About this venue
Parkbiografen is a live music and events venue in central Skien, housed in a building with more than a hundred years of cultural history behind it. It was a cinema for decades before becoming the busy culture house it is today, and it is run on a private basis with no public operating subsidy.
The programme is dense and broad: hard rock and garage from Gluecifer, The Good The Bad and The Zugly, Spidergawd, Slomosa, Backstreet Girls and TNT; folk-rock and pop from Gåte, Valkyrien Allstars, Sondre Lerche, Susanne Sundfør, Beharie and Chris Kläfford; dansband and party acts such as Vassendgutane and Plumbo; stand-up and comedy shows; tribute nights (AC/DC with Sin City, The Doors with Dynni, Sabbath in Black); club concepts such as Skammens Diskotek; the Skien Live series, including under-18 editions; and the annual Sykehusrevyen and Christmas dinner shows. The venue also hosts Skien Vinfestival and Oktoberfest.
The main hall reconfigures for the occasion: 600 standing, 300 in rows of seats, 250 at a mix of long and small tables, 200 at small tables in café layout, 186 in a classroom or conference setting and 250 for seated dining — all including use of the gallery. It can also be hired as a smaller intimate stage for 100 seated.
House sound is a d&b audiotechnik system — Yi8 and Yi12 tops, 10S and Vi-GSUB subs on 30D amplifiers — with an Allen & Heath dLive C3500 at front of house, ten d&b Max2 wedges and a full microphone locker including Shure ULXD wireless and DPA condensers. Lighting is a Chauvet rig of Ovation Fresnels and profiles, COLORdash PARs, Rogue R3 spots and R2X washes on three motorised bars, run from a GrandMA3 command wing, with a hazer and two 50 cm mirror balls. A NEC 8000-lumen projector throws onto an 8 x 6 m screen covering the entire back wall of the stage, with HDMI from both front of house and stage, and there are two 63 A three-phase outlets on stage.
Catering is exclusive to Mathuset in Skien and is booked through Parkbiografen; outside caterers are not permitted, and all drinks, alcoholic or not, are served by the venue.
