Stage crew jobs with Pirate Crew
We’ve been crewing theatres and live events since 2009, mostly in London: get-ins, fit-ups, get-outs and everything in between. You’re freelance, you pick which calls you take, and you get paid every week.
What stage and theatre crew jobs with Pirate involve
Theatre is our speciality, but the work covers a fair bit of ground. In London, that means venues like the National Theatre, Hammersmith Apollo and Alexandra Palace.
- Get-ins, get-outs and turnarounds
- Fit-ups, staging, rigging support and set builds
- General technical crew on theatre shows, arena shows, exhibition builds, corporate events and festivals
Calls run from half a day to several days in a row. They aren’t all nine to five either: there are weekend, evening and overnight calls as well as daytime ones.
What it’s like crewing for Pirate
Paid every week
Every Thursday, for the Monday to Sunday before. If something’s wrong, we put it right quickly. Your rate goes up with the role, the shift type and unsocial hours. There are supplements for senior tech and crew chief work, and for tickets like IPAF, PASMA and forks.
You choose your calls
You work freelance, so you decide which jobs to accept and there’s no minimum commitment.
You’re free to accept or decline work whenever we offer it. That’s your choice. We actively encourage you to tell us why you do or don’t want offered work, so we can tailor the right kind of shifts for you in the future.
All we ask is that you keep your availability up to date using our crew booking app, which is easy.
You learn the trade
You’ll be working next to experienced carpenters and techs who think for themselves and are happy to show new crew how it’s done. The better everyone on the team is, the easier the job is for everyone.
Somewhere to go next
Within Pirate we’ll steer you towards technical licences and supervisory work, looking after our best clients.
Pirate is the perfect platform to launch a successful career in events and the arts. You’ll work for and beside some of the most knowledgeable practitioners in the UK. Once you’re a proven specialist in your department, you’ll have the skills to get your own jobs and work worldwide as you progress into management.
How we work
We take feedback from our crew seriously. On the job, though, the client makes the call and we do what they ask, and we expect you to work the same way. Nobody here knows it all, even after years in the trade. People who drag the team down don’t get booked again. People who go off on tour or take a contract elsewhere are welcome back when it ends, and plenty of them come back.
Theatre crew, stage crew and technician roles
We take on:
- Theatre techs
- Stage crew
- Scenery loading crew
- Carpenters
- Lighting technicians
- Sound technicians
- AV and video technicians
- Wardrobe
- Follow spot operators
- Board operators
- Forks & telehandler ops
What we look for
- Reliability first: you turn up on time, every time
- Safe manual handling
- Confidence with hand and power tools
- Clear communication in English
- Able to work on your own and take direction from a crew chief
- A positive attitude, and good humour when the pressure’s on
- Courtesy to crew and clients, and smart presentation
- A willingness to learn
- Genuine commitment to help the crew and client achieve every task
- Zero ego and a humble approach to every job, big or small
Tickets
Forklift, telehandler, PASMA, IPAF, carpentry and set construction tickets are an advantage, but you don’t need any of them to apply.
Who we’re looking for
- Experienced crew and techs, ideally with six months or more of paid crew or technical work
- People with transferable skills in manual handling and work on the tools, from construction, carpentry, electrical, warehousing or plant
- Actors and performers looking for flexible work between jobs
- Technical theatre college and live sound students, and people with technical amateur dramatics, student or fringe experience
This is backstage and technical work. We don’t supply stewards, security, bar or catering staff, front of house, event hosts or event coordinators.
Where we work
Most of our work is in London, and we also crew in Milton Keynes, Bristol, Cardiff and Birmingham. Each city has its own jobs page:
What the crew say
I can’t accentuate enough how nice it is getting paid every week without fail.
More often than not we get full days of work as opposed to many short shifts a day.
Most of all it’s a professional outfit: guys come to work to crack on, no slackers are tolerated.
Some of the jobs have been tremendously challenging but the people you work with can get you through anything.
How applying works
Apply. Fill in the online application. It takes about five minutes.
Hear back. We read every application, and you’ll get a reply either way.
Get set up. If it’s a yes, we do a quick right to work check and get you onboarded on TeamTrack. New crew start on buddy shifts alongside experienced Pirates.
Apply to join Pirate Crew
Apply online. It takes about five minutes, and we’ll reply either way.
