If there was ever any doubt that Melbourne was Australia’s Arts capital, it was erased totally when the Yarra Arts Precinct opened in early 2009. The Precinct, which contains two attached yet separate venues, set a new benchmark for arts facilities in this country.

Melbourne Theatre Company’s (MTC) new theatre space and the Melbourne Recital Centre (MRC) are technically, two different venues. However, this does not mean that they are not related, with only a wall separating the two. The two venues were built together at the same time, incorporating two very different aesthetic designs.

MTC THEATRE

After spending much of its life in borrowed spaces, Melbourne Theatre Company finally gained a home of their own, with the construction of this new venue which incorporates the 500 seat Sumner Theatre and the highly flexible Lawler Studio.

Balanced Technology’s Victorian distributor Lightmoves supplied a number of different Space Cannon fittings for this project, including customised Athena LED fixtures for the incredible colour-changing ‘Word Wall’ in the main auditorium, custom Maya 9 LED downlights in the main auditorium roof and Pictor 6 LED fixtures in the sound locks.

Lightmoves also supplied Osram Step Lights for the main auditorium, ETC source 4 house lights, an Enttec E-Streamer to change the colour of the LED’s and a series of Selecon Aureol Beamspots in the Foyer. Lighting control for both venues utilised a comprehensive system of Networked Control solutions including products from Dynalite and Enttec.

MRC

The Melbourne Recital Centre is a stunning venue that will play home to some of the country’s top performances of classical music. The main auditorium, named the Elizabeth Murdoch Hall, is a stunning 1000 seat venue with astounding acoustics and an impressive ‘timber’ look to it. The Saloon is a smaller more intimate space that can be used for smaller events or as a rehearsal venue.

Lightmoves again supplied Lighting Control by Dynalite, Osram warm-white LED step lights and Tridonic LED fixtures in the main Foyer.