Australia-wide equipment hire
PA · Lighting · Staging · Rigging
Quote within one business day

Theatre equipment hirefor Australianlive production.

Professional audio, lighting and staging hire for theatre companies, touring productions, and presenting venues across Australia. Supplementing the in-house rig for every production season and touring run.
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Professional theatre equipment hire
Audio · Lighting · Staging
Touring productions supported
Bump-in to bump-out, on spec
Presenting venues nationwide
Independent & touring theatre
Professional theatre equipment hire
Audio · Lighting · Staging
Touring productions supported
Bump-in to bump-out, on spec
Presenting venues nationwide
Independent & touring theatre
VENUE DIRECTORY · AUSTRALIA

Technical specs for Australia’s
performing arts venues.

Six fully-documented venues at launch. Stage dimensions, fly-tower heights, in-house rigs, dock access, and bump-in windows — everything a touring production or resident company needs to plan supplementary equipment hire.

Browse the directory
CONCERT HALL · 22M FLY
Featured
Tier 1 · Flagship2,679 seats

Sydney Opera House

Bennelong Point, NSW
HERITAGE PROSCENIUM · 19M GRID
Tier 1 · CBD2,052 seats

Capitol Theatre

Haymarket, NSW
GOTHIC REVIVAL · GRADE I
Tier 1 · CBD Heritage2,000 seats

State Theatre

Sydney CBD, NSW
STC RESIDENT · MODERN
Tour stop
Tier 1 · Walsh Bay850 seats

Roslyn Packer Theatre

Walsh Bay, NSW
PARRAMATTA · 12M GRID
Tier 2 · Western Sydney740 seats

Riverside Theatres

Parramatta, NSW
EQUIPMENT HIRE

Supplementing the in-house rig
for your next season.

Most venues have a working in-house rig. Most productions — from independent theatre to large-scale touring — need more than that. We bridge the gap with audio, lighting and staging, calibrated and production-ready.

All categories
L-ACOUSTICS K2 · MAINS + DELAY
01 / 02

Audio & PA Systems

Line arraysd&b · L-AcousticsPA hire
ROBE · GRANDMA3 RIG
02 / 02

Stage Lighting

Follow spotsMoving headsLighting hire
PRODUCTION QUOTE TOOL

One brief, one broker,
a shortlist by sundown.

Send a brief in under two minutes. A senior production specialist replies within one business day with a curated shortlist of venues, equipment and crew — with transparent line-item pricing.

1 day
Maximum reply time
6
Venues documented
2 min
To submit your brief
Production Quote Tool
01 / 07 · Production
What are you producing?
Frame the brief — we’ll tailor the rest of the questions.
PRODUCTION GUIDES

Resources for producers,
tour managers, and presenters.

Long-form, technical, and grounded. Written by the people who load in for a living.

All guides
14 MIN READ
GUIDE · 14 MIN
How to Read a Venue Technical Rider
Most theatre-spec PDFs assume in-house knowledge. A plain-language guide to fly heights, dead-hangs, dock dimensions, and the questions to ask before you sign.
APR 2026READ →
22 MIN READ
GUIDE · 22 MIN
The NSW Touring Circuit — A Working Primer
From Riverside Parramatta to Wagga Wagga: how regional touring works, what presenters expect, and how to size your rig for variable in-house provision.
MAR 2026READ →
ABOUT CRITICAL STAGES

Performing arts equipment hire,
built around the production.

Critical Stages is a specialist supplier of theatre and performing arts equipment across Australia. We supply audio and PA systems, stage lighting, and staging infrastructure to theatre companies, independent producers, presenting venues, festivals, and touring productions — from a single bump-in to a full national touring run.

Our focus is straightforward: get the right gear to the right venue, on time, in spec, without the production manager having to chase three suppliers. We combine production-grade equipment with deep venue knowledge — we know what fits on the Capitol Theatre loading dock, what the in-house dimmer rack at Riverside can handle, and where the fly tower at Roslyn Packer ends and your touring rig begins.

Theatre and touring production equipment hire in Australia has historically meant navigating a fragmented supplier market, opaque pricing, and gear that arrives spec'd for concerts rather than live performance. Critical Stages exists to change that — production-grade equipment, quoted transparently, delivered and supported by people who understand what a touring production actually needs on opening night.

Audio & PA hire for theatre+

PA hire and audio systems for performing arts venues

Live theatre demands audio systems calibrated to the room, not thrown at it. Our PA hire inventory includes d&b Audiotechnik J-Series and V-Series line arrays, L-Acoustics K2 and ARCS systems, DiGiCo SD7, SD10, Avid S6L, and Yamaha CL5 consoles — production-grade equipment from the same manufacturers used at Sydney Opera House, the Adelaide Festival, and major venues across the country.

Audio hire for theatre differs from concert PA hire in a few critical ways. Theatre productions typically require a system that supports speech intelligibility across a wide audience footprint, works within fly tower acoustics, integrates with a venue's existing infrastructure, and doesn't impede sightlines. We spec systems with those constraints in mind — not just peak SPL figures.

We stock wireless systems (Sennheiser EW500 G4, Shure QLX-D, Shure PSM1000 IEM) suitable for musical theatre and drama, full outboard rack solutions, and multicore and tie-line infrastructure. System technicians and A1/A2 crew are available for the full production run.

PA hire is available for Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, and regional venues. We coordinate delivery, load-in, rig, and collection around your bump-in schedule. Browse our audio hire catalogue or request a quote.

Stage lighting hire for theatre+

Lighting hire for theatre and live performance

Stage lighting hire for theatre requires a different philosophy than event lighting. Theatre lighting is designed to sculpt, reveal, and direct — working with the production designer's vision across a season, not just for a single night. Our lighting hire inventory is built around exactly that: Robe BMFL Blade and Robin 600E spots, Vari-Lite VL3500Q and VL4000 spots, Clay Paky Sharpy beam units, ETC Source Four profiles and Pars, and full dimmer and cabling infrastructure.

We stock grandMA3 Full-Size and grandMA3 Light consoles, ETC Eos Ion Xe and ETC Element 2 boards for companies who prefer ETC OS, and Zero 88 solutions for smaller-scale productions. All fixtures are fly-cased and pre-rigged where possible, with full inventory labelling to venue spec.

Lighting hire packages are available for short bump-ins, full production runs, and extended seasons. We can supply a complete rig alongside venue in-house infrastructure, or a targeted supplement — additional moving heads for a particular scene, follow spots for a musical, or a complete dimmer and cabling run for a venue temporarily without working infrastructure.

Lighting programmers and operators are available for production. Browse our lighting hire catalogue or request a quote.

How theatre equipment hire works with us+

The quote and hire process

Most equipment hire enquiries start with a technical rider — a list of what the production needs that the venue can't supply from their in-house inventory. If you have a rider, send it. If not, tell us the show type, audience size, venue, and production dates and we'll help you build one.

A senior production specialist reviews your brief and responds within one business day with a curated shortlist — specific equipment matched to your venue and production requirements, with all-in pricing including delivery, set and strike. No hidden fees, no generic pricelist.

Once confirmed, we coordinate logistics around your bump-in schedule. We know Australian venue loading dock windows, access constraints, and the coordination requirements of working alongside in-house technical teams. Equipment arrives pre-rigged and inventoried; we collect post-bump-out.

For productions that need on-call support during the run — a replacement unit, a technical question at load-in, an emergency rig change — we're contactable throughout. That's what specialist hire looks like.

Theatre equipment hire — frequently asked questions+

Common questions about performing arts equipment hire

What is the minimum hire period for theatre equipment?

Minimum hire is typically one day (including delivery and collection). Most theatre productions hire for the full bump-in, run, and bump-out period. We match the hire contract to your production schedule — there is no fixed minimum that doesn't suit theatre timelines.

Can you supply equipment for a multi-venue tour?

Yes. Multi-venue tours are a core part of what we do. We coordinate equipment moves between venues around your bump-out and bump-in schedule, manage carnet documentation for interstate moves, and maintain inventory continuity across the full run.

Do you supply equipment to regional Australian venues?

Yes. We deliver to regional performing arts centres, civic theatres, and independent venues across Australia. If the venue has a dock and a bump-in window, we can supply. Regional deliveries are quoted with delivery logistics built in.

How does your venue technical specification service work?

Critical Stages maintains detailed technical specifications for major Australian performing arts venues — stage dimensions, fly systems, in-house audio and lighting inventory, dimmer and power infrastructure, loading dock specs, and bump-in windows. These specs are available free on our venue directory and are updated from direct venue contact.

Can you supply equipment if the venue has a partial in-house rig?

That is exactly the scenario we are built for. Most venues have a working in-house rig that covers the basics. We supply the gap — additional moving heads, a front-of-house console upgrade, supplementary subwoofers, or a complete rig extension. We work from the venue tech spec to identify what is available in-house and build a hire package around the shortfall.

POSITIONING

We help outstanding independent and touring theatrical productions travel further — with the right technical resources, venue data, and equipment hire for every stop on the touring circuit.

Critical Stages·Australia-wide performing arts equipment hire
READY WHEN YOU ARE

Brief us on your
next production season.

Tell us scope, dates and venue. A senior specialist replies with a shortlist of equipment, crew and indicative pricing within one business day.

Request a quote Browse venues