The 37th ABTT Theatre Show was held at The West Hall in Alexandra Palace on June 24th and 25th. In many ways, this was the most successful show ever and the organisers have announced that Alexandra Palace will now be the permanent home for the event. Next year, the show dates are confirmed as 22/23 June.
The Theatre Show is an event created by a small team of industry specialists whose objective is to build an environment where suppliers of goods and services can meet up with industry professionals involved in the staging of live performance. The level of support for The ABTT Theatre Show in its first year at Ally Pally was terrific. There is an enormous sense of brand loyalty and belonging to a community. Many technicians make this their ‘once a year’ opportunity to meet with colleagues, find out what’s new and to network with new contacts. In our new home, the building is stunning, the service from Alexandra Palace was outstanding, so the environment really worked for everybody.
Exhibitors, now in a ‘grown up’ exhibition environment, pulled out the stops with some brilliantly creative and technical stands. Drapemakers won the stand of the year award with a stand, which was a production workshop making drapes. It may seem simple but it was a very relevant and a direct route to market, which now has a growing order book. The breadth of goods and services on show attracted a wide range of specialist visitors from the world of theatre and events. Visitor numbers were up, there were nearly 1000 users of the new Theatre Show app, the sun shone and the reaction has been very positive indeed.
The show included an engaging programme of seminars and practical product demonstrations. The new ABTT Theatre Show app was a great success and will inevitably evolve with a technical theatre activity feed over the coming months. Hundreds of visitors were shown around the Victorian Theatre prior to refurbishment works commence.
Plans for next year include greater opportunities for exhibitors to showcase their products and services in action. The show will remain the same size and will continue to focus on relevant exhibitors for the world of live performance on stage.