Professional backstage theatre work whilst at school, followed by an Honours Degree in Electrical Engineering from University College London. Completed a Graduate Apprenticeship in radio, television, electronic and mechanical engineering with the British Broadcasting Corporation and worked as a Senior Planning and Installation Engineer on the rigging and lighting installations for new and refurbished television studios. Joined lighting designer Richard Pilbrow in the late sixties to create one of the first theatre consulting practices and was responsible, amongst many other projects, for the planning and engineering design of all the technical equipment for the three theatres in the Royal National Theatre complex in London. Specified and co-ordinated the first significant powered flying computer control system and the special elevators and equipment in the Drum Revolve stage for the Olivier Theatre. Developed the first theatrical use of air castor technology in the fully-adaptable Derngate Hall in Northampton in the UK. Both managed and contributed to a range of other performing arts projects in countries from Mexico to Iceland and in cities from Calgary to Melbourne.

In 1985 he formed Technical Planning International to specialise in theatre technical installations. Contributed to the theatre planning and was responsible for the design and specification of the technical installations in the Olavshallen theatre and concert hall in Trondheim, followed by the Kulturhus in Harstad. He was invited to lead the stage engineering team on the design of the facilities for the Ballet Opera House in Toronto which was at detail design phase before the provincial funding was withdrawn. Back in the UK, he developed equipment for a number of multipurpose halls, including a complete proscenium frame which stored within the floor of a concert hall and aluminum structures to create overstage suspensions in temporary locations. Pioneered the use of tensioned-wire grids and further developed the use of low pressure air castors. Undertook a range of project work from initial brief writing for the Singapore Performing Arts Centre, through a new theatre in Bombay, to co-ordinating the technical work on the new home for the Hallé Orchestra, the Bridgewater Concert Hall in Manchester.

In 1994 he won the commission from the Government of Hong Kong for the design and specification of stage engineering and stage lighting systems in the Kwai Tsing Theatre. The following year he was awarded similar responsibilities for stage engineering, lighting, sound and communications systems in the Gran Teatre Del Liceu in Barcelona. In 1996 he was invited to join the in-house theatre consultancy team on the redevelopment of the Royal Opera House in London. Collaborated with this team and contributed to the design and technical specifications of a number of significant installations, including the powered flying, stage wagons, and stage control system. Having worked on some smaller projects in Greece, he was named in the Client’s documents as the stage engineering and lighting consultant on the major lyric theatre, small theatre and banqueting hall installations forming the extension to the Music Megaron in Athens and was subsequently responsible for these designs. With this extensive experience on a number of major opera and lyric theatres and their technical installations, he was awarded the commission of the new Opera House in Copenhagen which was completed by the Theatreplan team in October 2004, just under four years from the development of the concept. Despite the short timescale, this building and its technical installations are of the highest standard and represent the current pinnacle of opera house engineering. Following this he worked on schemes for upgrading the installations in the Opera Theatre in the Sydney Opera House.

Richard is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Association of British Theatre Technicians. He has been Chairman of the Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT), Chairman of the Society of Theatre Consultants, and UK representative on the Executive and a Technical Committee member of the International Organisation of Scenographers, Technicians and Theatre Architects. Has also given papers on theatre equipment and installations to the ABTT, the US Institute of Theatre Technicians, the Institute of Engineering and Technology and also to theatre technicians in Asia and Holland. He created the concept of Theatre Engineering and Architecture Conferences and organized two of these in London in 2002 and 2006, also compiling and editing fully-illustrated publications of the papers given at both events. He is a Partner in the international theatre consulting firm, Theatreplan LLP.