The Marina Theatre and Cinema, originally established as a bustling skating rink, transformed in 1878, emerging as a vibrant theatre venue with an expansive auditorium accommodating up to 800 eager patrons. Throughout its storied history, the Marina has graced the stage with illustrious performers, counting the likes of comedic luminaries Lee Evans and Michael McIntyre among its celebrated guests.
Our undertaking involved a meticulous process of dismantling the existing counterweight system, paving the way for the installation of a cutting-edge counterpart. This upgraded system featured a remarkable array of 18 double-purchase counterweight flying sets, coupled with four robust SureFly 350 manual flying winches, each engineered to support a Safe Working Load (SWL) of 250kg. This innovative setup not only elevated the technical capabilities of the venue but also ensured a seamless and dynamic experience for performers and audiences alike.
Throughout our tenure on-site, which spanned approximately 7 weeks, a tight and demanding schedule necessitated precise coordination and unwavering diligence. However, our team rose to the occasion, demonstrating unwavering commitment and expertise in executing the project. The result was not only a timely completion but also a standard of workmanship that met and exceeded the highest industry benchmarks, reinforcing our reputation for delivering excellence in every endeavour.
Feedback received from Matt Crawford,
Marina Theatre – Technical Manager
I’ve worked closely with various members of the CSE team over the years at previous venues I’ve managed and worked in and have seen their name and logo on countless pieces of lifting equipment over the years in many facilities I’ve visited. When it came time for me to start putting a plan together to have the flying system at the Marina replaced, I was asked to obtain the usual three quotes and surveys, my response was that there is only one company I trust and want to undertake the task, Centre Stage Engineering, and that I was only going to be approaching CSE for the works as I didn’t trust anyone else to perform as well as they would.
From offset, dealing with project management staff, Sean, Kevin, Oliver, and John were great in getting the project off the ground and understood the urgency of the situation, if we didn’t have the flying system replaced then we may not have much of a winter season. To top all of that we only have a very tight 6 weeks over the summer to have the works completed but none of this was an issue.
Kev and Theo ran the project on-site and are great guys to have around and no strangers to hard work to the point that the project was nearly a week ahead at one point. A couple of small design/manufacturing discrepancies slowed the process down slightly but the way it was managed was superb, no botches to make an ill-fitting piece of steel fit and no excuses about why things were being delayed, just pure honesty the entire time and a will to always undertake the job to its absolute best without compromises. Their communication was also impeccable and while most things had been highlighted in numerous site visits, parts were inaccessible until the old system was torn out and that posed a couple of minor issues and had a bearing on the final design. I was offered multiple solutions based on how we would prefer to operate the new system and were sure to include me and my staff in discussions about how the small changes may impact the operation of the system, and how it would be different from the old one.
I could not be happier with CSE’s commitment to delivering and their most excellent customer service from all departments and members of the team.
