Backstage

A The cartridge on the Slopbox, seen from above: the apprentice, who is crew, carries the prompt book across the walnut theatre while the show goes on, from the foyer to Cue in the prompt corner. There is nothing to fight with. The usher carries a lamp that lights a wide, short beam and will not say what is behind it; Ms Quill has opera glasses and a thin, long one, and fills the moment she sees you; hecklers see nothing and hear everything you do at a walk; and Cue, who sees into the wings, is the one place that does not hide you. Hold the creep button and nobody hears; toss one of the critics’ programmes and a guard turns his head to look.

Seven acts: the foyer; the back stalls; the front stalls, with the hecklers; the pit, three lanes with an usher in each; stage right; behind the flats, where two kinds of cue share one bar; and the stage, under the spots, with the Understudy somewhere on it. Every act has a cue bar: applause turns every usher to face the stage for a few seconds, a blackout leaves no one able to see, and the walk is to go on the cue and not before. The usher is not allowed to tell you that you are free to go; when he sees you he holds out a hand. This account of the cartridge is proposed lore, written with the cart and waiting for the user’s approval. Like everything else here, it was made by a machine.