Temporada 1
Notice
Call Sheet
Episode 3 - Notice Giving notice in a career built around production schedules, not office calendars, is its own strange negotiation. This episode covers the moment when Graham actually said the words out loud — who they told, how the exit would fit around already-booked shows, There are also interviews with friends who have already retired and their experience of retiring becoming a reality. In this episode: - Why notice periods work differently in theatre - The practical considerations of an exit from a long career and the succession, passing on the baton. Also touching on how colleagues and management reacted. Next episode: “The Rig” — what’s actually in the kit bag after decades in the job, and the question of what to do with tools, gear , and skills that took a lifetime to gather .
Episode 2: The Call Sheet What does a working week actually look like for a theatre lighting technician — and what does decades of unsocial hours really cost, and give back? This episode walks through the typical working hours across Graham's career , and looks at the harder question: what that schedule took from ordinary life, relationships, and health — and what it gave in adrenaline, craft, and camaraderie. In this episode: - The realities of the hours needed to put shows on - What live theatre gives you that a 9-to-5 never could - The cost: relationships, missed ordinary life, sleep and health - The benefits: skills, resilience and unique experiences. Next episode: “Notice” — the conversation where the retirement became real, and what it feel like to think about leaving a career built around production schedules rather than office calendars.
After 46 years as a lighting technician in theatre, Graham is retiring in January 2027 — and rather than let it happen quietly , this podcast is going to talk through it in real time. Lights Down is a countdown: part practical guide to leaving a long career , part honest reckoning with what it means to walk away from work that was both a passion and a punishing schedule. In this first episode: why this show exists, what a life in theatre lighting actually looks like from the inside, and the first honest admission of what retirement actually feels like from 7 months out. In this episode: - What theatre lighting work really involves - Why “Lights Down” as a title - The double loss of leaving a passion career with unsocial hours What’s ahead this season Next episode: “The Call Sheet” — unsocial hours, and what a busy and unpredictable working week actually meant across my career, and a first touch on funding my retirment, Intro & Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/matt-stewart-evans/final-waltz License code: OKNFKWDRQHNFFFRG