Doornroosje is run by the local Nijmegen town council and managed by a full-time staff of bookers, admin and technical staff including Robbie Van Reen, who has been head of lighting since 2009.

Twenty Robe T1 Profiles, 12 x T2 Profiles 12 x Spiider LED wash beams and eight LEDBeam 350s have recently been added to their house lighting rigs, which help offer fantastic production values to all visiting artists. These were all delivered by Robe’s Benelux distributor, Controllux, with whom Robbie has a great relationship.

The venue’s history with Robe goes back many years. In 2014 when Doornroosje moved to its current site in the city centre the current investments started, initially in MMX Spots … which were still going strong last year when replaced with the latest purchases!

They also have DLX Spots and DLF Washes – Robe’s first-generation LED moving lights – which have clocked up over 20,000 hours and were recently moved to the bar area in a reshuffle of existing lights that happened alongside the installation of the new ones.

The largest room in the building is the main 1100 capacity Red stage; the Purple stage can accommodate 400 music fans, and the bar area around 200. The musical mix is diverse, from rock, pop and folk to reggae, world, and funk, to metal, hip hop, R ‘n’ B plus a profusion of dance genres, so the lighting rig has always been specified for flexibility and offering numerous creative options.

The 12 x new T1s have gone to the Purple stage, with the older DLX Spots and DLF Washes that were there before now moved to the dance floor of the Purple stage and the bar, where they are perfect for the dance nights.

The first ever Robe fixtures to arrive at Doornroosje – before 2014 when it was still at the previous site across town – were some LEDWash 300s, and six of these are still part of the venues floor package. “These and other Robe fixtures have all been amazing value,” Robbie stated.

Twelve of the new T1 Profiles, all the T2s and Spiiders are now installed over the Red Stage. The Spiiders are augmenting some LEDWash 800s that were part of an earlier investment and the 8 x new LEDBeam 350s are part of a floor package, their small size, massive brightness, and easy manoeuvrability making them perfect for the job!

“Colour mixing was a key feature for choosing the T1s and T2s,” explained Robbie who likes the intense reds and blues these luminaires can create. They are also trying to be as sustainable as possible in their choices, so LED was a natural choice.

Robbie himself lights many of the shows, working with a team of 15 regular freelancers who assist the lighting department who now have no less than 116 Robe fixtures at their disposal across the various different areas of the venue.

During the covid lockdowns, they kept busy with streaming events which also kept the kit in use, which were interspersed with socially distanced and limited capacity shows as and when the restrictions allowed.

Everyone loved the T1s when they arrived, so they then looked at the T2s for the Red Stage and after having a fixture on demo, quickly decided to also purchase these.

“I wanted good, efficient, reliable LED fixtures with a nice quality of output and excellent colour mixing,” commented Robbie who also recently visited the Robe factory, adding, “I like the fact that the products and essential parts like PCBs are all properly made in Europe.”

The numerous visiting LDs to Doornroosje are also enjoying the T1s and T2s, appreciating the many features, accurate shuttering and good selection of gobos.

The venue offers a variety of control consoles in house – grandMA, Avo and a Road Hog.

Robbie notes that having a solid relationship with the distributor is paramount to the continued loyalty to any brand, as it assures quick and efficient tech support and back up when needed.

Controllux’s account handler Maikel Sakkers commented, “It’s always great to work with Robbie and his team, Doornroosje is one of the most consistent and professionally run venues in the Netherlands, so it is an honour and a pleasure to have as a loyal client.”

Photo Credit: Louise Stickland