This story pertains to our friends on the other side of the pond, but could someday affect Americans. New laws in the United Kingdom are being voted in Parliament to ban the use of current-era lighting equipment due to its energy efficiency.
No current alternate theater lighting option currently exists. The lack of efficient lighting source would eliminate EDM performances as we know them. Including any type of performance dependent on high powered light systems. The new estimate by UK Theatre and SOLT – 1.8 billion Euros, which is over five times higher than the original estimate – 180 million Euros.
The laws are to take effect on September 1st, 2020 and will affect all venues in the UK. Industry leaders are pushing for an exception to be made for venues since the law would be catastrophic. Something that has been ingrained in European culture for generations.
The United Kingdom is the birthplace of many genres, sub-genres, and other forms of the performing arts. An instance such as this begs the question, is our pastime worth the ecological fuel used to power our experiences? If you said yes like I did, then it seems plausible enough to understand the future requires innovation and work to sustain what we do now.
With society urging more efficiency in all fields of study like automotive, aeronautics, and even financial, stages are essentially a giant entity which consumes a significant amount of energy: to provide us with amazing visuals and sound. If anyone has any super-secret highly efficient light system in the works, you can save the European theaters.
There is one thing I have learned in 25 years of life, and that is human ingenuity shines the brightest out of pressure. Only time will tell which direction this story will go.
