When the theatre heroes swing into action

Happy international Swing Day, and no I am not talking about seats on ropes that you find in the playground and how that one person would always say that they once swung on it all the way around. No, I am talking about the often hidden heroes that are swings in the theatre industry, those talented performers ready to jump on stage in a different role at a moments notice and how we would be completely lost without them.

Whilst the word Understudy (or Thunderstudy if you are looking at Mischief Productions - more on them later) may be commonplace, the term Swing is perhaps a little less known. An Understudy normally covers one role - otherwise known as a track - within a theatre production and could either be off stage entirely if not needed for that role, or one stage covering an ensemble character. A swing, on the other hand, covers multiple tracks, for example stepping into the ensemble role played by the understudy when they have to step up, and the performers with this uncanny ability to learn multiple different parts are the glue that hold many productions together, allowing the shows to go on without a hitch.

Over the years, I have seen countless performances where swings have jumped into a different role and blended seamlessly to the point in which the vast majority of the audience would not know that it is was anything out of the ordinary, unless they studied the cast board and their programmes in depth of course. And I guess that is why swings are often known as the hidden heroes, for their stepping up into a different role comes with no fan fare, no announcement and quite sadly no celebration. Therefore, swings quite often don't receive both the praise and thanks that they so greatly deserve.

I could sit here and attempt to list every performance by a swing that I have ever seen, but not only would that be a massive test of my memory, it wouldn't make an enjoyable read for you, so instead please allow me to emphasise my point about the brilliance of swings with just a few examples.

Let's look at 'Just For One Day The Live Aid Musical' for instance. I have seen this production five times and have never seen the same combination of performances twice. From two Bobs, two Harvey's and two young Suzanne's, to two Marsha's, two John Kennedy's and three Tim's, I have seen the ensemble and its swings effortlessly jump around and switch it up in order to cover the remaining roles, every time pulling off a faultless performance, having to remember musical numbers and dance steps alongside the dialogue for each individual characters.

And if you want to add another string to the bow of talented swings, as well as singing, dancing and acting, look at 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' where swing ensemble members would also have to memorise the music to be played by each individual track. An incredible feat.

And about those Thunderstudies. Over the years, Mischief Theatre have perhaps been one of the best companies when it comes to shouting about and celebrating their understudies, even giving them the special nickname Thunderstudies (or wonderstudies over in the off-broadway production). In 'The Play That Goes Wrong' for example, a male understudy will cover five out of six of the male parts in the show, with a female understudy covering both the female tracks plus one gender swapped track where Dennis becomes Denise and/or Trevor becomes Tessa. The understudies regularly play multiple roles in a week, if it not uncommon for them to play one in the matinee and a different character for the evening performance, illustrating their ability to not only learn multiple roles but their quick adaptability skill. Covers in 'The Play That Goes Wrong' start at 1st cover, meaning that they are first call for that role to 3rd cover, which are much less common and perhaps more emergency, for example the actor who normally plays Trevor is a 3rd cover for the role of Jonathan.

Also with 'The Play That Goes Wrong', it is not uncommon for performers who have left the production to be called back at short notice to cover roles due to illness, holidays and injury. For example, this year, cast members from both the 2023/24 cast and the 2022/23 cast have been brought back to the production. A further demonstration of the skills of a Thunderstudy/swing, and the length in which the production will go in order to ensure that the show can go on.

Every day, not only in London's West End, but up and down the country in touring productions, swings are working their works off, jumping back and forth between different roles to make sure that their shows can continue to delight the audiences, and it really is a shame that they perhaps don't get the recognition that principal cast members receive. But it is with days like international Swing Day that go some way towards raising the profile of these highly skilled performers.

We applaud them all and thank them all for their hard work and talent.