Tue, 16 June, 2026
You are sat in a theatre, waiting for the show to start. Standing tall on the dimly lit stage is a grand staircase… but did you realise that hiding behind all that grandness is welded steel…?
At the National Theatre in London, nearly all staging of the scenery and props are made onsite by their highly-skilled Workshops department team. In the case of their grand staircase in their recent production of The Authenticator, a metal frame was welded together by their Metal team before being clad in wood in their dedicated Carpentry workshop. With the structure complete, it was sent through to their Scenic Art team to use a range of artistic techniques to transform the functional structure into the grand staircase that graces the stage.
With this staging piece being made onsite and used in productions daily, it is of vital importance that the structure is made to a high standard by competent individuals. This is where certification comes in...
After a recent in-house safety audit at the National Theatre, the question of how they demonstrate the skill and competence of their welders was raised. Despite their small Metal team having combined experience of over 120 years, they did not have professional up to date qualifications or certifications that could be used to demonstrate their industry-leading skills and competency.
With this in mind, the theatre decided to put forward their six welders to gain Welder Performance Qualifications (WPQs) with TWI Cert. But why did they choose TWI Cert to act as their Certification Body? Kate John, Head of Production Workshops, said “Callum [TWI Cert’s Welding Verification Assessor] offered an excellent level of support and insight from the first enquiry. “
To gain this certification, each of the welders were required to produce two test pieces, one on a bench and the other vertical in accordance with BS EN ISO 9606-1, in the presence of our Welding Verification Assessor. Our assessor then visually examined the pieces before carrying out fracture tests. Upon successful completion of this process, the individuals were issued their certificates.
Welder Performance Qualifications give the National Theatre confidence in the competence of their welding team, the work they undertake, and therefore, the safety of their actors on stage. However, it also provides acknowledgement for the welders themselves of their work - they now have evidence demonstrating that their welds are of high quality and in line with industry standards.
Given that this was the National Theatres debut onto the stage that is welder certification, what did they think of the process?
“It was rigorous, thorough but the team didn’t feel under too much scrutiny and pressure. Callum set a balanced tone which eased any worries.”
Through the National Theatre’s recently established Skills Centre, they aim to support the development of theatre-makers through a wide range of training opportunities and placements, helping to build a more inclusive and resilient future workforce for the wider creative industries. The National Theatre have taken this as an opportunity to discuss the importance of proving competency with other theatres, in the hopes that they can work together to build upon and strengthen the safety measures in theatres across the UK.