Petrus Bertschinger

Petrus Bertschinger trained in stage and production management at the Central School of Speech and Drama and after graduating in 1984 quickly established himself as an admired stage manager and production manager before moving into consultancy and education with equal success.

He was adopted by a liberal family in Hampstead, London – his father ran the Institute of Contemporary Arts, his mother studied at the Slade School of Fine Art and among their many lodgers was Yoko Ono. At Westminster School, he appeared in a production of Arsenic and Old Lace before spending two years travelling in Europe.

After graduating, his first professional job was in stage management with the Oxford Playhouse, after which he went to the Donmar Warehouse. He worked with a diverse range of companies, theatres and festivals, including as production manager with Matthew Bourne’s Adventures in Motion Pictures, technical director of the Covent Garden Festival and a 10-year spell with Unicorn Theatre, during which he was planning and operations director responsible for delivering the company’s new twin-venue home.

With Theatre Projects Consultants he specialised in theatre management operations, backstage and back-of-house planning, serving as project manager to the Howard Theatre in Downing College, Cambridge (2009), The Convention Centre Dublin (2010), the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and Beacon Arts Theatre, Greenock (2011).

In addition to his consultancy work, he was a senior lecturer in technical and production management at Central and a trustee director of the Association of British Theatre Technicians. He also contributed articles to Sightline magazine and The Stage.

Petrus Bertschinger was born in Hampstead, London, on October 21, 1961 and died on October 8 (2015) following a heart attack, aged 53. He is survived by his wife and daughter. ( Verbatim Obit from thestage.co.uk)