Meet the ‘unsung heroes’ who save the show for your entertainment | John Bailey
are warming up for their matinee. It’s a demanding show, not least because of the fervent fandom that follows each production. Each member of the cast must bring her own flavour to one of the six wives of Henry VIII. Except for Chiara Assetta: she plays them all.
Swings don’t just need to know a character’s lines. They need to know every character’s lines. And songs. And choreography. A musical is a machine with an extraordinary number of moving parts, and swings need to be able to see how they all mesh. Hawthorne’s cheat sheets include “which wing you enter by; what numbers on the stage you stand on; if there’s a prop you have to use, where you might get it from; if there’s a set piece you have to move, what the mark you have to move it to looks like.”It’s a gruelling job, though, and not for everyone. “For people who don’t like change it can be a little bit challenging,” says Hawthorne. “One of the swings this week has done a different person every show this week.
These leadership roles not only give them detailed knowledge of every step they might be called on to swing, but also give them perspective on the inevitable hiccups that come from performing on the fly. COVID has only made that admiration grow. Swings have always played a vital role in music theatre, but in the last few years they’ve grown in number and visibility. For the Sydney season ofHawthorne was called in to replace others for 44 shows. When New first took to the stage, company members were going down left and right. For“They’ve been this little subculture that doesn’t get much airplay, but I think things are changing,” says Millerchip.