HSL is supplying lighting equipment for all the C venues theatres at the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. This involves 6 venues and a total of 20 different performance spaces including the Urban Garden, a new outdoor area adjacent to the main C venues hub on Chambers Street. With over 170 shows from 150 companies, this is the largest programme of theatre on the Fringe

HSL has been involved with supplying C venues for several years. Project manager Mike Oates says, "It's great to support the vibrancy, energy and enthusiasm of new theatre, and Edinburgh is a world showcase for some of the best and most innovative future comedy, dance, theatre and musicals".

Lighting for C venues is being co-ordinated by production manager Gareth Edwards and Head of Technical/Chief LX Andrew Grant. Lighting designs for all the different spaces have been created over the years by C venues artistic director (and freelance lighting designer) Hartley T A Kemp and by lighting designers James Whiteside and Richard Williamson. They are based on flexibility and adaptability, with each venue hosting several different shows - from drama to dance to physical theatre.

Each space has a basic rig of ETC Source Four profiles, Juniors and PARs, plus Acclaim fresnels, with at 18-48 dimmer channels.

Eighteen moving lights are deployed across the three largest theatres - C -1, C +3 and C Too.

C -1, a pros arch stage/auditorium, features 2 Robe ColorSpot 250E ATs and four ColorWash 250E ATs. C +3 - on the third floor of Chambers Street, has another 4 Robe ColorWash 250E ATs, 2 ColorSpot 250E ATs and an ETC Ion console which has just been purchased by C venues. There's also a 48-way Avolites ART dimmer rack in here.

C Soco includes 3 black box studio theatres, a VIP bar, three other spaces and the Urban Garden - an outside area featuring a covered skate ramp, a comedy tent, restaurant and bar, plus the C-side beach. This has proved a very chilled and popular environment when the sun shines! There are 4 Robe ColorSpot 1200E ATs in weather domes rigged around its perimeter, illuminating the walls and architecture, and sweeping across the area for aerial effects.

Eighteen MBI floods - white, green and magenta - are used for up-lighting the walls and other natural elements, with 8 SGM Ribalta LED battens also positioned to feature light specific areas.

HSL supplied a Zero 88 Fat Frog desk to control everything in the Urban Garden, and also all the required power distribution to run 125 Amps of 3-phase out from the building next door, as the derelict site that's awaiting development has no power supply of its own.

HSL dispatched Lewis Beal to help co-ordinate the get ins and rigging at each venue, and also to provide a ‘basic training' for some of the C venues crew on how to use and look after the lighting kit for the 3 week festival period. Approximately 50 operators and crew work across their Festival technical teams, chosen from volunteers who are recruited throughout the year.

Andrew Grant comments, "Dealing with HSL has been brilliant throughout. The gear arrived extremely well prepped and in very good condition, all the road cases were precisely marked up with which venue they were destined for, which saved lots of initial time. Lewis was really excellent with our crew, who varied in their levels of knowledge and experience in lighting, but were all very keen to learn. It has also been very efficient having a single point of contact for all the kit".