The final days before a play opens are often some of the busiest. In this pivotal time, the company move over to the theatre and the technical elements of the production come together for the first time. Photographer Marc Brenner joined one day of the Europe technical rehearsals to give you a look behind-the-scenes at this exciting period in the production process.

As soon as one production closes, the set is removed with the new one installed overnight. Once the new set is in, final checks are made to the electrics and any health and safety procedures are carried out. For Europe this included lots of detailed electrical work and fireproofing.

During ‘tech week’, every area of our Earlham Street theatre is taken over with preparations for the production. Our carpenters are hard at work in the workshop, whilst the props team often sets up in one of the bar spaces.

The auditorium looks different too, with desks set up in the stalls for the Creative Team, and lots of ladders for easy access to the lighting rig.

Once the set is in, checks have been made, and the Creative Team have finished set-up, the cast step onto the stage. There’s time for a quick warm up before rehearsals begin.

Wondering how everything runs so smoothly? That’s all down to the brilliant Production and Stage Management teams.