This is the story of John Stenton’s life and work in the theatres of the West End of London.
It covers his life mainly from when he started work as a Student of the Paddington Technical College on Day Release to the Victoria Palace Theatre, Victoria London. Which started on the 9th of the 9th 1977 . It ends with his resignation from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s, Really Useful Group Theatres, on the 9th 0f the 9th 2013.
In those 36 years he enjoyed himself most of the time, and got to know, admire, and love some very wonderful people. John in all that time came across very few fools, or crooks, and only one drunken bully that made his life very unpleasant for a few months. He had only 12 days off sick in all that time, and when promoted to working in head office, 3 snow days, off which that really is quite another story.
So here, as they say it is. The sections in italics explain some of the technical expressions, and can easily be skipped if the reader has no interest in such details. The book is organised into Chapters, most of them covering the years he spent in five great London Theatres. He worked his way up from Student, Showman Electrician, 2nd Dayman, first Dayman, Deputy Chief Electrician, and finally in November 1987 Chief Electrician. In 2002 He started working for head office, directly reporting to the Technical Manager David Leach. Finally a year or so later, back reporting directly to Julian Rees the Operations Director.
This book is dedicated to all the lovely Theatre Technicians, wherever they may be, that are swearing, sweating, and getting covered in that special theatre dust that continues to defy all the attempts to remove it. It lives like the half used roll of black PVC tape left on a bedside table after a day and a night’s work, unfathomable, unloved, and unwanted, but there just the same.
A special mention also, must go to all those theatre people that I like to think of as friends, some of them are listed below, but not all, and not in any order of preference, apart from Tony Priestley, who was one day in February 2011, my very best man.
Tony P, Dave (captain) Corbett, Julian Rees, Steve McAndrew, David Leach, Mark Fox, Percy Hawkins, Ian Brown, Hugh Davis, (Big)Mark Watkins, Owen O’Moran, Colin Vicat, Gerry Johns. David (shaggers) Draude, Chester Lovering, Phil (filthy) Smith, Michael (Big Lad) Shaw, Tony Massey, Stan Hales, Mike Brown, Justin Ridley, Peter Sage, Richard Goodwin, Alan Pope, Kevin(Best Ape) FitzSimmons, Simon Wood, and finally Robert Radcliffe.
And One other couple must be Mentioned.
“Not last, and certainly not Least”.
For every knight should have his lady, and his faithful hound. And so this book is for Rachel, without whom no day would ever be complete, and finally little Maggie, our beautiful Long haired, Long Legged, Jack Russell Terrier, who had the strongest, and kindest of little hearts.