The idea
Lucilla Dramatic Society plans to fully replace its ageing and obsolete stage lighting system. Our current setup, consisting of tungsten lamps, analogue dimmer packs, and a 24-channel lighting board dating from the 1970s–early 2000s, will soon be non-functional due to changing EU regulations and the end of tungsten lamp production. We intend to install a complete modern LED lighting system, including DMX-compatible fixtures and a new control board.
How We Plan to Do It
We will remove the old tungsten fixtures, dimmer packs, and analogue lighting board. In their place, we will install energy-efficient LED stage lighting, new control systems compatible with modern industry standards, and associated infrastructure upgrades. This will be done as a full system replacement to ensure reliability, compliance, and functionality, avoiding the risks associated with partial or phased upgrades.
What we'll deliver
- Continue to provide affordable local theatre performances
- Reduce our carbon footprint
Why it's a great idea
The Benefits
• Sustainability: LED lighting dramatically reduces electricity consumption—from up to 600W per fixture to just 50–150W—cutting our energy use and environmental impact.
• Cost Savings: Lower energy bills and reduced maintenance costs over the long term.
• Compliance: We will future-proof our theatre against the imminent removal of the tungsten exemption under EU regulations.
• Reliability: The current system is at risk of failure with no replacement parts available. Upgrading ensures uninterrupted operations.
• Expanded Creativity: Modern LED systems offer broader creative possibilities, enabling richer and more dynamic lighting designs for productions.
. Training opportunities to teach members how to operate the new lighting system.
• Community Impact: By securing the future of our lighting system, we preserve Lucilla’s ability to continue offering affordable, high-quality theatre experiences to the local community as we have done since 1920.
Steps to get it done
- We have a volunteer who has costed each light and fittings needed., including an electrician to complete the project
- We have raised £2000 by performing plays and will finish the project as soon as funds are available
- We have set the date to finish as 31/1/26 but we would complete the project as soon as funds allow if sooner .
