Members enjoyed a visit to the Props Store on Wednesday 9 July 2025 with a guided tour given by Katie Hennessy the Props Store Coordinator who provided the description below of its operations and services.
Thousands of items, from vintage typewriters to tennis racquets, and art deco picture frames to antique tea sets, are carefully maintained and catalogued.
We have had our current store on Terminus Rd Industrial Estate since August 2021. We are one of three remaining large prop hire houses – the others being the RSC and the National Theatre.
The store has a two-fold purpose – one to facilitate all of our productions and events, the other to run as a hire company.
Facilitatating all of our productions and events.
We rehearse up in London and each show needs to take all their rehearsal props and furniture with them. Directors these days like to have “something for everything” in the room.
CFT has committed to sustainable practices, one of these ways of working is through our Theatre Green Book process, which includes tracking all elements of the production process. Click on this link to find out more: Theatre Green Book . By following these guidelines we try to find as many actual props from the store as well.
Each show has a Freelance Props Supervisor who will meet with the Designer prior to rehearsals starting. The Supervisor will then come down to the store and meet with the Stage Management Team. Together they will pull all the props and furniture for rehearsals, but also check if anything could become the actual.
We also provide prop support to all other events that run here at the theatre – Gala nights, post show talks, Theatre Day, and work by our LEAP department (Learning, Education and Participation)
Hire Company
The other purpose the store has is to run as a hire company. We hire out all props and furniture to any person/organisation that is interested. This includes; Chichester University, London Drama Schools, Theatre Royal Bath, individual events such as Proms, Weddings, 21sts etc.
We also lend out to all the local primary schools for their annual productions.
As mentioned, our Props Supervisors are Freelance so they will often get in touch when they are working on other shows, which can include the West End and national and international tours, so we really do go far and wide.