"It’s a cross between being a receptionist and a security guard"

Hometown
Romford

What do you do?
Stage doorkeeper, Cambridge Theatre, West End

How long have you been in this role?
Eighteen years

What was your very first role in theatre?
I started as an usher, came to the stage door to cover for an afternoon and never left

What else have you done in theatre?
I started at Cambridge Theatre, but worked as a stage doorkeeper at the Aldwych Theatre for a while before coming back here

Have you got qualifications?
A degree in graphic design

Did you work in another industry before the theatre?
I work as an illustrator alongside being on the stagedoor. I do illustrating for newspapers, magazines, posters and so on.

How did you start working in theatre?
There was an advert in the Evening Standard for a front of house job

What did you want to be when you grew up?
A light entertainer or drawing comics

What do you do all day?
It’s a cross between being a receptionist and a security guard. I open the building in the morning and lock it at night, issue keys, answer the telephone, liaise between the cast and the theatre manager, take messages and any other general tasks.

What’s the best thing about your job?
It gives me the freedom to pursue my illustrating work, because although I work 12-14-hour days, I only work three days a week. There is also time during the day when I’m not too busy and can do other things.
Meeting the cast can be both the best and worst part of the job, depending on who they are.

And the worst?
The long days. It can be 14 hours of boredom.

What’s your dream job in theatre?
I initially got a job in theatre because I was interested in set design, but I changed my mind

Got any wise words for someone who wants to be where you are now?
Do something else! I don’t think many people set out to be stage doorkeepers. It’s useful to me because of the freedom it gives me to do other things.