Meet the Maker

Keith Thomson – Prop Maker

Join us in a journey of discovery, where we go behind the scenes into the world of prop making

‘I honestly feel like I’ve got the best job in the world.’

Keith Thomson, prop maker.

Keith Thomson has worked at Glyndebourne for 4 years. What started as a personal passion – honing his craft by designing and cosplaying at character conventions – eventually led him to studying prop and costume making full-time in Sussex, launching his career as a Prop Maker.

In his role, Keith creates a variety of props that are seen on stage during the Festival and Autumn Season. From a contemporary, structural chandelier to a huge cake that is strong enough to hold dancers, find out what it takes to bring designers’ ideas to life in the prop making department.

Photo by Alun Callender

Don Giovanni, Festival 2023. Photo by Richard Hubert Smith

Prop making is 90% problem solving

You have to be creative. You have to enjoy the challenge. Every production is a brand-new set of possibilities. The best part is being presented with a challenge — to be given a drawing and to dissect it, unpack it, tackle it, and see it come to life.

Like the cake from Don Giovanni – when do you ever get a chance to make a cake that people have to dance on?

Making props is a year-round process.

We’re one of the departments at Glyndebourne that works throughout the entire year – through the summer Festival, the Autumn Season and everything in between!

The first step of any production is to start prototyping and that starts very early in the process – at least a year before a production, and the prop, will actually go on stage.

We’ve already started for Festival 2027, and we’re very excited. There’s some incredible creative ideas and challenges, and I can’t wait to start!

The Merry Widow, Festival 2024. Photo by Tristram Kenton

Ariadne auf Naxos, Festival 2026. Photo by Richard Hubert Smith

My favourite prop I’ve worked on was the Chandelier from Ariadne auf naxos.

The chandelier was a really interesting design. It was something new and I hadn’t done anything like that before, but I was given ownership of it. I got to work on it from beginning to end.

When you finally get to see all of your work on the stage and see the audience walking in, gasping, talking about it in the Long Bar afterwards, you feel like you’ve done a really good job.

The hardest part is not Falling in love with your work!

You sometimes want to take ownership of a prop, but ultimately they are for the actors and for the production.

There is certainly a fluidity. The process of prop making changes across productions. Sometimes designers change their mind, and sometimes you can find a prop that you think was perfect, but it might not be as perfect as you thought it was.

You have to let them go!