We are looking for a Lighting Placement to join our production team for our Spring 2026 tour.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone who is eager to learn and gain practical skills in lighting, stage electrical work, and touring productions. You’ll work closely with our Head of Lighting, Production Electricians, and wider production team, gaining first-hand experience in a professional touring environment.

Key dates:

• 23rd February – 23rd May 2026

Salary:

• London Living Wage hourly rate (£14.80 per hour)

About English Touring Opera:

For over 40 years, English Touring Opera (ETO) has held a unique place in the opera industry as the only mid-scale touring company offering regional venues and thousands of audience members outstanding live productions and impactful learning and participation projects, with the largest geographical reach of any UK company, from Devon to Durham and Canterbury to Chester.

At the heart of our ethos is making exceptional artistic experiences available and accessible to everyone, through a commitment to touring ambitious programmes of high-quality, innovative opera productions that engage and inspire over 33,000 people every year. Central to ETO’s programming is our award-winning Learning and Participation Programme, which annually works with over 8,000 children and adults nationwide in schools, workshops, and community projects.

To apply:

• Please submit a CV or, if preferred, a letter outlining your current experience. If you have images of previous work, or stories that demonstrate your skills and enthusiasm, please feel free to include these. The deadline for applications is 5 January 2026. Please send your application to production@etopera.org.uk.
• If your application is successful, you will be invited to an initial
  online interview. There will then be a second round interview that will take place in-person and your expenses will be covered by English Touring Opera.
• If offered the role, you will be required to attend initial induction and training days prior to 23rd February 2026.

Pentabus run an annual, six month scriptwriting course for young writers aged 18 – 30 who are based in Shropshire, Wales and the West Midlands.

Through a series of in-person and online workshops, young writers are guided and supported by experienced scriptwriters and a professional director to develop a new short script. Learning and working collaboratively throughout the course, these scripts are brought to life with help from a professional creative team and ultimately performed by professional actors as part of our annual Young Writers Festival in July.

No previous experience of playwriting is necessary as this programme is aimed at young people who may not even know they’re writers yet, as well as those who have some experience of writing.

Throughout the course you will:

• Explore how to develop characters, build scenes, create tension and write dialogue
• Meet a collaborative cohort of likeminded people
• Be supported to develop your own creative ideas for your play
• Get to know a professional team of creatives and join rehearsal room sessions
• Learn how to incorporate design, sound and music into your play
• Be invited to attend a performance of your work with the other Young Writers
• Evaluate and reflect on your experience of the programme
• Be signposted to further networks and opportunities

What is the time commitment?

There are a mixture of in-person and online sessions, spread out across 6 months.

Applications are now open for the 2025-26 cohort of the Bridge the Gap Producer Programme! 

Apply to be one of 10 emerging producers from underrepresented backgrounds to take part in this year long development programme; gaining skills in commercial producing through monthly workshops, a mentor, coaching sessions, tickets to shows, access to grants and more!

Deadline: 12 noon on Friday 9 May

Apply online via our website.

Not sure if it's for you? Find out some more info in our Should I Apply? guide.

Stage One created Bridge the Gap to diversify the current field of commercial theatre producers and therefore strongly encourages individuals from underrepresented backgrounds and outside of London to apply. We want to support people from a Global Majority background, who identify as working class or from a lower socio-economic background, are LGBTQIA+, those that have a disability and/or are neurodivergent and/or those from a culturally or religiously Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim or Sikh background.

• Through The Producer Programme with Bridge The Gap we aim to support 10 emerging producers giving them the skills they need to transition into commercial theatre producing through;
  • Monthly, bespoke workshops on commercial theatre producing
  • A mentor (a commercial producer)
  • Personal coaching sessions
  • Regular catch ups with your peers and networking opportunities
  • A place on the Stage One workshops
  • Access to the BTG Kick Start Grant (up to £5,000)
  • Tickets to commercial shows