The classic multi award-winning musical Mary Poppins will tour to Mayflower Theatre from Wednesday 27 August – Saturday 20 September 2025.
Mary Poppins Is the largest production on tour with a touring company of 100 people, it takes 17 45-foot trailers to move the production from one venue to the next. The show finishes in one venue on the Saturday and opens in the next venue on the Wednesday, just four days later.
Over on hundred people are involved in transferring the show and the team work around the clock to make it possible. Mary Poppins is touring the West End set and is the West End production on tour .
For each performance the show has the following working on the show backstage:
- 35 adult cast.
- 10 children – five teams of two children, two children perform at each performance and two are in the building on standby.
- The backstage teams includes two company management, six stage management, six stage crew, four flymen, three follow spot operators, three touring carpenters, three automation operators, four sound operators, three touring electricians, seven dressers, five wigs personnel, six wardrobe personnel and one physiotherapist.
- There are 12 Members of the orchestra plus a musical director.
- The creative team includes one resident director, one children’s director, and one resident choreographer.
Moving the show:
- Requires 17 x45 foot trailers.
- It takes around 22 hours to take the show out of a venue and three days to put it into the next venue working 24 hours a day.
- 58 motors are used to suspend the set and equipment in addition to the theatres flying bars.
- 100 Production and local crew are involved in putting the show into a venue.
- The flown nursery weighs nearly two tons.
- There are 25 flying elements in the set.
Wardrobe:
- Do 64 loads of washing per week.
- Spend each day darning stockings, and each member of our wardrobe team has their own darning mushroom.
- Every piece of costume has a hand sewn label with the actors name, scene and character.
- The majority of the costumes are kept onstage in a large area known as the Quick Change Village.
- Each swing (cover cast member) has 19 sets of costumes, shoes and hats.
- Every child’s costume is checked by a member of wardrobe before they go onstage – to check that they still fit and look correct.
- All the show shoes have a special rubber sole fitted – so nobody slips onstage
- After all the costumes are washed on a regular bases – they then have to be sprayed and painted to make them look dirty.
- Three washing machines, four tumble driers, three ironing boards, and three steam generator irons tour with the production.
Wigs:
- All the wigs are made from real hair and have lace fronts.
- There are 90 wigs in total including the understudy wigs.
Electrics Department:
- There are 97 moving lights, and three follow spots used in every show.
- There is one smoke machine, two haze machines, and two foggers.
- The electrical equipment takes two 45 foot trailers to transport between venues.
Stage Management:
- The stage management team is made up of one stage manager, one deputy stage manager, and four assistant stage managers.
- There is one assistant stage manager running each wing on stage. The deputy stage manager sits at the prompt desk and gives all of the cues to lighting, sound, automation, and stage management. The stage manager is present on stage to ensure the smooth running of the show and to help solve problems if and when they might arise.
- There are 600 props used in the show. Each prop has to be accounted for before each performance. This is carried out by the assistant stage managers using a check sheet.
- Anyone who is backstage/in the wings during a show has to wear black clothing in order not to be seen by the audience while doing their cues.
- When the show moves to a new theatre, each prop has to be carefully wrapped in bubble wrap to avoid any breakages en route.
- The stage manager writes a report after every single performance with details about that show. This contains information such as anything that went wrong in the show, and also if there were any understudies performing that night.
Sound:
- 95 mics are used per show.
- 140 loudspeakers are used per show.
- 20 video monitors are used per show.
- 32 wireless communications devices are used per show.
Tickets for Mary Poppins (Wednesday 27 August – Sunday 21 September2025) are on sale at mayflower.org.uk or 02380 711811.
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