WORK BACKSTAGE IN A THEATRE
Meet Helen Burgess-shaw, head of wigs, hair and make-up for Frozen the Musical at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, London
There’s nothing quite like live theatre. And there are few musicals more magical than Disney’s Frozen. Helen Burgess-shaw, 44, is part of a top team who bring sparkle and shine to every performance.
How did you get into your career? Growing up, I loved the theatre. As a teen, I enjoyed amateur dramatics, so when I finished school I did a BTEC in performing arts – but I soon realised I preferred being backstage. Aged 19, I got my first job as a wig assistant at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester. I’ve gone on to work in wigs, hair and make-up (aka WHAM) teams on such shows as Phantom of the Opera,
Les Misérables, Grease and Wicked.
How does your morning start?
On matinee days, my alarm goes off at 6.30am. I shower and get my things together before hopping on the 8am train from Burgess Hill, West Sussex, to London. With a long commute, I can do my make-up on the train.
What’s your first job of the day? Sorting out all the wigs worn the previous night. In total, about 115 wigs are used for each Frozen show and they’re almost all made with real hair, so there’s a lot of work to do cleaning each hairpiece and restyling it ready for the next performance
At lunch, I tend to grab something at the theatre. I try to make sure we all get at least a 30-minute break. If I’m lucky, I’ll get outside to have a wander, but often I’ll just chat with the team in the wig room.
What are the afternoons like?
Busy! For the 2pm matinee show, we start work on hair and make-up with the young actors playing little Anna and Elsa at 1pm. I go to Elsa’s dressing room around 1.25pm to do her wig, then join my team in the area we call the Wardrobe Village backstage to work on the ensemble cast. On Frozen, the job is 90% wigs and 10% hair, as only three of the principal actors
don’t use wigs. Many principals, including Anna and Elsa, have multiple headpieces. Most of the cast have been taught to do their own make-up, so that’s one less job!
‘The applause and happiness at the end of a show make the long hours worth it’
How do you unwind?
I finish work at around 9.30pm. As it’s a children’s show, the evening performances start at 7pm, so once we’ve washed and set the male ensemble wigs and left them to dry overnight, I can catch a train at 10pm and be home by 11.30. After work, I use the train journey to wind down. I work on eight shows across five days every week and at the end of it, I’ll treat myself to a ‘train wine’ and relax watching a downloaded programme on my phone.
What’s your favourite part of the Frozen role?
I absolutely love a ‘quick change’. There is a scene where we have 18 seconds to take a wig off Anna, put another wig on and put a second wig on top of that before she has to be back onstage. It’s choreographed like a dance – my deputy and I know exactly which hair clip needs to be where and when.
What’s the toughest challenge you face? Every day, the cast all need to look exactly like those in the original Broadway production. But just like you have bad hair days, you can have bad wig days. The hair on the wigs is natural, so if it’s too warm or if the humidity is too high, you can have that Monica from Friends moment – where her usually sleek hair becomes a voluminous frizz ball due to holiday humidity. Replicating Elsa’s perfect look day in, day out is tough but essential.
And your weirdest experience? Working on the Cats UK tour in 2021 was quite surreal. I would spend all my days transforming adults into these beautiful creatures who’d crawl around on all fours for the next three hours.
What qualities make for a good WHAM team member?
You need an eye for detail, great hair skills, empathy and to be a good listener. We’re like therapists, so you also need to know how to keep secrets.
Have you ever come close to disaster at work?
The closest was on Phantom of the Opera in Manchester in 2000. One of the cast members had a very quick costume and wig change onstage, so six of the backstage crew had to hide behind the headboard of a bed to help her. As the actor ran offstage, I slipped out. Only my hand was seen, but it was almost my accidental stage debut.
Best career advice you would give? Work hard, be fair, believe in yourself and don’t give up. My 19-year-old self wouldn’t believe what I’m up to now.
If you could do anything else, what would it be?
I’m a magpie and love shiny things, so one day I would love to have my own jewellery studio at home.
What’s special about a job in theatre? It isn’t just a job, it’s a way of life. People who work in theatre choose it because we truly love what we do. The applause and happiness at the end of a show make the long hours worth it.