Back earlier than expected, with some unsung heroes….

On my way to the hospital last Wednesday, I stopped at a newsstand at 6.15am and bought that day’s Times, which included a feature, heralded on the front page as “The Luvvie Power List”, listing the 50 most powerful people in theatre. Michael Coveney has already written an erudite reply objecting, rightly, to this dismissive characterisation; and while all such lists are inevitably subjective and not very scientific, you do wonder just who compiled this one (it wasn’t bylined), and how seriously they meant us to take it.

While it rounds up the usual suspects - Hytner, Loyd Webber, Mackintosh, Grandage, Boyd, Cooke etc etc - there’s also the Managing Director of Loseley’s ice-cream (by virtue of the supply of their overpriced products to many theatres) near the bottom of the list, only followed by a theatre website editor and bloggers the West End Whingers. Theatre critics of range and influence, from The Times’s own Libby Purves to Michael Billington and Lyn Gardner in the Guardian, Charlie Spencer in the Telegraph or Claire Allfree in Metro are nowhere to be seen. Yet they all set the pulse of theatrical journalism far more effectively and comprehensively.

Still, it is refreshing, at least, to see the blogosphere being acknowledged. But then there are lots of people that keep the cogs of the West End running whose work is never noticed in the endless lists of best and worst, movers and shakers, up-and-comers and where-are-they-now that invariably get compiled around this time of year, so I am going to redress the balance today and mention a few of the behind-the-scenes heroes….

• Company managers are the producers on-the-ground: the person who looks after the day-to-day, or rather night-to-night, operation of the show. Nicholas Bromley (currently on Love Never Dies) is one of this very particular kind: as one actor who has worked with him told me, “Mr Bromley (as he is affectionately called) is always polite, proper, respectful and respected.” Another superb company manager is Roger Bruce (currently on Deathtrap). But company managers are only the frontline of an army of backstage people who make a show tick, from dressers and wardrobe assistants to follow-spot operators and sound and lighting desk personnel.

• Musical directors are the creative guardians of a musical: the only remaining member of the creative team who still turns up for the show every night and can maintain its musical standards. Richard Beadle previously on Priscilla and most recently on Hair is a leading light of a younger generation of musical directors.

• Theatre managers keep the show on the road from the front-of-house point of view; the West End is full of devoted, loyal staff. Amongst those I see most regularly, probably because of the high turnover of shows that run there, and always get a warm welcome from are the Duchess’s indefatigable Chris Isherman, the Garrick’s William Byers and Dean Stewart at Trafalgar Studios.

• Agents are the cogs in the wheels between talent (offstage and on) and producers. Amongst literary agents, the veteran Tom Erhardt and Alan Brodie are giants, full of tact and discretion for the playwrights they represent from Alan Ayckbourn and Edward Bond (for the former) and David Edgar, Peter Nichols and the estate of Noel Coward and Terence Rattigan (for the latter). Looking after directors and set and lighting designers, amongst others, David Watson seems to be at every first night, whether in the West End or on Broadway. And in the West End, Barry Burnett and Gavin Barker two agents specialising in musical theatre actors who are both brilliant at what they do.

• Press and PR officers, often working independently, sometimes corporately and sometimes institutionally, are the all-important liaison between shows and journalists who seek to cover them, and of course it’s a two-way street: we need each other. It can’t be easy dealing with us lot, but I admire the unique ways they rise to this challenge. I’m not going to set PRs against each other by comparing them or singling anyone out, but suffice it to say that there are at least two who I’d happily co-parent with!

• The West End is full of company stalwarts: people who may never have achieved personal stardom, but are constantly in work, for the very good reason that they are great company players. The late Michael Bryant epitomised this at the National; in the West End musical world, Myra Sands (currently in the Oliver! ensemble), Vanessa Leigh Hicks (recently in the Les Mis 25th anniversary tour revamp) and Tiffany Graves (recently in Sweet Charity) are amongst those that are always dependable, whether as standbys, dance captains or ensemble members.

• Theatre publishing is a tiny world - not many people buy theatre books now (if they ever did), but the good fight for publishing playscripts and other tomes is valiantly maintained by the independent publishers Nick Hern of Nick Hern Books and James Hogan of Oberon.

• The National Theatre leads from the front in every way - not least in its innovative NT Live programme, now being rolled out to include other theatres, that allows shows to reach the widest possible audience nationally and internationally through live cinema screenings. It also long ago pioneered the brilliant Platforms series, under the stewardship of Angus MacKechnie, providing illuminating interviews with major theatre personalities both working at the National and elsewhere.

• I’ve previously listed some fringe heroes, but while those that “front” small theatres may have a front-of-house profile as a result, there are others for whom the work is its own reward. Katherine Ives has run Lauderdale House’s Cabaret at the House season for the last decade; she also puts out publicity for venues like the tiny Above the Stag at Victoria.

• I know this is blowing our own trumpet, but The Stage (130 years old and counting), whose editor Brian Attwood was also mentioned in The Times 50 list, is both an exception and exceptional to the flood of two-a-penny theatre websites, most of them repackaging the same information you can find on every other one. The Stage maintains a fully-staffed, salaried newsroom, led by dedicated news editor Alistair Smith, which actually breaks stories rather than merely recycling them, and the largest reviewing resource in the national media, marshalled by Emma Harlen. Also offering something different: Theatremonkey.com is an incredible resource that has been built up from the inside out, with users contributing to its value that identifies the best and worst seats in every theatre in London. The site also usefully consolidates all the best discounts available around the web. And Theatrevoice.com, set up by Daily Telegraph critic Dominic Cavendish, is a marvellous resource for originally-created audio content about the current theatre scene, including interviews with leading theatrical personalities and a monthly critics forum round-up of recent openings, hosted by myself.

Are there any other unsung heroes you feel should be acknowledged? Please feel free to post them and any other comments below!