The Light Console
The Light Console was a unique and innovative lighting control system created by Fred Bentham in the mid-1930s. While it was not commercially very successful, it was of great significance in the development of lighting control, and challenged the ideas of the time about the role of light in theatre performance, and so how it should be controlled.
I have collated some information on each of the 17 Light Consoles made in the table below – click the links for details of each one. Some additional general information and links to other resources appear below.
| Console | Installed | Last known date | Preservation |
| Original | 1935 | Removed from Palladium in 1949 | V&A Theatre Museum collection, London. |
| S’Carlos Opera House, Lisbon | 1940 | Museu Nacional do Teatro Lisbon. | |
| South Shore Icedrome, Blackpool | 1946 | ||
| Theatre Royal, Bristol | 1946 | Replaced by PR control c.1962 | Owned by Jim Laws. On loan to Rose Bruford College. |
| Palladium Theatre, London | 1949 | Replaced c.1969 | V&A Theatre Museum collection, London. |
| National Opera House, Ankara | 1949 | ||
| Palace Theatre, Manchester | 1949 | Replaced by Light Palette in 1981 | Preserved at Gerriets, in their Vogelsheim factory in south-east France. |
| Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London | 1950 | Replaced in 1975 | Jim Laws collection. |
| Empress Hall, Earl’s Court, London | 1950 | ||
| Stoll Theatre, Kingsway, London | 1950 | Moved to ‘Talk of the Town’ (old London Hippodrome) in 1958 | |
| Festival Hall, London | 1951 | Removed by Jim Laws c.1975 | DHA Lighting, London. |
| Coliseum, London | 1952 | ||
| Aula Magna, Caracas | 1954 | ||
| Adelphi Theatre, London | 1954 | Converted to something equivalent to a CD in 1962 | |
| Her Majesty’s Theatre, London | 1954 | Removed by Greg Hamlin in 1978. | Greg Hamlin private collection. |
| Plaza Cinema, Caracas | 1954 | ||
| Theatre Polski, Warsaw | 1955 | Reported as ‘recently removed’ in 1983 | Theatre Museum at the Grand Theatre - National Opera, Warsaw. |
Other Light Console Resources:
- Alan Siggers has provided detailed notes and photographs about the Light Console at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London.
- The Strand Archive has information and photos of various Light Consoles.
- A student dissertation on the Light Console.
Miscellaneous Light Console Documentation:
- A scanned copy of a Light Console manual, in PDF format.
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| Strand Electric leaflet showing the RFH Light Console. From the collection of Adam Grater. |
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| A cue sheet from the RFH Light Console. From the collection of Adam Grater. |