From the high seas of Peter Pan’s Neverland to the surrealist no man’s land of Ralph Fiennes’ Small Hotel, Theatre Royal Bath has been immersing audiences in faraway theatrical worlds since 1805. India Farnham meets with the theatre’s talented in-house technical crew and lifts the curtain on what life is like backstage…
The cast of Emma Rice’s Malory Towers are warming up when Assistant Head of Stage, Emily Dimeloe, takes me on a tour of Theatre Royal Bath’s (TRB) sprawling backstage. Lip trills and humming exercises reverberate around the renowned venue.
“I feel like I’ve heard every vocal warm-up in the business at this point!” Emily laughs as she sidesteps into the wings, where quick-change stations and props tables are carefully being arranged for the evening’s eagerly awaited opening show.
TRB’s status as a regional theatre worthy of being an opening venue is nothing new. Built on its current site in central Bath in 1805, it’s one of the oldest working theatres in the country. And work it certainly does; across three beautiful venues (the Main House, the Ustinov Studio, and the Egg Theatre) the Grade II* listed building, complete with its original Georgian architecture, offers a chock-a-block year-round programme of drama, musicals, comedy, opera and dance.
Typically, a new production takes the stage at TRB’s Main House every two weeks.
And if that wasn’t already enough top-class dramatics for you, the theatre also has its own commercial production arm, Theatre Royal Bath Productions, which is celebrated for creating more than 40 West End transfers since its inception in 1998, most recently including Ralph Fiennes’ ‘captivating’ Grace Pervades. Phew! Talk about productive.
Unsung heroes
While more than 200,000 people attended performances at TRB’s Main House and Ustinov Studio in 2025, Emily is part of a core team of just ten technical staff who work behind the scenes, day and night, to make sure this rammed schedule of theatre runs smoothly every single week.
Between them, this dream team of local, specialised stage technicians builds, troubleshoots, lights, manages, safeguards and deconstructs every single show, every single week; and they do it all while being totally invisible to audiences.
We don’t need people to go ‘they’re doing such a great job’, we’d just like people to be aware of it as a job,” David Preston-Rider, Head of Stage
So, although I’d like to ask each member of the crew what it feels like to be a superhero without a cape, they’ve all taken time out of their hectic schedules to speak to me, so, frankly, there isn’t time for silliness. Instead, then, I opt for this: how does it feel to work in such a special, successful regional theatre?
“It’s very rewarding,” Will Burgher, Chief Electrician, tells me. “I don’t think there’s another regional theatre that does quite what we do here, especially in terms of producing our own stuff.”
“Sometimes creatives will come here, step onto the stage and say, ‘You’re so lucky to work here,’” Lizzie Donaldson, Deputy Chief Electrician notes. “And it’s in those moments that you’re like, ‘yeah, yeah you’re right!’”
Meet the team
David Preston-Rider, Head of Stage
“I lead the fit ups and get outs, meaning when a new show arrives at TRB I’m in charge of getting the set put up and then loaded back on the production’s lorries. I also lead on health and safety.”
Lizzie Donaldson, Deputy Chief Electrician
“My job revolves around setting up the lighting and sound for new shows, whether that’s shows we produce or shows that come in with their touring team.”
Emily Dimeloe, Assistant Head of Stage
“In the stage department, we build all of the sets. We are also responsible for flying, which is how set pieces are able to move independently without being lifted by a person on stage.”
Will Burgher, Chief Electrician
“As Chief Electrician I have the task of making sure a production’s lighting and
sound plan works for within our theatre and getting it all set up.”
Fit up and get out!
Each show is a new mission for the TRB technical team – a new world to build, a new script to cue, a new story to package in the best way possible. What does the team’s weekly schedule look like?
“Monday and Tuesday consist of what we call the fit up, when a new production is getting set up,” Will explains. “On those days we’ll be in all day building the show and we’ll do a rehearsal with the cast on-stage.
“Then on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, we’re on duty running the show. And then on Saturday we do two shows and a get out, meaning we deconstruct the show, and load it onto the production’s lorries, so generally we’re in until about four or five in the morning.”
Blimey! And on Sunday – a day of rest? “It’s classified as a day off, but it’s basically a write-off, because you’re knackered!” Lizzie shares. “You’ve got to be ready for the following week, because as soon as one touring production leaves, we’re onto the next.”
I’m starting to get an idea of just how full-on this line of work is, and how different it is to your regular nine-to-five. How do the team find balancing quality time with loved ones with these long hours?
“It can be hard socially,” Lizzie admits. “It’s hard to make plans in advance when the nature of the job means our rotas don’t come through until the week before. But I’m fortunate that my partner works in the same industry, so he’s very understanding with my working hours.”
“I’m from a touring background,” David Preston-Rider, Head of Stage, tells me. “I’m used to being away from home for six weeks at a time. So actually, with this job, I’m at home more often than I have been.”
I’ve had people say to me, ‘…you need to be a big burly man for that job,’ and I’m like, ‘no, no you don’t, because I’m doing it, and I’m 5ft!’“
Emily Dimeloe, Assistant Head of Stage
This positive mindset is shared by the team. Will explains that he was never a morning person, so starting and finishing later works well for him, and Emily notes that as a stage technician, you can’t take work home, meaning it’s possible to properly “check-out” during precious time off.
It’s clear within moments of my conversation with the team not only that they really get along, but that they’re still able to learn from each other every day. “Theatre is inherently a collaborative process, so it really helps that we all get on and are willing to help each other out,” Emily tells me. David notes that his team have even helped out in wardrobe when they’ve needed staff.
Career chat
Unsurprisingly, then, when I ask what soft skills could put someone ahead if they’re pursuing a career in a stage crew, the team are unanimous in their answer: teamwork.
“I’d always rather take on someone that’s less experienced, but a good person who’s good at working with others, than someone who knows their stuff, but won’t fit in with the team,” David explains confidently.
Interestingly, three out of four of the TRB stage technicians can pinpoint a specific teacher who told them about the possibility of working backstage as a career, something they all attribute to the reality of backstage work not being widely understood as a viable career option.
I’m moved when Lizzie describes how her drama teacher had asked her to try lighting design for one of her GCSE assessments, leading her to work on the lighting for all of the school’s shows after that, and then eventually pursuing it as a career.
It feels important to ask her and Emily about their experience working backstage as women in a male-dominated industry. “It has been like climbing a mountain,” Lizzie explains. “I’m really well supported here, but there have been times earlier in my career when people treated me differently, for sure.”
Emily remembers being underestimated. “I’ve had people say to me in the past ‘oh, you can’t fly [lift set pieces from above]– you need to be a big burly man for that job,’ and I’m like, ‘no, no you don’t, because I’m doing it, and I’m 5ft!’”
Both Lizzie and Emily feel inspired by strong female role models in their industry (“The lighting programmer on Malory Towers is a woman and she’s amazing – we love her!”), and are gladdened by the landscape of theatre production changing to become more welcoming to women. I’m touched to hear how much they enjoyed the environment in the theatre when Prima Facie’s production crew, who are all female or gender neutral, were touring in Bath.
Times are changing. When Will joined TRB in 2017, he remembers it being an all-male team. Today, four of the TRB technical team are women, making up forty percent; Lizzie and Emily are joined by Indigo Jones, Assistant Electrician, and Abi Simkin, Deputy Studio Technician. Where Lizzie is modest about her role in bringing women into the Theatre Royal team, Emily is happy to put it plainly: “I think [Lizzie] has done wonders for women being in industry!”
End scene
Backstage, there’s an unmistakable buzz in the air as the team prepare for the upcoming performance. Do the crew still feel the magic of the theatre, even when it’s their day-to-day? “Absolutely,” Emily smiles. “It’s probably a bit cheesy, but I still absolutely love that moment when the lights go down and there’s that hush that falls across the audience.”
What’s the best part of the job, I wonder? “Weirdly, for me it’s when I have to fix something that’s gone wrong on set,” David shares. “I like that initial adrenaline rush, and problem-solving.” Lizzie loves the first few hours after a new show arrives at the venue. “At the start of a fit-up, when you’re putting the lights up and you’re getting it all working and you’re really busy, the time goes like that. Yeah, that’s really fun.”
Whilst the job certainly isn’t without its occasional moments of high pressure or stress (David recommends the ability to stay calm as a strong second to teamwork on the backstage skills list), every member of the crew feels strongly that more people should know about their line of work, and what roles are available behind the scenes.
“Stuff like [this article] is really important, because for this industry, it’s crucial to get the knowledge of what happens backstage out there,” David tells me appreciatively. “We don’t need people to go ‘they’re doing such a great job’, we’d just like people to be aware of it as a job, so that that barrier of awareness gets broken down.”
“Our hope is that more people, perhaps the sort of people who don’t want a nine-to-five office job, will be comfortable giving this stuff a go,” Will shares.
Well, dear reader, if you’ve made it this far, then consider yourself part of this new wave of knowledge about what’s really going on backstage. Share it with anyone in your life who is considering a career in theatre, or events, or as a technician. Or with someone who isn’t at all. At best, they’ll know something about what could be a highly rewarding career path for them. And at the very least, they’ll gain a new-found appreciation for the ‘magic’ of theatre…
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