Newcastle Theatre Royal

Located in the centre of Newcastle, the Theatre Royal is very much at the heart of the city. It is a beautiful building that the city is rightly very proud of.

Maintaining this theatre – in an era where theatres more broadly are struggling to survive – depends on it remaining commercially viable. And that means delivering a great experience.

The audio was upgraded with 1 x DiGiCo Q225 Console with Dante infrastructure, and the existing comms system was upgraded to Clear-Com. Furthermore, 15 x d&b E5 loudspeakers were added.

The main challenge faced in Newcastle Theatre Royal was the building itself. As a Grade I listed building, it dates back to the early 1800’s, and much of the architecture and décor of the renowned Victorian architect, Frank Matcham, is entirely original. It is a beautiful space.

However, like any theatre it is still a commercial concern and modern theatre-going audiences demand a level of performance, regardless of a building’s history. And so, the balance of delivering a state-of-the-art audio experience, while at the same time remaining sensitive to the aesthetics and heritage of the building was paramount.

Solotech have been working with the theatre for nearly twenty years and have helped them to evolve their audio solution throughout this time. More recently, they upgraded their d&b Q-Series to Y-Series and supplied 15 x d&b E5 loudspeakers to upgrade three levels of delays from the previously used d&b E0’S.

They introduced a Digico Quantum 225 console upgrade with Dante infrastructure as well as upgrading their existing comms system to Clear-Com.

The client has been overjoyed with the recent work. Stuart Middleton, sound #1, explained. “I think the audience experience has been enhanced, it certainly has a much cleaner sound. From an operator perspective, it’s also very clean and easy to use, and I think that translates into the mix. In a building like this, it is impossible to hide hardware entirely, but we know that we’ve done everything that we can to deliver great sound while maintaining the incredible beauty of this venue.”

Although it is only one part of a much bigger picture, the audio solution is critical to the theatre experience. Solotech has shown that not only can they deliver a solution to satisfy modern audiences, but they have also demonstrated – over many years – a level of care and respect for this wonderful and historic venue itself.