The London technical specialist was hired as the production contractor for a family open day and a ‘whirligig’ event last Sunday (21 April), marking the 449th birthday of William Shakespeare.
For the event, ARC Sound was responsible for the pre-production of the show and came up with a strategy for getting the amplifying equipment into the roofless wooden theatre, which is restricted to a maximum load of one quarter of a tonne due to the oak beams.
The firm has worked in the Underglobe at the theatre for the past three years, and last weekend was the first time in the Elizabethan theatre’s history that sound and lighting production using electricity was placed in the venue.
James Dougill, director of ARC Sound, said: "Generally, the Globe has no real technical production requirements - there’s no real lighting or sound amalgamation. We do this kind of thing all the time, but we don’t do it in theatres made of wood and without a roof.
"With it not having a roof we had some sound propagation criteria that we had to make sure we were going to fulfil – but we also had to ensure it was sympathetic to the building after all, it’s Shakespeare’s Globe."
He added: "I am certain eyebrows were raised initially when all these flight cases started appearing."
The event saw performances by The Magic Numbers, who were supported by singer/songwriter Johnny Flynn, and magic shows. Dougill explained the amplified sound was a resounding success.
"The feedback we got from the Globe, from the Magic Numbers and in general was that it was amazing, which is what we set out to do," he added.
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