The Deutsches Theater in Berlin is one of Germany’s foremost producing houses, highly acclaimed for its cutting-edge work. In the last year, the venue has added 20 x Robe T1 Profiles across its stages. 

The main stage was originally built in 1850 and now consists of two adjoining stages – the 600-capacity main stage and the 280-seat Kammerspiele established by the legendary Max Reinhardt in 1906 for modern drama – sharing common classical façade. The Box is a black box studio space located in the Kammerspiele foyer in 2006 with seating for 80 people with extensive rehearsal rooms, workshops, and storage facilities in a new building behind.

The theatre is a buzzing hive of creative activity in the heart of vibrant Berlin. The Robe T1 Profiles were selected from a shortlist of three fixtures from different manufacturers, explained Linus, who is part of a 35-strong lighting department working across all the stages and rehearsal areas. Linus is an experienced programmer and operator additionally to being systems tech and is responsible for the theatre-wide lighting networks and all their associated components. He is also one of the house pyrotechnicians and was instrumental in making the T1 Profile investment decision.

Linus Zahn, the lighting systems tech at the Deutsches Theater Berlin, and the person in charge of new technologies.

Part of his responsibility involves keeping an eye on new and emerging technologies and arranging demonstrations for the theatre and the lighting technical teams. When it came to looking for an LED Profile spot for Deutsches Theater, Linus and his colleagues examined the three main options – including the Robe luminaires – all of which were available so they could be evaluated, over a longer period.

Critical factors compared included brightness, colour rendering, skin tonality and the accuracy of the shutter system. Linus said: “All the requirements specific to theatre performance needed to be at ‘industry standard’ levels.” 

The theatre also needed a moving light that worked well with their existing stock of LED profiles and wash fixtures, and “the T1 Profile harmonizes perfectly” with these stated Linus, making the overall lighting rig even more flexible, and adaptable. The T1 Profile’s colour temperature control was another feature impressing Linus and the crew as they work a lot with various CT whites needing clean and high-quality sources. 

RDM compatibility was helpful, together with the wireless DMX option in the T1 Profile, as the main house already has a large Lumen Radio system in place.

Awaiting the reopening of Deutsches Theater for the year 2021, Deutsches announced that 8 x Robe ESPRITES, four more T1 Profiles, six Tarrantula LED wash beams, six ParFect 150s FW RGBAs and a RoboSpot system including RoboSpot MotionCameras have now joined the other Robe fixtures at the theatre. Additionally, some more Robe purchases are planned for 2021 to facilitate a complex up-coming production to be staged later in the year.


Photos: by Louise Stickland

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