There’s a certain kind of magic that surrounds the theatre. You feel it when you first arrive, the excitement that seems to crackle in the air, the lingering anticipation as you wait for the stage lights to dim, the adrenaline rush as silence falls over the audience moments before the curtain rises.
Nowhere can you feel this more than in the prestigious LW Theatres (owned by legendary composer Andrew Lloyd Webber), which runs some of London’s most revered theatrical landmarks: His Majesty’s Theatre, The London Palladium and Theatre Royal Drury Lane, to name but a few. There’s something these LW Theatres venues share in common if you look around when you first arrive. You might glimpse it through the crowds or see it standing in welcome at the door. A vibrant pop of red. These are the iconic Red Coat butlers.
Weston and his colleagues pride themselves on providing their guests with the red carpet treatment
Jonny Weston is one such Red Coat, working at LW Theatres over the last decade to host a second-to-none VIP theatre experience. “Being a Red Coat butler is all about looking after people,” Weston says. “We are essentially there to create a bespoke experience for our guests and ensure that they create lasting memories.”
A day in the life of a Red Coat starts with preparing the various VIP rooms for the arrival of guests: glossy souvenir programmes, premium champagne, snacks and interval ice-cream. And once the theatre doors open, the experience begins immediately.
“I greet my guests personally and escort them to their booked spaces: a reserved area, a suite – the Royal Retiring Room.” Each setting is as lavish as it sounds: the Royal Retiring Room at His Majesty’s Theatre has played host to monarchs, and other members of the royal family, since the theatre was built, and offers privacy and easy access to prime seats.
For Weston, greeting and getting to know guests is the highlight of his job. “My very first question is, have you travelled far? And there’s so much joy in that because we’re talking the West End here, it’s part of British culture, it’s an institution. People travel from all over the world.” Whether a guest has travelled from near or far, and royalty or not, the goal is always the same. “We as Red Coats have a duty to elevate your afternoon or evening with us. We will be there front and centre, ready to create a bespoke experience and make sure you end your visit wanting more.”
Weston credits Lloyd Webber as the inspiration for getting him into performance and theatre – so he couldn’t be happier to find himself working for the legendary man himself. Weston says he felt lost as a child before finding his dream. “I didn’t have a hobby, I wasn’t very active and I was struggling. To put it in black and white, girls did dance, boys did football,” he says.
The seed that would bloom into Weston’s love for theatre was planted by the BBC TV talent show Any Dream Will Do, which saw Lloyd Webber searching for an actor to play the lead in the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. “There were men competing to be on stage,” Weston says. “So, we’d gone from ‘you can only do football’ to no, actually, look at all of these guys that are singing and dancing and trying to earn a living as a performer.”
It was a world he wanted to be part of and so Weston went on to train as a performer. But it was after seeing a Red Coat for himself while working front of house at the Adelphi Theatre, another LW Theatres venue, that he realised there were other ways to be involved. The story goes that after a request from a VIP guest for a bespoke experience, the theatre borrowed a Red Coat from one of its sister venues. “He just looked amazing,” Weston recalls of seeing the butler sporting a bright tailcoat. “I said: ‘I have no idea what that man does, but I’m gonna do that.’”
Following tradition, Weston went on from front of house to become an official Red Coat at the Adelphi Theatre. The training he received was a masterclass in attention to detail, including everything from uniform care and presentation to ensuring each and every guest leaves the theatre feeling that they’ve had the red carpet treatment.
Weston is only too aware that live theatre is a distraction from what’s happening in the world outside, making it all the more vital that he gives guests the best possible time. “It’s a moment to come in from the world,” he says. “There’s a reason we have no phones – you’re living in the moment. So when you’re with me, I try and add to that experience. It all falls back to memories, and I think that’s how we as Red Coats contribute to the magic of live theatre. It’s elevating and extending those memories.”
Having welcomed something like 50 people a week over the past 10 years, Weston says: “I have many fond memories, including the experience of looking after the royal family and Hollywood stars such as Pierce Brosnan, Antonio Banderas and Sara Bareilles.” But one encounter sticks out in his mind.
“It was an American lady, and she came by herself,” Weston recalls. “She was so full of life, she was amazing, and we had such a laugh.” Eventually, Weston asked what had brought her to the theatre alone. “She said: ‘Jonny, I have six months to live. Do you think I’m not going to go out with a bang?’ She’s the best guest I had, and I’ve never forgotten her.”
For Weston, being a Red Coat is a mark of pride, and a role that has taken him from a young boy struggling to find his place in the world to working in some of the most prestigious venues, all while wearing a truly iconic uniform. “It’s given me free rein to walk into the greatest theatres in the world and feel at home,” he says.
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