Lyric life

Welcome to #12JobsofTheatre.

Over 12 days in December we’ll be telling you about 12 different jobs at the Lyric to give you an insight into the varied and vital jobs that contribute to the work we make.

Each of the wonderful people that are currently in those positions have shared how they got there and we hope it will be helpful to those thinking about pursuing a career in the arts.

Next up is Will Warnock, our Box Office Supervisor.

1. In one sentence, can you explain what your job is?

As the Box Office Supervisor, my main responsibility is to ensure that audiences of all kinds have access to the wide variety of plays, classes, workshops and all sorts of events that happen at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre.

2. What made you want to work in theatre and where did you start? 

I worked in the box office of a cinema when I was a student, and then when I moved to London I worked for a few different places before being lucky enough to get a job at the Barbican, right when Benedict Cumberbatch was performing in Hamlet. Some of the fans were very intense, but people were so happy to be there that you couldn’t help but be caught up in the positivity of it. There’s nothing quite like the shared communal experience of live theatre, and I love being the facilitator between audiences and performers.

3. What is your top recommendation for someone who wants to be a Box Office Supervisor?

Working in the box office, you are usually the first point of contact for anyone who visits the theatre. You are also at the intersection between all the other teams of staff who bring a performance to the stage: marketing, facilities, production, front of house. You can never tell what an audience member might ask, so it’s useful to have a bit of knowledge from all over! That said, it’s almost always enough to have an active curiosity in everything that’s happening. The best part of the job is getting to meet everyone who comes into the theatre, so having an enthusiasm for meeting new people and talking to new audiences is invaluable.

4. What is your favourite production at the Lyric that you have worked on and why?

This is a bit of a cheat because it only launched today, but I’ve really enjoyed working on the online version of Raymond Briggs’ Father Christmas that is available to watch from today (9^th December.) It’s an annual tradition here, as much as the sadly missed Panto, and our Lyric audience are thrilled that we’re bringing the show to them this year. It’s also been lovely working with a range of theatres across the UK – especially at these times, it’s really important to build networks of culture across the whole country.