Moving to a new venue frequently requires the technical team to learn a new working space. In the case of Madame Zingara, this meant learning it as it was being built. The venue is the triple-storey speigelpaleis the Queen of Flanders, on Cape Town’s Grand Parade. The show is The Celebration – the culmination of 15 years of performance by the unique South African travelling troupe.

Taking the ‘Madame Zingara experience’ to new heights through the use of  new theatre technologies, the production is staged audience in-the-round, with performers working both on the stage and above it. To handle the sound and lighting, Madame Zingara’s Richard Griffin called in Gearhouse Splitbeam.

Part of the Gearhouse Group of companies, Splitbeam provides equipment-rental packages specifically priced for longer-term hire on theatrical productions. With the dual objectives of ‘raising the roof’ while keeping the technical elements inconspicuous, the company used 12 Meyer Sound M1D loudspeakers, UPMs, UPJs and UP Juniors to create even sound coverage. A combination of Sennheiser radio mic systems, DPA d:fine 66 headset microphones and a Pioneer Nexus DJ system were mixed using a Midas Pro1 console.

‘The process involved many different elements coming together at the same time with a certain degree of fluidity’ says Splitbeam Key Account Manager, Helen Surgeson. ‘We needed mutual co-operation and a big-picture approach to the delivery. We have worked closely with the Madame Zingara team and our Cape Town-based lighting distributor to bring everything together. It has been a magical journey and the results are simply breathtaking.’