Making it happen

The bad news is that when theatres reopen there will be more backstage gaps and skills shortages than ever. Before the pandemic, the industry had too few stage managers, lighting technicians, costume makers and other behind-the-scenes essential workers.

The situation will be worse now, because some of these people have, while their workplaces were closed, taken their readily transferrable skills elsewhere and might not come back. Imagine a stage electrician who has spent the last year happily and lucratively rewiring houses, for example.

The good news is that this means there will be plenty of backstage job opportunities for the next generation. And even better news is that the Birmingham Ormiston Academy Group is opening BOA Stage and Screen this autumn to provide training opportunities in these skills for 16- to 19-year-olds.