Theatre glossary
What the words on the poster and the booking page actually mean. Understudy or swing, stalls or dress circle, preview or press night.
A
- Alternate
- A performer who plays a leading role on a set number of performances each week, sharing the part with the main actor. Alternates are named in advance, unlike understudies.
B
- Book (of a musical)
- The spoken script and story of a musical, as opposed to the music and the lyrics.
- Box office
- The place, or website, where tickets for a theatre or production are sold.
- Broadway
- The commercial theatre district of New York City, centred on Times Square. Strictly, a Broadway theatre is one of around 40 large houses with 500 or more seats.
C
- Casting director
- A person who finds and auditions performers for a production and recommends them to the director and producers.
- Choreographer
- The creative who designs the dance and movement in a production.
- Concert version
- A staging of a musical or opera with minimal sets and costumes, often with the performers using scripts.
- Curtain call
- The moment at the end of a show when the cast takes their bows.
D
- Day seats
- Low-price tickets held back and sold on the morning of the performance, usually in person at the box office.
- Director
- The person who shapes the staging and the performances to deliver a coherent production.
- Dress circle
- The first balcony level above the stalls in a traditional theatre. In many theatres it offers some of the best views.
E
- Ensemble
- The group of performers in a musical who sing and dance in the chorus, often playing several smaller roles.
F
- Fourth wall
- The imaginary wall between the performers and the audience. Breaking it means acting directly to the audience.
- Fringe
- Independent, low-budget theatre outside the mainstream, as at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe or in London pub theatres.
G
- Get-in
- The process of bringing the set and equipment into a theatre ahead of a production. The reverse is called the get-out.
- Green room
- A room backstage where performers wait before and after going on stage.
I
- Immersive theatre
- Theatre in which the audience moves through the world of the show, rather than watching from fixed seats. It can involve walking through sets or interacting with performers.
- In the round
- A staging in which the audience sits on all sides of the performing area.
- Interval
- The break between acts. West End intervals are usually 15 to 20 minutes, and many theatres let you pre-order drinks.
J
- Jukebox musical
- A musical built from an existing catalogue of songs, such as the hits of a band or artist, rather than an original score.
L
- Libretto
- The text of an opera or other long musical work. In musical theatre the equivalent word is usually the book.
- Limited run
- A show that is booked for a fixed number of weeks or months, rather than open-ended.
- Lottery tickets
- Discounted tickets given out by a random draw before a performance. Entrants usually have to register online or at the theatre.
M
- Matinee
- An afternoon performance, usually starting around 2.30pm. Most West End shows have one or two a week.
- Musical director
- The person in charge of the music in a show, who prepares the cast and usually conducts the band. Often shortened to MD.
O
- Off-West End
- Smaller London theatres outside the main commercial West End. They often stage new writing and experimental work, such as the Donmar or the Almeida.
- Olivier Awards
- The UK's leading theatre awards, presented by the Society of London Theatre since 1976.
P
- Press night
- The performance, usually soon after previews begin, to which critics are invited. Reviews are normally published after it. Also called opening night.
- Preview
- A performance before the official opening night. Tickets are often cheaper, and the production may still be changing, because the company is still fine-tuning the show in front of an audience.
- Producer
- The person or company that raises the money for a production, hires the creative team and takes the financial risk.
- Proscenium arch
- The frame around the stage in a traditional theatre, separating the stage from the audience.
R
- Repertory
- A system where a company performs several productions in rotation over a season, rather than one show for a long run. Often shortened to rep.
- Restricted view
- A seat from which part of the stage cannot be seen, because of a pillar, overhang or safety rail. These seats are usually sold at a discount.
- Revival
- A new production of a show that has been staged before.
- Rush tickets
- Cheaper tickets released at the box office on the day of performance, often for the first people in the queue.
S
- Stage door
- The entrance used by the cast and crew. Fans often wait outside after a show, hoping for an autograph.
- Stage manager
- The person who runs a show day to day. They call the cues during the performance and keep order backstage.
- Stalls
- The seats on the ground floor nearest the stage. In some venues they are called the orchestra.
- Standby
- A performer who covers a leading role and is not in the show otherwise. They stay available, often near the theatre, in case the star cannot go on.
- Swing
- A performer who covers several ensemble roles but is not in the cast on a normal night. A swing can step into any of the tracks they have learned at short notice.
T
- Tech week
- The days before the first preview when the show is put together with all the lighting, sound, sets and costumes.
- Thrust stage
- A stage that projects into the audience so that spectators sit on three sides.
- Tony Awards
- The main American theatre awards, honouring Broadway productions and performers.
- Transfer
- When a production moves from one theatre to another, for example from a subsidised theatre to a commercial West End house.
U
- Understudy
- A performer who learns a role (often several) so they can step in if the actor who normally plays it is off. Unlike a swing, an understudy usually also has a part in the show.
- Understudy run
- A special performance, usually in the day, in which understudies play the main roles so they can rehearse in front of the cast and crew.