Martin and ESL light up Escape in Copford.

When Shea Properties unleashed the award-winning Mayhem in Southend on the public last year, their principle designers could little have realised that a similar challenge would await them so soon — despite the fact that the owners had already purchased the building; that would become Escape; several years before.

The challenge confronting Mike Glover of Essex Sound & Light and interior designers Sampson Associates was to implant their cutting edge design into a smaller (600-capacity) footprint outside Colchester — and use some technological alchemy to conjour up further innovation.

“It was essential we created a number of talking points at Escape, since this was to be a destination venue,” declared director, Jason Smith.

Martin Professional lighting was used in the main dancefloor. Six Martin Wizard Extremes dominate the dancefloor, along with ten Martin MX-10s, eight Martin MAC 250 Entours and four Atomic strobes, brought to life by a Martin Clubsmoke system.

The venue, a grand Grade-II listed Georgian building with a restored frontage, is set back on the London Road at Copford. Residential at the top, at various times it has been a hotel, a pub called the Windmill and latterly Kings nightclub.