Stage lighting - threat from proposed EU regulations

We have to move with the times and become way more environmentally friendly. New solutions will be found.

The NT can lower its carbon footprint by ditching the endless use of plastic in its current production of Macbeth.

Yes essentially the EU are trying to tighten regulations on lighting, essentially limiting everyone to domestic lighting standards.

Pretty much all theatre equipment would fall foul of this. The current legislation contains an exemption for theatre but new laws planned don't. Cock up or conspiracy we aren't sure. We do know it would cripple shows and require expensive trashing of the majority of current lamps and buying a ton to replace them.

Theatres are working to become more environmentally friendly (mainly to keep costs down, global benefit is a happy accident) forcing these plans through would be catastrophic for lampies and audiences everywhere. Do sign the petition etc.

It's another nonsense to appease car manufacturers. Like outlawing powerful vacuum cleaners and glass coffee pots. I am sure every little helps environmentally but tackling the big stuff would help a whole lot more.

There’s a certain pleasure in seeing the Europhile NT feebly trying to influence the EU Commission (who are behind this) by telling us to write to our MPs. Our MPs have no control or influence over the EU at all. That’s the point. You need to organise a majority of MEPs across Europe to have a chance. Good luck with that.

As happened to many small but less glamorous businesses when we joined the EEC (one might almost think those regulations were brought in to enable megabusinesses to do a land-grab....). I'm all in favour of tightening environmental regulations but dear god this seems the most trivial bit of deckchairs on the Titanic stuff - if you want to save a ton of energy, require all homes bar historic listed ones be properly insulated, with state funding if necessary. And go back to 1980s levels of ablutions and laundering - washing machines seem to be on permanently, wasting water, lecky and filling the seas with detergents and man-made fibres.

The market is sadly too small as lamps are currently produced globally for the global market (It's like expecting your local shop to keep stocking wagon wheels even though youre the only person who buys them), and at the rate we are going we will be in transition from the EU for many years. The worry is that we will be bound by EU regulations whilst we transition but have relinquished our say in those regulations. There is also the issue of international tours, the UK produces theatre that goes global, and has shows that come here, and designers battling with very different kit will seriously hamper their work.

We can but it seems we’ve agreed to follow all EU rules till at least December 2020 and well beyond that if the Remainers prevail. The issue really is that as soon as this rules takes effect all theatres will have to start to swap out lights with approved replacements and that one-off cost over a short period will bankrupt many. Still, as we have been lectured to by the EU that we can’t pick and choose which rules we follow that’s too bad. This in microcosm demonstrates the democratic deficit in the EU - no UK government would even propose an environmental measure like this which would impact theatres in such a dramatic way.

France does! I suspect many other countries too.

Whole thread on it here Lynette: www.theatreboard.co.uk/thread/4737/stage-lighting-threat-proposed-regulations

Interesting that the bloke I heard who purported to be from the NT was so sanguine about it all. Well, there you are kind of thing. We can now go ahead and turn this concrete bunker into a casino owned by a Chinese Triad... and make some money... don’t need silly theatre lights.