It’s not often we like to reveal the backstage mysteries of event production but we thought we would make an exception…

When an event is running, the crew, especially in large venues, need to speak to each other. It’s important because we need to know exactly when to turn the lights down or run a video. We do this with a talkback system of microphone headsets (or ‘cans’). Sometimes, not much technical is happening during the presentation and the crew might share a polite anecdote - punctuated by the occasional countdown to a video or request for a lighting change. As they listen to their colleagues on stage, the audience are never aware of this simultaneous whispered dialogue, conducted by our black-clad crew who lurk behind control desks in dark corners of the room.

This was the case on the roadshow we have just completed for Co-operative Financial Services. Over one month, we have run events all over the UK for the entire workforce of 12,000. The theme was the Next Chapter (which is why the staging looks like a giant book). The event boasted a show crew of 20, and three sizes of book to fit different venues.

So, picture the scene backstage: you’re working on a roadshow for a major financial client. You’re on your 12th day away from home and just finishing the 20th show. It’s gone off without a hitch (again) and the audience have lapped it up (again). You’ve watched the closing video so often, you find you know the words to the soundtrack. As it starts for the umpteenth time, you allow yourself a final indulgence - a talkback singalong.

MarkM Work Completed Britannia, CFS, large employee events, speakeasy, The Cooperative Bank