Introducing...Craig Fleming

‘Introducing…’ is our brand new monthly feature which will see us taking the time we to get to know a member of the Catherine Wheels community a bit better.
First up is our very own Production and Operations Director Craig Fleming, who is currently busy at A.S.K Shanghai. He is both looking after White, which is currently playing there and busily working on a new Chinese version of Martha, which will open at the end of the month.

(See him pictured above working with the team in China to build Martha’s new set)

How long have you been at Catherine Wheels?

I have just started my 14th year with Catherine Wheels. It would have been one day longer but I got my diary mixed up and missed my first day. Oops!

What does your job involve?

I take care of all of the technical aspects of our productions and logistics of our tours. I work closely with our team in the office and our brilliant Company Stage Manager Suzie Normand to make sure that everything in our year round programme happens when it should and our shows always look the best they can. No matter what stage they appear on, whether it is the prestigious Sydney Opera House or village halls and schools in the highlands of Scotland we work just as hard to make sure the everything is as it should be and looking amazing.
My job takes me all over the world. One day I can be working in our production studio in Musselburgh, then the next in Shanghai where I currently am, making a new version of our much loved show Martha which will tour to audiences all over China.
Our Artistic Director and creative teams are always coming up with new challenges which keeps the job fresh and exciting, from building sets to organising lights and sound, organising international freight to learning new technologies, no two days are the same. I love it!

What has been a Catherine Wheels highlight for you?

There have been so many highlights over my years with the company. Arriving for our first day of work at the Sydney Opera House with Lifeboat in 2008 is definitely high up on the list but I would say Hansel and Gretel at the New Victory Theatre on 42nd Street in New York is at the top. A living room in the basement, a forest in the auditorium and a giant sweetie feast with a terrifying twist on the stage. We transformed every corner of this old theatre into an exciting promenade journey for the audiences of New York. It was a brilliant adventure for us all!

Can you tell us a Catherine Wheels secret?

Here is a little Catherine Wheels secret. We were extremely lucky to have the fantastic Scottish artist John Byrne paint the backstage corridors of the New Victory in New York with original artwork for our production of Hansel and Gretel. He painted pictures of all the missing children and he used all of our names. The theatre have kept all of his work so we are all now part of the walls of this amazing theatre on 42nd Street!