Meet Ken Smith

Head flyman Ken Smith was a boat builder before he became a flyman, so he had some knowledge of rigging, ropes, shackles, and lifting equipment. He says, however, that his background didn’t lead him to pursue a career as a flyman, it was pure coincidence. He met a friend of a friend in the dole queue, who told him about a job opening as a flyman at the Bristol Old Vic. Ken got the job and enjoyed it enough to stick with it. Eventually, he got promoted to head flyman, and has been doing this job ever since.