filmer notes that he and his colleagues were reassured by Robe's reputation for producing stable and well-engineered products. The new fixtures can be focused from the floor without needing a scissor lift for access and all the manoeuvring needed to get them into the right positions. The Kampanje technical crew already enjoyed a strong relationship with Controllux. "We made the choice based on functionality, price, flexibility and suitability for our shows, plus the high standards of the local support we knew we could expect," Filmer says. 
|
