FIREscape Nepto chosen for emergency lighting upgrade at The Unity Theatre

The Unity Theatre Company initially resided in a converted warehouse. By 2003, a permanent home was found on Liverpool’s Hope Street in a former synagogue built in 1957. Once a place of worship seating 450, this unique space now serves as a living testament to a bygone era of ‘radical’ theatre.

The name ‘Unity’ itself reflects a legacy. It’s a connection to a national movement that significantly impacted British theatre and politics. The story began in the 1930s with the birth of Merseyside Left Theatre, which later became the Merseyside Unity Theatre in 1944. Renowned for its experimental and politically charged productions, this theatre company’s final act was securing the Hope Place building on Hope Street and transforming the former synagogue into the thriving theatre that it is today.

The Unity Theatre is a registered charity producing a mix of professional and amateur productions, while in parallel fostering community engagement through workshops and mentoring schemes.

Fire safety

An organisation such as this relies heavily on the generosity of private benefactors and support from arts funding to keep the lights on and the doors open. It also relies on specialist companies to assist with some of the more complex aspects of maintaining the building, such as fire safety.

Realising that the emergency lighting system was rapidly ageing, The Unity Theatre’s technical manager Xenia Bayer knew this would be a massive project to undertake on what are now ever-tightening theatre budgets.

“While exploring options and regulations with the Association of British Theatre Technicians,” noted Bayer, “I stumbled upon a brochure by Hochiki Europe detailing its FIREscape Nepto system. The features of the system were perfect for this environment.”

Some of the key features of Hochiki Europe’s FIREscape Nepto which appealed to Bayer are as follows:

*Intelligent and self-sufficient

No more tedious lamp replacements or manual system checks. The system runs self-tests, stores reports and alerts the owners to any maintenance needs

*Energy efficient

The low voltage system promised significant energy savings: a win for both the budget and the environment

*Adjustable light levels

This can be a game-changer for performance spaces. There is regulatory compliance for light levels, but also the ability to achieve complete ‘black-out’ for scene changes and actor entrances/exits. FIREscape Nepto can offer both

Complete replacement

Reaching out to Hochiki Europe, Bayer inquired about sponsorship possibilities, offering site visits for interested parties. “Thankfully,” continued Bayer, “and subsequent to e-mail exchanges and a site visit, Hochiki Europe offered an incredible solution: a complete system replacement.”

Initially, Hochiki contacted Grainger Fire and Security’s managing director David Wardman to ask if the company would like to be involved in this local charitable project.

“We’ve worked with Hochiki products for a number of years now,” stated Wardman, “and always successfully, so the opportunity to install FIREscape Nepto and help to keep this local hub of the community open was something we were keen to do.”

Leading on the install project, engineer Will Taylor observed: “Hochiki’s products are easy to install and FIREscape Nepto is no different. The theatre is quite a large space so we initially scoped five-to-six days for the installation plus commissioning. In the end, the whole process only took four days, plus one day for commissioning. We were also able to retrofit using a lot of the old cabling to save on waste, while the new system enabled us to fault-find any issues with the old cable so we could replace it if necessary.”

Clear communication

Bayer went on to explain: “The communication with both the Grainger Fire and Security team and Hochiki throughout was brilliant. We were able to work around booked shows, all the while ensuring everyone’s safety. The new system is so much more aesthetically pleasing and saves so much space compared to the previous bulky system.”

Bayer also noted: “The best outcome is that, over the course of a given year, and based on the old system’s running costs, we predict we’ll be able to save almost 40 times the energy, which equates to just less than £900 in savings every 12 months. In our world that’s an incredible amount of money, which we will then be able to plough back into the theatre and the many projects we run for our local and wider theatrical communities.”

In conclusion, Bayer informed Fire Safety Matters: “This new system will not just replace our old one. Rather, it will transform our day-to-day operations and ensure that we can continue to shine a light on the arts for years to come.”

*Further information is available online at www.hochikieurope.com