Roger Fox

Founder Consultant

Roger Fox, Channing School
Roger Fox, Channing School

Roger was one of the founders of Theatreplan and a partner and director of the company for many years. He is a theatre consultant with a wealth of experience and expertise in theatre planning and stage engineering. He has brought this knowledge to a wide range of important heritage theatre projects, including at the Royal Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool and the Victoria Hall and the Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, which was one of Roger’s first, and biggest projects, involving the repurposing of an old cinema.

Roger also worked as Project Leader for the technical installations at the St. Luke’s Centre for the London Symphony Orchestra. He also worked on the refurbishment of the Broadway Theatre, Barking, the conversion of a sports hall into the Cotterell Theatre at Kingston College, and the refurbishment of the People’s Palace at Queen Mary College in the University of London. His wider experience means Roger is adept at ensuring the future needs of operators are at the forefront in the design process.

Roger grew up in Stratford-Upon-Avon where theatre was part of the town’s everyday life. As a child he was fascinated by the Theatre’s unique rolling stage, spellbound by the movement and mechanics of the theatre machinery. Newly built scenery trucks would roll through the town and sets would be laid out on the lawn outside the theatre. Everyone knew someone who worked at the theatre.

Roger began his career in entertainment, working as a floor assistant at the BBC, on live black and white television programmes including children’s show “Crackerjack” and “The Val Doonican Show”. During these live shows, transmitted from the Shepherds Bush Empire, Roger often had to work on quick changes such as laying dance floors just off camera, ready for the next shot. He worked in various roles from Studio Management to House Engineering before moving to Lambeth Council’s Entertainments Office, where he would enterprisingly re-use sets from West End theatres, for Town Hall events. Roger was also one of the founders of the annual Lambeth Country Show, which still runs today.

Roger later went into theatre and in 1981 was approached by Richard York to work at the then brand-new Barbican Centre, where he became Technical Manager for its first 11 years. Roger was responsible for all technical operations and developing the facilities in the 2,000-seat Barbican Hall and other auditoria.

Roger enjoys a wealth of contacts within the performing arts industry and keeps well-informed of technical developments. Along with his love of industrial archaeology, and his 1895 rivetted iron hull narrow boat, he is a Fellow of the Association of British Theatre Technicians, Chair of the ABTT’s Historical Research Committee and organised the annual Theatre Show of theatre services and technology for 40 years.  

Roger’s approach is to always be honest with clients and pay attention to the details.

Current Position
Founder Consultant

Joined Theatreplan
1996

Selected experience
Barbican Centre: Technical Manager
BBC Television: Studio Management And Engineering
London Borough Of Lambeth: Senior Arts And
Entertainments Officer

Professional Associations
IoTC, FABTT

Relevant Projects

Production Theatre Norwich University of the Arts
Production Theatre, NUA
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Trafalgar Theatre
Trafalgar Theatre, London
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Grand Hall, Battersea Arts Centre, London
Battersea Arts Centre
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London Harold Pinter Theatre
Harold Pinter Theatre
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Hoxton Hall
Hoxton Hall
View Project

About Us

Theatreplan is a specialist technical design consultancy, helping to create amazing spaces for performance, around the world.

What We Do

What We Do
We provide the complete range of venue and auditorium planning, and technical design services, including lighting, sound, stage engineering,
AV, digital and communications. We cover all stages of a project, from feasibility and concept design, right through to construction and opening night.

We help design new spaces for performance, wherever live or digital content is shown and created, from concert halls and school theatres, to cinemas and motion capture studios. We also help refurbish historic theatres, and work with some of the world’s largest and most complex performance venues to upgrade their technical facilities.

Our Approach
Your vision, for your performance space, provides the focus for our work. We will closely collaborate with you, and other specialists when working as part of a design team, so we understand what you really need from your space. We will be honest with you about what we think is achievable and the best ways to go about delivering your vision. We will suggest new ideas that may not have been considered before and discuss these ideas with you to ensure they meet your requirements.

Why Choose Theatreplan?
For over 35 years we have designed award winning performing arts venues, and re-imagined existing spaces, for clients around the world. Our specialist venue planners and auditorium designers help create beautiful, bespoke performance spaces, while our stage engineers, lighting, sound, AV and communications consultants, can provide cutting edge technical infrastructure design, having gained their knowledge and expertise through years of experience working in theatres.

We understand practitioners, and what creatives, directors, performers, and technicians need to make their performances thrill, excite and move audiences, with dynamic, flexible spaces that cater for the many and varied requirements for performance today.

We know what audiences want from a venue and how to make that a reality

We always factor in the needs of operators to ensure venues are sustainable for the future.

And we prioritise environmental sustainability throughout every stage of a project, to bring innovative solutions that support sustainable development.

We have an absolute commitment to ensuring client satisfaction and an engaging, fun, and genuinely collaborative approach to the creative process.

We can’t wait to hear about your project. Call us on +44 (0) 20 7841 0440 or get in touch via email: info@theatreplan.com

Our Team

All
Directors
Consultants
Architects/Technical
Operations
Associates
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Michael Atkinson
Michael Atkinson
Executive Director
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Dave Ludlam
Dave Ludlam
Executive Director
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Mathew Smethurst-Evans
Mathew Smethurst-Evans
Executive Director
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Matt Kingslake
Matt Kingslake
Consultant
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Chris Needle
Chris Needle
Consultant and BIM Manager
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Chris Pye
Chris Pye
Senior Associate
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John Whitaker
John Whitaker
Founder Consultant
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Roger Fox
Roger Fox
Founder Consultant
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Kit Lerman
Kit Lerman
Consultant and Head of Audio, Video, Broadcast
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Jibril Muhammad
Jibril Muhammad
Junior Consultant
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Bosco Tan
Bosco Tan
Senior Associate
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Peter Crockett
Peter Crockett
Stage Engineer
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Lara Kerrison
Lara Kerrison
Architect and Theatre Planner
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Barry Pritchard
Barry Pritchard
Senior Associate
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Paolo Ribichescu
Paolo Ribichesu
BIM Architect
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Andrea Sinigaglia
Andrea Sinigaglia
BIM Architect
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Anniek Wassser
Anniek Wasser
Senior Associate
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Amy Hickson
Amy Hickson
Practice Coordinator
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Helen Walker
Helen Walker MBE
Director of Operations

Our Partnerships

Theatreplan is proud to support the following sector organisations

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Theatres Trust 2023
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