Our Fundraising Officer Ellie has been on the hunt for stories from across the Old Fire Station. Today, she tells us about the new LED lights in the theatre:

There’s no doubt about it, our new LED lights are stealing the show.

The Old Fire Station brings you great theatre, but behind the scenes is a hidden gem helping to bring these stories to life: the lighting rig. Last month, with funding from the Wolfson Foundation and Theatres Trust, we upgraded the lights in the rig to all new energy-efficient LED bulbs, which consume 80% less energy than their halogen counterparts.

So next time you see a show here, remember to look up and tip your hat to these little eco-friendly warriors, illuminating the stage and protecting our planet at the same time.

And it’s not only the planet singing their praises. Our new LED lights offer colours, tones and hues like never before. The Old Fire Station doesn’t just bring you Blue. We bring you: Deep Blue. Indigo LEDs have been swapped in to flood audiences in saturated blues and magentas.

Why are we so happy about this?

Because fantastic storytelling demands fantastic lighting, and our audiences can now bask in a Deep Blue moonlit night or starry sky which well and truly feels like the real thing. Think of the creative possibilities.

Gone are the days of our tech team climbing up ladders to change bulbs. Talk about everlasting light – our new LED bulbs last for tens of thousands of hours. Because who has time to change a light bulb when there’s great theatre to be shown?

Fittingly, our LED lights made their debut during Offbeat, which celebrates new work and emerging artists. This photo is taken from A Snake in the House by Monica Tolia and Tingning Wen, a multi-sensory dance performance exploring intergenerational healing and transformation. What’s that emerging in a cloud of smoke?…It’s our Deep Blue LED lights elevating the whole experience.

As we look to the future, we’re throwing it back a century to when lime was first used in theatres to illuminate the stage. Our LED lights are RGB-L – that stands for Red, Green, Blue, with the addition of Lime. Not only does this produce more vibrant shades of colour, it also helps portray the actors’ skin tones more accurately.

In all of this, we’re giving artists and theatre companies confidence that LEDs can match and improve the effectiveness and creative possibilities of traditional halogen set-ups, and be environmentally sustainable at the same time.

We now invite you to step into the LED limelight with us, browse What’s On and book a show today. And next time you find yourself in our theatre, don’t forget a round of applause for the secret stars of the show.