Stratford porter who's completed 40 years backstage at the RSC

THE Royal Shakespeare Company’s stages have seen some of the world’s most famous actors transport audiences to battlefields and magical realms, but the backstage work that goes into creating those worlds remains a mystery to many.

For 40 years that work has been done by Michael Truscott, a porter for the RSC since 1981 and a lifelong Stratfordian.

His long service was recognised at the RSC’s AGM, but it all started for Michael, 65, with a bit of Shakespearian coincidence.

“I went into engineering after school and was eventually made redundant in 1980, six months after I got married,” he said. “On the day I was made redundant I was walking on Bancroft Gardens past the theatre.

“Someone I knew who worked there saw me and called down from the restaurant balcony saying there was a job available. So, I interviewed, and got a job doing front of house two weeks at a time and working nights on the stage door for the other two weeks. After a time I was offered a role as a porter on the estates department.”

His role involved moving items from sets, props and costumes across the various RSC buildings around the town, and he has been witness to some of the company’s most prestigious productions.

Michael said: “You were allowed to go and see the later dress rehearsals, and I had an interest in photography, so I’d sit in the higher circle and take photos, which I’d then get autographed by the actors.

“I’ve got signed photos of Michael Gambon doing Lear with Antony Sher as the fool, and Sir Antony doing his famous Richard III, as well as Juliet Stevenson as Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. They were quite a long time ago, but the memories are very strong.”

The job’s varied roles at the beating heart of the company meant Michael became a recognisable face in the theatre over the years, leading to him being stopped in the street by famous faces.

Michael said: “I remember walking with my son, who was a toddler at the time, down High Street and Sinead Cusack seeing me and stopping for a chat. She made a big fuss of my son and I remember thinking how lucky I was that they recognised me from the theatre and would stop for these nice, friendly chats.

“The company had so many local people and families working there, so it really felt like one massive family, and the actors were part of that. Everyone’s children went to the theatre playgroup, including both my sons, so we all got to know each other. It’s been a massive part of mine and my family’s life.”