We are not currently taking any work experience applications but we will reopen soon.

Thank you for your interest in undertaking Work Experience or an Apprenticeship with Mayflower Theatre. Due to the nature of our business we receive a huge number of enquiries from students, here you will find information about the programmes we offer and how to apply.

For further information with regards to our work experience guidelines, please read our Work Placement Charter here.

2022 Placements

Office/Operational Placements

We offer two one-week placements per year to those aged over 16. Unfortunately we cannot take students under the age of 16 due to licensing restrictions and there is no flexibility with this. We are however flexible with dates and can work around school/college holidays if needed.

Our placements are designed to be exciting, interesting and fun, you will definitely not be spending the week making tea! The week includes working in all areas of the theatre from Finance to Front of House. You may be surprised to learn that behind our beautiful theatre we have a large modern office building and we consider that working in these areas is just as important as experiencing the hard work  and excellent customer service we deliver in the theatre itself, both front of house and backstage.

Participants can expect to be with us for 5 days and this will include working a Saturday matinee shift at the end of the week (time off in lieu will be given during the week). Application details are below.

Technical Theatre Placements/Shadowing

As we are a presenting house we do not produce our own shows and therefore need the permission of the visiting company to allow students to shadow or work backstage therefore it is often not practical to offer shadowing in this area. This is also the case if you are looking for make-up or costume placements as we do not generally employ our own make-up and costume staff therefore shadowing opportunities are limited.  We are sometimes able to offer shadowing and work experience on our youth projects; this is open to those who are currently on or have recently completed an accredited Technical Theatre course, to express your interest please see application details below.

Internships

We have links with local universities to recruit interns for short term work and specific projects; when available, any available placements will be advertised by the universities we work with. Unfortunately we are unable to take speculative applications.

Apprenticeships

At present we have no apprenticeship vacancies. As and when we do have an apprenticeship vacancy these are advertised on the national apprenticeship hub and our own website.

What is it like to have a work experience placement with us?

Katie, 16 at time of placement:

'Before my work experience week I had absolutely no idea the scale of work which goes on behind the scenes at Mayflower Theatre. I have always had a passion for the arts and theatre and aspired to one day have a career within the arts. The only problem was I had no idea which specific career I wanted.

Everyone I met and shadowed was friendly, inspirational and showed a real interest in where I wanted to go with my career. I am struggling to choose a favourite part of the placement, it was either… going along to Summer Youth Project rehearsals with Engage or a full backstage tour of The Lion King or learning about Mayflower Theatre as a business and how the theatre keeps itself afloat, or seeing digital specialists working on brochure designs, or seeing exciting show marketing campaigns.’ 

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Adam, a 2016 work experience student:

‘It's been an amazing opportunity to allow me to see all aspects of the theatre. All of the staff across the board were so welcoming and willing to share their experiences and advice with me, which is received with thanks.’