To achieve a first-class production, scenery may not be essential, but your actors must be visible. You must illuminate your cast. One could manage an entertainment using sound alone, as in ordinary sound radio, but to increase the concept of action, it is necessary to see what is happening.

I would say that subtle lighting improves the impact of any type of play. Poor, brash, unconsidered lighting can ruin any production.

Personally, I am keen in certain types of play, Shakespeare for instance, to arrange the lighting so that shadows play a part in building up a mood. May I say, that to do this, it is not necessary to have a very elaborate lighting system. Whatever the extent of your lighting kit, it depends how you use it. An hour's experimenting will be time well-spent, and you will be amazed at the extra punch you will get out of lines you thought trite.

If the lighting is very well thought out, I am prepared to watch Theatre in the Round. This type of Theatre must have very subtle lighting.

I always try to work out my lighting plot so that costumes and sets are enhanced by the subtlety of the lighting. My lighting expert John Evans, has been working with me for many years, and there is a real rapport between us. He knows instinctively the effect I want, and has got so used to my ideas that he frequently guesses what lighting arrangements I am likely to ask for. When one has such a co-operative partner it makes one rather lazy.

I discuss with John, as soon as rehearsals start, the possibilities of a scene. I tell him what I would like. Occasionally I asked for more than our outfit can give. Then I have to modify my ideas. This happens very seldom, because John will move the heavens to give me my lighting. I have known him stay up nearly all night to make most intricate alterations so that I chortle with glee.

One should write out a full lighting plot. But, as I have said, I get rather lazy. John has a script of the play. I have that preliminary chat with him, and then, unless some unexpected snag occurs, I do not see John until perhaps three weeks before the show.

We then meet, often at my house, and go through the script with a small-tooth comb. Any changes I may have decided on, I most meticulously explain. Then I do not see John again until the Sunday before the dress rehearsal. The rest is the actual rehearsal, when we rehearse all we have decided at our interviews.

The best-known name in stage lighting is Strand Electric. Another well-known name is Furse, of Nottingham. This firm supplied the lighting installation in the Stretford Civic Theatre. It is their 'Delicolour' System. The great advantage of this system is that, by mechanical selection, an unskilled operator can succeed in getting colour changes of great subtlety.

We have three lighting battens in sets of four: white, red, green and blue. Our footlights-which we seldom use-are in the same sets as the battens. On our number one batten, that is, the batten nearest the proscenium arch, there are two 1,000-soft focus spots. There are four similar spots, F.O.H. (This means front of house, or in the auditorium.) They can be adjusted to cover any given acting areas on the stage.

We also have three 1,000-watt wing floods. In addition there is a 1,000-watt cloud projector. This is a large circular slide with clouds on it that passes in front of a lens. The slide is focused on to the cyclorama. A clockwork motor makes the slide turn and the result is a very striking lighting effect.

We have a twenty-four-foot ground row. This is really a batten again in sets of four, resting on the floor and allowing the light to be directed upwards on to the cyclorama or part of the scenery. It is effective, but takes up too much space.

I am fully aware that our lighting system, though efficient, is far from up to date. Nevertheless it is all we have. I dream of the barrels of spots and all the latest equipment. It is no surprise, surely, that I long for a theatre of our own fitted out with all these items. Well, maybe a miracle will happen.

As John is a recording expert, he is also in charge of sound effects. This embraces a very wide range of possibilities, from the sound of water dripping in a cave to The Last Post. Seldom is the effects department at a loss. We have had some weird assignments to get the sound we wanted.

Realistic effects are much easier to obtain these days through the medium of the tape recorder. There are on the market quite a number of records of all kinds of sounds. They are very handy, but continuing our policy of doing as much as we can ourselves, we prefer to record the actual sounds whenever we possibly can. The availability of a portable tape recorder, run off batteries, makes this hunt a real lark.

When we did A Man Dies we wanted the bugle call of The Last Post. We approached the Commanding Officer of one of the Manchester Territorial units, and he most willingly agreed to co-operate. We went along to the barracks, and much care was taken to ensure that we had a perfect recording. I may add that we all had a very pleasant evening. The buglers were invited to a performance to hear their contributions to the show,

In 1964 I wanted the sound effects to be particularly good for our Richard III. I asked for chanting in the background when the corpse of Henry VI was carried in, and the Te Deum in the in the scene of Richard's coronation. I rang up the Canon in charge of the large Roman Catholic church, St Ann's. I had never met the Canon but I explained what I required. Most courteously he arranged for me to have a chat with his choirmaster.

I found the latter a most charming, co-operative person, anxious to supply just what I wanted. He actually composed a Te Deum in the correct musical idiom of the period, and this, together with the chanting I wanted, was recorded in the church and the tape sent to me.

Only a keen producer will understand what such kind co-operation means. It is invaluable, and I am deeply grateful for such kindness. Music is of great help in creating a mood. I am well aware it can be overdone. Once again, a little careful planning is needed.

A word about interval music. It is necessary to be most careful in the choice interval records. Frequently one hears the most unsuitable music played-both at the interval, and before and after the show. If a musical expert is not on hand to advise on this matter, the nearest college of music would no doubt be willing to advise.

Sometimes owing to poor acoustics, certain effects do not record well. On the other hand it might be because of the particular tape recorder. We find that, however careful we have been, wind or storm sounds tend to sound confused. We have made a wind machine which, together with a thunder sheet, we operate when we need any sound of stormy weather.

Whoever is to do the effects, make sure it is a reliable person. Being able to record, all or most of your effects on one tape in the correct order means that one person can operate it. Your effects man should be thoroughly conversant with every detail of the play. We do our best to see that all sound effects are ready at least three weeks before the show. The person responsible should attend rehearsals from a very early date, at least once a week, so that he can get the feel of the exact timing.

It is no exaggeration to say that an ill-timed cough, bell, or train of music could wreck in one second, a scene which has been building up to a strong climax. Your effects man must be reliable. The second 'Effects' starts treating his job in a casual manner, sack him.