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Ms. Ruth Eastwood
Chief Executive
Leicester Theatre Trust
Curve
UK's newest theatre, Curve, is unique. Opened by Her Majesty the Queen in December 2008, Curve is a huge curved glass building which features a large auditorium and a smaller, more versatile space.
To date, the ￡61 million facility has hosted theatre, dance, music, comedy performances and conferences on stages designed to be adaptive to diverse theatre arrangements.
A key part of the vision is to bring people closer to the action, so at Curve, there are no traditional backstage areas to keep the actors and the exciting art of theatre-making behind closed doors.
The two auditorium spaces, visible from the outside, sit like islands in the middle of the lobbies around them.
When the 32-ton steel walls separating the stage and foyer are lifted, the stage is visible from street level, involving passers-by – a result of its inside-out design.
The glass facade encloses an open plan foyer with views of the cafe, bars, backstage area, and across the stage.
The space features innovation on every level, from the opening of the front doors through to the scanning of tickets by barcode readers at the entrance, to the stage flying control system.
As such, it was vital that any communications solution they decided to implement was innovative enough to meet the unusual demands of the building (anywhere, anytime communication inside of a concrete and steel infrastructure), and to provide a high level of flexibility and mobility for staff and theatre users.
"Curve was conceived to reflect Leicester's multi-cultural and cosmopolitan nature," says Ruth Eastwood, Chief Executive, Curve. "It is also the most technologically-advanced theatre in Britain, using cutting-edge technology in all areas, from the stage management to the communications."
Curve also wanted to implement a communications system that provided a high level of flexibility and mobility for staff and theatre users.
Looking to match the innovative nature of Leicester's Curve, the theatre selected NEC to implement the SIP wireless, fixed and PC-based communication devices at the new theatre.
The NEC solution delivers the UNIVERGE Sphericall software-based IP communications platform to underpin the mix of SIP wireless, fixed and PC–based communication devices.
The prime objective for the visionaries of Curve was to adopt leading-edge technology, in both communications and engineering, and integrate it into the architectural design of the theatre.
According to Ms. Eastwood, "Being first is one of the theatre's drivers, a philosophy we carry through every area of our business, particularly with the technology we utilize."
Every aspect of the Curve relies on efficient communications, from interactions with customers to behind–the–scenes activities – particularly in the run-up to and during performances.
One example is that the theatre has no dedicated ushers or usherettes. Instead, it relies on a single customer services team that can be deployed in numerous roles throughout the venue.
NEC rolled out its Unified Communications platform, UNIVERGE Sphericall, to integrate the communications technologies with business applications at the theatre.
A perpetual challenge is to provide a better service to visitors in order to develop a more personal customer experience, and to provide a high level of flexibility and mobility for staff and theatre users.
Like many organizations, Curve needs to combine their business applications with their communications solution.
UNIVERGE Sphericall integrates the communications technologies with business applications. The solution is based on a service-oriented Unified Communications architecture.
The open architecture offers endless opportunities to continue to develop their technology as the theatre evolves.
The NEC solution delivers the UNIVERGE Sphericall software-based IP communications platform to underpin the mix of SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) wireless, fixed and PC–based communication devices.
Curve is using NEC's wireless technology to improve communications across the highly-mobile workforce. And unlike the traditional radio technology, the SIP-based wireless system is fully integrated with the rest of the communications solutions, providing excellent coverage.
"Staff can divert calls to their wireless headset or phone and be in communication anywhere across the theatre," explains Ms. Eastwood. "This is a large, circular building – the wireless has proven useful at enabling us to achieve excellent interdepartmental communications."
The theatre's ticketing system has already been integrated with the communications system through the contact centre – enabling staff to tailor call response based on customer profile, and efficiently handle inquiries and bookings.
The solution has built-in redundancy to ensure the constant availability of the communications technologies.
Integrated hospitality features enable Curve to offer communications services to corporate and other theatre users. So at private functions, Curve can sell communications services.
Along with a widely-connected worker base and expertly-served customer base, the unified communications applications allow for rich presence, desktop video and messaging, on-demand recording (for better customer service and training), and on-demand conferencing.
The rich presence gives an instant view as to whether an individual is in, out, or on the phone, enabling users to make informed communications decisions.
UNIVERGE Sphericall is based on the award-winning Sphere Communications Services Engine (CSE) software and is used by a range of organizations around the globe.
It runs on industry-standard servers without the need for expensive, proprietary hardware, and has the capability to connect up to 30,000 ports across standards-based SIP and analogue phones, gateways and other communications endpoints. The system achieves 99.999% reliability with no single point of failure.
In fact, NEC services integrated components which were not from the NEC portfolio, but created a solution that performs seamlessly.
"The NEC technologies offer the theatre both flexibility and value for the money," says Ms. Eastwood.
The test of any performing arts centre is the quality of its program and the size of the audience it attracts.
Curve has had an impressive launch, establishing itself as a great destination for the arts, and as a result, increasing ticket sales.
Other goals have also been met.
By integrating the ticketing system and CRM systems with the new communications solution, Curve has been able to develop a more personal customer experience, critical in service-focused businesses.
For example, an individual calling in can be identified as a new or returning customer prior to their call being answered. This enables Curve to direct their call to the most appropriate operator more efficiently. Or offer premium ticketing services. Or personalize a greeting to the caller.
Call monitoring has increased the accuracy and levels of customer data. Standards-based technology has enabled integration, front and back, throughout the building.
Conferences and events are providing another revenue stream in rechargeable communications.
All of which has delighted Ms. Eastwood, who offers, "Curve will continue to exploit its investment in unified communications and other technologies to deliver a great customer experience, and efficiency and cost-effective operations. The technology has played an important part in what we do, and our vision, but if the underpinning technology is working well, the customer shouldn't even notice it."
Ian Guest
Marketing Manager
NEC Philips
Unified Solutions UKLeicester City's Curve is a tremendous technical achievement for both Curve and NEC.
The people at Curve were not strangers to working on large capital projects.
The customer's strategy was to be on the cutting-edge when it came to selecting technology and suppliers for the project.
For the record, the infrastructure for the building has 22 different computer systems controlling everything. It is truly state-of-the-art.
They were quite clear about what they wanted. One of those requirements was to install technology that had a sustainable future without compromising the theatre's development ideas.
After consultation, the decision to deploy unified communications was made.
Unified communications is very much a philosophy, and not just a specific product. In the case of Curve, unified communications was a lot about combining presence information, with complete telephony control. And in the case of the contact centre, it was about incorporating intelligence from various other systems they have.
It's a great solution for the long run. The product is built on a service-oriented communications platform. It is an open standards based platform which comes complete with software assurance cover – meaning it will be continually upgraded to the latest software, as a matter of course.
All told, NEC was selected for their technology, NEC Services capabilities, scope of products and a reputation as a trusted solutions provider.
Consequently, they have a basis for future development long into the future. And we hope to be working with them long into the future.
| Type of business | Theatre facility |
|---|---|
| Address | Rutland Street Leicester, LE1 1SB, UK |
| Established | 2008 |
(Sep 7, 2009)
This theatre is like no other, and challenges many of the traditional theatre ways.