A larger-than-life theatrical extravaganza always follows an equally, if not more, monumental pre-production journey. And so, when Esplanade, Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) and Chichester Festival Theatre joined forces to bring the Royal Shakespeare Company's (RSC) acclaimed stage adaptation of Roald Dahl's The BFG on tour in the UK and Singapore, we knew we had to tag along for the epic journey. 

A few months ago, we followed a team from Esplanade’s Technical Production department on their work trip to Stratford-upon-Avon for the previews of The BFG. Brian Leong (Production Manager), Isis Koh (Head, Production Management) and Samantha Tang (Senior Lighting Technician) allowed us to Get Ready With Them to get a glimpse of what it takes to bring a show of this magnitude to Singapore.

Let’s get technical!

The BFG is about a little orphan girl who encounters a gentle kind-hearted giant and their adventures together in a land called Giant Country. This production travels with just over 60 people in the touring party made up of actors (including six child actors), puppeteers, musicians, designers, technicians, crew and two 40 ft containers filled with set pieces, props, costumes and equipment. The amount of organisation, planning and coordination to tour any international stage production is complex; it is even more challenging for a new production that premieres just months before it travels to the other side of the world. 

There are many things to prepare before a production comes to Esplanade. Before a production is ready to tour, the production and technical team has to prepare a technical rider, which is a detailed document that specifies what needs to be prepared for performances to be presented successfully. This includes all technical and logistical requirements—for example, the number of cast and crew members, the freight and transport details, set drawings and technical equipment lists. With the rider, the technical team of a theatre venue (in this case, Esplanade Theatre) is able to prepare the appropriate audio, lighting, staging equipment and crew for the tour.
 
However, The BFG tour is unique. It premiered in December 2025 at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. After that, it heads to the Chichester Festival Theatre in Sussex in March 2026, and finally to Singapore at the Esplanade in April 2026. The production was still in development even as the tour was being planned, and even before the first rehearsal started. This meant that the technical teams in Chichester and Singapore only had a preliminary technical rider to refer to. As such, there is only a skeletal draft of the requirements and best estimates of costs. This preliminary rider will continually evolve and get updated as the production goes into rehearsals, previews and when it finally opens. And this is also why technical visit trips for yet-to-premiere productions are absolutely essential.

Pre-visit

Before rehearsals started in the UK at the end of September 2025, a technical and design team from RSC came to Singapore to visit the Esplanade Theatre. Each of the three aforementioned venues is built to different technical specifications, so the designers and technicians have to ensure that the set, lighting, sound, video and systems design are able to fit the unique dimensions and capabilities of each theatre. 

For example, the production is initially designed for the Royal Shakespeare Theatre which has a thrust stage. This means that audiences are seated on three sides of the stage. To achieve a thrust stage at Esplanade Theatre, the first few rows of seats will be removed and a stage extension built. The pre-visit is important to ensure the same technical requirements, design artistry and artistic quality can be achieved across all three theatres.

Previews

The BFG started previews in November 2025. A preview is a show where tickets have been sold to the public, but changes are still being made during this period. Technical cues, design elements are being refined and polished. Based on audience reaction, the production might undergo more serious retooling even further. At the time of the visit, The BFG was one week away from press night which is the official opening night. No more major changes by then. 

For a complex production with elements which were still evolving, it was crucial for the team to meet the designers and technicians in person. Brian and Isis have been on many technical visits but this one was unique. Brian shared,

Day 1

9am: Enter stage left

The team's first day started early. They reported to the RSC theatre stage door at 9am. Waiting for them was their RSC counterpart, David Tanqueray. As Production Manager, David is responsible for coordinating the various technical teams, managing the budget and schedules of the tour, and serving as the central contact point between the Esplanade and SRT producers and the RSC. On this visit, David was the main person coordinating and facilitating the meetings between the various The BFG departments and the Esplanade team.
 
After getting their backstage passes, David brought the team on a very quick backstage tour of the theatre. There are two theatres in the RSC’s building. There is the Swan Theatre which can accommodate 450 seats and the bigger RSC Theatre which seats 1400 people over three levels. The latter is where The BFG was playing. On the walls of the backstage corridors, were the scribbles of words and autographs from all the cast and crew who have worked in the building. It was a reminder that some of the greatest theatre artists have walked through these historic halls.

The team entered the quiet auditorium and saw the stage in pre-show mode. It was bare, except for a massive projected image. The seats were occupied by technical desks of the various creative and production teams. These desks would magically disappear before the preview performance that evening. The auditorium was bigger than they expected, but because there was a thrust stage which extended into the audience, it felt cosy and intimate. The first thought that came to mind was: how will this production translate to the Esplanade Theatre, which is three times the size and more known for its imposing grandeur than intimacy? 

A straightforward solution would be to reconfigure the seating to accommodate a thrust stage, but there are also more complicated technical adjustments for cues and factoring in additional equipment. David brought them onto the stage to point out some lighting fixtures that hung above. As they looked up, the silence was broken by the sound of the smoke and haze effect wafting up from below the stage. They had arrived in Giant Country.

11am: Of visuals, projections and the matrix that holds it all together

From across the stage, David spotted Arthur Skinner, the video system design and engineer. Arthur is responsible for designing the infrastructure of the visual media system. He gave a detailed walkthrough of the equipment set-up, which included the stage camera and projection systems. He explained the camera tracking and automation which does many things including enabling puppeteers to see the action on stage from. He also showed how video projection cues are integrated with lighting, sound designs to create the world of the play which is seen by the audience.

This was followed by a technical meeting where they were joined by Akhila Krishnan, the projection designer for The BFG. It was useful to hear her speak about her vision and intention for her designs. It helped the team understand why things were planned and designed a certain way so that they could be achieved even if there had to be alternatives. Akhila had to leave for another creative meeting which happened at the next table while Arthur continued to talk about the hard details. This included a discussion about the equipment—whether the equipment in Singapore was appropriate or whether alternatives could be rented or if it needed to be freighted over from the UK. They also worked out the schedule for the set-up, what kind of support the Esplanade venue crew would be able to provide.

The team also took the opportunity to clarify some questions they had from the preliminary technical rider. This set of questions formed a pattern for every subsequent meeting with the different technical departments. By the end of the meeting, it was time for lunch. For The BFG designers and crew, a typical lunch was a quick sandwich and a warm beverage taken at staggered times. The Esplanade team took the chance to take in the fresh air and watch the swans and geese at nearby River Avon.

1:30pm: Illusions that make you go oohhh…

After lunch, David introduced the team to Chris Fisher, the illusions designer. Chris is responsible for designing magical effects that happen throughout the performance. Think props flying around, actors appearing and disappearing out of nowhere, lots of sparks and confetti. But the secret to theatrical magic is more mundane than waving a wand. Making theatrical magic involves complex technical coordination, detailed plans and safety considerations. From the auditorium, Chris pointed out the rigging positions for the set-up to create some of the illusions. For the Esplanade crew, seeing with their own eyes is believing. From the conversation, they were confident they could achieve the same effects in a bigger space, and within the same timeframe.

2pm: From floor plans to stage plans

It was time to head off to the meeting with Chris Pepler, RSC's Head of Drawing Office. As a large theatre company that produces and builds its own shows, the RSC has an in-house drawing department which processes the plans of all the sets and props that have to be made in their in-house workshop. Chris was part of the delegation that came to Singapore in September to see the theatre venue. This meeting was a follow-up to the visit. Chris had new 3D drawings to show and clarifications to make. After that, it was back to the drawing board with adjustments for Chris. The team quickly popped by the RSC gift shop before getting dinner. Then, the moment arrived to watch The BFG, for the first time.

7pm: Watching the preview

When the team stepped inside the theatre, there was no sign of the technical desks which had dominated the space just a couple of hours before. Instead, the seats were fully occupied by excited audience members. There was the usual chatter and buzz of anticipation in the air. The team was assigned seats in the circle, with the best vantage of the stage. While they were eager to finally see the performance, they were not just watching for enjoyment. As backstage professionals, noticing behind-the-scenes production details while watching performances is an occupational hazard. But in this case, there really was work to be done. Isis explained,

9:30pm: Post-show debrief and decompression

The performance ended two and a half hours later, to thunderous and enthusiastic applause. The audience left buzzing with excitement and praise for the show, and with wide smiles. The team was similarly impressed, but they now had so many other questions for David. So it was off to The Dirty Duck, the pub across the theatre for a casual catch-up with David and some of the technicians over some pints and crisps. This was a nightly debrief of sorts, where they summarised their day. Based on that, David sets out the agenda and the call time for the following day. Having finally seen the performance, the team could now contextualise their discussions and the specifications in the technical rider. With a common frame of reference and a fuller picture, the following days of the work trip seemed to go by doubly quickly, even as jetlag began to set in.

In the next part, the Esplanade team continued on the rest of their trip as they discovered more about the sets, costumes and music used in The BFG.

Roald Dahl’s The BFG comes alive on stage at Esplanade from 22 Apr to 9 May 2026—a magical new production brimming with big dreams and giant adventures. Acclaimed by audiences and critics in the UK, this spellbinding, phizz-whizzing theatre experience is not to be missed!