Assistant Stage Manager (ASM) – ‘Caroline: A New Musical’

Written by Vikki Stone, directed by Douglas Rintoul and Alex Thorpe, and with a cast of 10 actor-musicians, Caroline: A New Musical tells the story of Radio Caroline, the pirate station that broadcast from Essex and Suffolk in the 1960s.

Caroline: A New Musical is the first project from the East Anglian Touring Consortium (EATC), a group of diverse organisations in the East Anglian region seeking to support new mid-scale work. Consortium members are: Eastern Angles Theatre Company, HighTide, Landmark Theatres Peterborough, Mercury Theatre Colchester, New Wolsey Theatre Ipswich, Norwich Theatre, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch and Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds.

The production will rehearse in Ipswich and open at the New Wolsey Theatre before a regional tour. Select performances will be livestreamed as part of our access offer to patrons who cannot attend in person.

Website: https://www.wolseytheatre.co.uk/events/caroline/

Performance venues: The New Wolsey Theatre Ipswich, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, New Theatre Peterborough, Norwich Theatre Royal (TBC), Mercury Theatre Colchester, Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds.

We are committed to following the Theatre Green Book guidance and ensuring environmental sustainability best-practice is incorporated into the realisation and running of this production. We are also committed to ensuring that Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) is central to all our work. Everyone working on this production is expected to be mindful of and contribute towards these commitments.

Dates

• Rehearsals (4 weeks): Monday 16th March 2026
• Tech Week: w/c Monday 13th April 2026
• Performances (at New Wolsey Theatre): Friday 17th April 2026 – Saturday 2nd May 2026
• Transfer to Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch: w/c Monday 4th May 2026
• Performances at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch: Tuesday 5th May to Saturday 16th May 2026
• Transfer to New Theatre Peterborough: w/c Monday 18th May 2026
• Performances at New Theatre Peterborough: Tuesday 19th May to Saturday 23rd May 2026
• Holiday Week w/c Monday 25th May 2026
• Transfer to Mercury Theatre Colchester: w/c Monday 1st June 2026
• Performances at Mercury Theatre Colchester: Tuesday 2nd June to Saturday 13th June 2026
• Transfer to Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds: w/c Monday 15th June 2026
• Performances at Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds: Tuesday 16th June to Saturday 20th June 2026

Rate

ASM: £548 per week (Equity Subsidised Rep Grade 2 2025/26 rate rising to the 2026/27 rate from 6th April 2026 – still to be published) based on a 43 hour week from Monday to Saturday inclusive. Overtime, holiday, pension, and extra performances will be paid as per the UK Theatre/Equity agreement.

Subs/Touring Allowance

If you reside 25 miles or further away from the workplace (NWT) during rehearsals and performances at New Wolsey Theatre, you will receive a Relocation Allowance of £235 per week (2025/26 rate) rising to the 2026/27 rate from 6th April 2026 (still to be published).

If you reside 25 miles or further away from the venue during performances at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, New Theatre Peterborough, Mercury Theatre Colchester, and Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds you will receive weekly Touring Allowance at the 2026/27 rate (still to be published, for reference 25/26 rate is £300 per week).

If you reside 15-25 miles from the workplace/venue, during rehearsals and performances at any venue, you will receive a weekly travel allowance.

About You

You’ll be working in a Stage Management team of three (Company Stage Manager, Deputy Stage Manager and Assistant Stage Manager).

Duties will include prop sourcing and making. During the run, the ASM will work alongside a team of in-house stage crew/technicians and will have a stage track on the show to include coordinating props and scene changes. Experience of working as ASM in professional musical theatre or pantomime essential. Experience of working with actor musicians is desirable.

We’re keen to receive applications from people of all backgrounds, especially those currently less represented in our industry, particularly especially from Black, Asian and ethnically diverse backgrounds, those who identify as D/deaf and disabled people, neurodivergent people, members of the LGBTQIA+ community and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds. We are up for exploring support and development needs and are happy to make reasonable adjustments to enable applicants to participate in the selection process, and for the successful applicant to carry out the role.

We are particularly interested in hearing from individuals with a home base in Ipswich, Suffolk or East Anglia, but we are open to applications from outside this area.

To Apply

• Please click the button at the top of this page to email Sam Bates through admin@wolseytheatre.co.uk, submitting your CV and covering letter, telling us why you would like to work on this project.
• Click the button at the top of this page to complete our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Online Form.

The deadline for applications is 10am on Monday 19th January 2026. We will be inviting shortlisted applicants to a short meeting online to discuss the role.

If you need us to make any adjustments to allow you to fully participate in this application and selection process, please get in touch.

For example, if submitting a written cover letter is not the best way for you to tell us about your skills and experience, we can accept your application another way, such as video or audio file.

However you choose to apply, you will need to tell us about your skills and experience and why you’re interested in the role.

If you have any questions or would like an informal chat about the role, please contact Lucy Parker, Head of People, through lparker@wolseytheatre.co.uk.