The giant is in the tiny details
Published: 20 Mar 2026
By: Rydwan Anwar
Time taken : ~10mins
We got ready with Brian Leong, Isis Koh and Samantha Tang from Esplanade’s Technical Production team on their work trip to Stratford-upon-Avon to get a glimpse of what it takes to bring The BFG to Singapore. In the first part, we trailed them on their first day which culminated in watching a preview performance. We rejoined them on the second day to see how the rest of their trip unfolded.
<em>Roald Dahl's The BFG</em>. Photo credit: Marc Brenner
River Avon is right next to the RSC theatres, so swans and geese are a common sight. And there is a particularly friendly swan that is always seen by the Stage Door. Today, the team had time to interact with that swan, because the call time was slightly later. The first order of the day was a list of small but important backstage areas for the team to have a look at. First up, the quick change areas backstage. This might seem like a tiny detail, but it was important to note the size and the set-up of the space as costume changes happen quickly and, with young children in the cast, the issue of safety and privacy becomes even more crucial.
David then brought the team up to the gallery to see the fly system. A fly system is a rigging mechanism that uses ropes, pulleys and counterweights to lift scenic elements, curtains and lighting equipment into the area above the stage to facilitate scene changes. On the way there, they bumped into Director Daniel Evans, who said he was looking forward to the show going to Singapore. With the production opening in a week, he was in good spirits! At the fly gallery, the team got a giant’s eye view of the stage! It was breathtaking, and definitely not for anyone with a fear of heights. The Esplanade Theatre has a different fly system, so Brian was curious to learn more about RSC’s system. He asked David if he could watch part of tonight’s performance from the fly gallery so as to observe how it is utilised for the performance.
They then headed to the foyer café for a lighting meeting. In attendance was Lighting Designer, Zoe Spurr, Effects Programmer, Victoria Brennan, Production Electrician, Matt Coombes and zactrack technician, Jamie Crosswell. The topic of discussion was about specifications of lighting equipment and alternatives, provision of technical labour, and technical schedules. The team was most intrigued by zactrack technology, which is fairly new to them.
Zactrack is an automated tracking technology used in theatre to follow performers with lights, video or sound. Jamie briefly explained how the system works. A few small boxes called "anchors" are placed around the stage to create an invisible 3D grid. The performers wear small trackers that are inserted into their costumes. The tracker sends radio signals to the anchors, telling the system exactly where the person is in three-dimensional space. For example, if a performer needs to be in a spotlight, a computer calculates that data and tells the moving stage lights to point at that location. And as the performer moves, the lights move with them instantly. No human input is required once zactrack is properly programmed; the cues will run automatically each night, and the performer does not need to hit their marks to within an inch!
In The BFG, the zactrack system is used to trigger lighting, sound and video cues. This technology is becoming increasingly common in theatre, concerts and live events. Esplanade has a zactrack system, but the team had to additionally make sure that there are a sufficient number of anchors, trackers and cables in place to support the production. The team really appreciated the opportunity to learn about the intricacies of the system. It was a long meeting packed with a lot of information, so thankfully a lunch break came for them to digest everything.
After lunch, the set crew was preparing large set pieces like the rocks and dream machines on stage. David quickly brought the team on stage to look at the mechanisms and hydraulics that operate the movement of the props and set. There were a lot of gadgets, pulleys and batteries involved. It was busy with various people coming and going so David managed to give short introductions to the set designer, stage managers and props assistants as they went about their tasks. At one corner on stage right, they found another section with a large equipment set-up. It was for the microphones and right next to it was the set-up for the zactrack system. This was another backstage location- where they would like to watch that evening's performance from.
Following a break, the team headed to the third floor where the wardrobe department is. The RSC wardrobe department is not only responsible for dressing and maintaining the costumes of the 18 actors and puppeteers in The BFG, but for another play running concurrently in the adjacent Swan Theatre. The Esplanade team got a tour of the facilities, which included being shown more specialised equipment for disinfecting and sanitising costumes between performances. They then popped into the hair and wigs department next where the hairpieces were being styled for tonight’s performances. The team paid particular attention to unique items like prosthetic ears, and were briefed on the daily maintenance routines of the wigs. A wardrobe supervisor from RSC will be on the tour, who will be supported by Esplanade’s team of wardrobe assistants who will serve as dressers and wardrobe maintenance during the Singapore leg.
The next meeting with the music department was in the band room. This is where the musicians and music director are seated during the performances, in a cosy little room above the stage. The musicians could only see the stage action through a video feed, and only hear the music through headsets. And so when the team arrived, they found Music Director Math Roberts in the middle of rehearsing on his keyboard, but they could not hear anything he was playing. Soon, they were joined by Sound System Designer Steven Atkinson and Composer Oleta Haffner. The meeting commenced once Math finished, and was focused on the music equipment and understanding the exact nature of the collaboration between the music, sound design and production departments on this show. There were still a few pending decisions which could affect the tour. But at that point, the immediate focus was getting the production ready for opening night.
For that night’s preview, the team split up to be situated in the thick of the backstage action. Brian was at the fly gallery, Samantha was in the wings next to the zactrack system, while Isis kept an eagle’s eye on the backstage operations. During the intermission, they swapped positions so all of them got to see all the key operations areas during the performance. The experience made for a long post-show conversation during the nightly debrief. Samantha reflected,
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The call time was at noon so the team spent the morning replying to emails, doing laundry or fighting jetlag. The first meeting today was with the sound department. It continued from the previous day’s music department meeting. Steven introduced the team to Sound Designer Carolyn Downing. The main topic was again about equipment; a bigger venue means more time is needed to accommodate equipment changes, so constraints in the schedule had to be addressed.
The next meeting was a short taxi ride away to the RSC Store and Workshop, where the office of Chris Pepler was. Chris, the RSC Head of Drawing, had updated the drawings after the meeting two days earlier, and David gave further input on the positions of the lighting bars and scenery. By the end of the meeting, everyone was satisfied with the plans. Next to the meeting room was a corridor which had shelves of prosthetic heads. Maybe that was the fate of those who did not agree with Chris!
Chris then took the team on a rare and eye-boggling tour of the RSC props stores—there was even a room the size of a studio theatre for chairs of every imaginable kind! In the property workshop, they got a glimpse of some prop and set pieces that were being built for the tour. They also met the scenic painters who were working hard on the scenery for The BFG. For theatre professionals, the opportunity to see things being made in production workshops is always thrilling, and much more so at the workshop of an esteemed theatre.
On their final night, the team watched the show again but from different seats in the auditorium. They wanted to see if there were other things which they might not have noticed before.
The last day was packed with many more meetings to tie up loose ends. The team finally sat down with The BFG’s stage management team to discuss their needs before a final meeting with David and the Assistant Production Manager, Lucy Guyver. Based on the discussions over the last three days, they discussed the freight, venue technical manpower, the production set-up and technical and rehearsal schedules in Singapore—all of which have budget implications for the tour producers. While they managed to take stock and got confirmation to proceed on time-sensitive matters like equipment rental, most of the discussions with regards to lighting, music, sound and wardrobe will continue as the production develops in the coming months.
This technical visit was just the beginning of a longer journey. The conversations and discussions will continue. But by the end of their trip, Brian, Isis and Samantha were secure in the knowledge that they had laid a solid foundation to bring The BFG to Singapore. And as the BFG would say, they had a phizz-whizzing time!
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!
Contributed by:
Rydwan Anwar spent two decades programming theatre and festivals in Singapore. He is now based in Newcastle upon Tyne.
