A safety curtain is a passive fire protection feature used in large proscenium theatres. It is usually a heavy fabric curtain located immediately behind the proscenium arch. Asbestos-based materials were originally used to manufacture the curtain, before the dangers of asbestos were widely known. The safety curtain is sometimes referred to as an iron curtain in British theatres, regardless of the actual construction material.
Safety curtain of St Martin's Theatre in London.
The lever and weights used to operate a fire curtain as seen from a theatre's backstage
The ornately decorated safety curtain of the Vienna State Opera House.
A fly system, or theatrical rigging system, is a system of ropes, pulleys, counterweights and related devices within a theater that enables a stage crew to fly (hoist) quickly, quietly and safely components such as curtains, lights, scenery, stage effects and, sometimes, people. Systems are typically designed to fly components between clear view of the audience and out of view, into the large space, the fly loft, above the stage.
Fly loft of the Theater Bielefeld in Germany
Electric line set flown in
Shell cloud line sets flown out
A small pin-rail at stage level.