The 2026 WhatsOnStage Awards once again brought the theatre industry together at The London Palladium for an evening to celebrate productions, performers and creative teams captivating audiences across the UK stage. 

As proud supporters of the event, Steeldeck Rentals were delighted to attend and play a small part behind the scenes in making the evening possible. Our team supplied staging elements including Steeldeck legs, treads and skirting to support the main awards stage, helping to create the platform for the night’s performances and presentations. 

Voted for entirely by the public, the WhatsOnStage Awards are a unique moment in the theatre calendar. This year’s ceremony featured performances from some of the West End’s most talked-about productions, alongside celebrations of major milestones and standout achievements across the industry. 

Congratulations to all this year’s winners and nominees, and to everyone who continues to make theatre such a vibrant and inspiring industry. 

When you’re planning an event, whether a festival, fashion show, conference, school performance or theatre production, timing is everything. Booking early to hire staging and seating is a smart decision. Steeldeck Rentals has spent nearly 30 years helping event professionals bring their projects to life with strong, versatile staging and bespoke seating solutions across the UK and Europe.

Here’s why early booking matters, and how it helps you stay ahead of the curve…

Avoid last-minute stress

Event schedules are demanding, and delays with equipment can develop into bigger problems. By booking your staging and seating early, you’re giving yourself plenty of time to:

• Understand your needs
• Plan the layout and configuration
• Confirm delivery and installation slots
• Produce and assemble bespoke elements if required

Early planning reduces risk, avoids rushed decisions and ensures your event infrastructure is properly designed rather than simply ‘made to fit’.

It’s in the detail

Providing detail early always helps. If you don’t have all the information readily available, that’s not a problem. Our dedicated project managers are here to help shape your brief and make sure nothing is missed. To get started, have your checklist ready:

• Type of event (festival, theatre, corporate, school)
• Event date(s) and build/de-rig times
• Indoor or outdoor location
• Site access details (loading bays, door widths)
• Staging: size of staging and intended use
• Seating: size of audience / number of seats needed
• Any specific structural design or layout requirements

Having these details early means we can give you an accurate quote, ensure availability, and deliver on a tight turnaround without compromise.

As one of the UK’s leading providers of temporary staging and seating hire, Steeldeck continues to take its environmental responsibilities extremely seriously. We are proud to have renewed our place on the WeAreAlbert Suppliers Directory for another year! This reflects our continued commitment to sustainability and our ongoing work to support positive change across the TV and film industry.

Steeldeck Rentals designs, builds, and installs bespoke temporary seating and staging across the UK and Europe. Known for our innovation, versatility and strength, our solutions are engineered for repeated use across a wide range of productions and events, helping to reduce waste and environmental impact and extend product life cycles.

Sustainability remains central to how we operate. With a clear commitment to achieving net zero by 2035, we prioritise the resourcing of sustainable materials, responsible methods of waste disposal and are working towards decreasing the environmental impact of hire services as well as increasing levels of social responsibility. Our modular design is intended for long-term reuse without compromising performance or safety.

By choosing Steeldeck, productions are partnering with a supplier that actively supports more sustainable ways of working, aligning with Albert’s mission to bring the film and TV industry together to tackle climate change and inspire a more sustainable future.

‘The BAFTA albert Suppliers Directory is the go-to resource for any production looking to reduce its environmental impact by working with sustainable suppliers for the Film & TV industry.’ https://wearealbert.org/search-suppliers/

At Steeldeck Rentals, we are seeing an exciting shift in how clients develop their event staging and seating concepts. Designers and production teams are using AI design tools to visualise stages, seating layouts and temporary structures in new and imaginative ways. These AI-generated ideas are helping clients to explore scale, shape and audience flow before the build even begins.

Once those initial concepts arrive, our Project Managers step in to make them a reality. Using AutoCAD drawings and decades of experience in staging and seating solutions, we translate creative ideas into engineered plans that deliver on safety, strength and practicality. Every design is reviewed in detail, from load-bearing requirements to sightlines, ensuring the finished structure performs flawlessly on site.

The combination of AI innovation and human expertise reflects how we continue to evolve as a company. By incorporating smart technology with our proven approach to temporary staging and seating design, we help clients transform their digital ideas into real experiences.

We don’t just build stages. We bring ideas to life.

Creating powerful moments on screen requires precision, including the staging and seating that support every performer, camera, rig and crew member. From raised studio decks, multi-level performance platforms and camera risers to temporary tiered seating banks and discreet structural supports, the right film staging and seating can make or break a production.

At Steeldeck Rentals, we’ve been working behind the scenes on productions across the UK for nearly 30 years, supplying modular staging and temporary seating for TV studios, live broadcasts and location shoots. We specialise in delivering temporary staging and seating solutions within TV and film studios, supporting light entertainment shows, pilots, long-running series, and major film productions. With a fast, adaptable system and a team that understands the demands of production, we ensure every build supports the creative vision.

Working with All In The Detail and InZone Agency, Steeldeck delivered a bespoke bleacher seating solution for a sports brand activation event held within the distinctive tunnel space at 26 Leake Street. Located in London’s South Bank, the well-known graffiti tunnel, 26 Leake Street provides a unique event venue.

Our team constructed a 1’6” rise bleacher seating bank, complete with carpeted decks, designed to provide a premium, comfortable experience for guests in an underground environment.

As with any fast-paced event build, clear communication and on-site agility are essential. We worked closely with the client early on to finalise the optimum position of the seating bank, ensuring it would accommodate both the bleacher layout and additional floor-level seating. To support this collaborative process, our crew built the first row and sourced chairs to help visualise the front-row arrangement.

This practical, collaborative approach allowed the client to confirm visibility and audience comfort with confidence. After a few final adjustments to optimise viewing angles, the full bleacher bank was approved and completed.

The result was a carefully planned and efficiently delivered bleacher seating solution tailored to the requirements of both the event and the venue’s distinctive tunnel space.

Steeldeck is proud to announce its support for Theatre Green Book, the industry-wide initiative supporting the performing arts industry to work more sustainably, as it becomes an independent not-for-profit organisation, with charitable status pending. This marks an exciting next chapter for the initiative, which has transformed how the industry approaches environmental responsibility.

As one of the initiative’s Founder Supporters, Steeldeck joins a collective of leading theatres and creative companies providing guidance and core financial support for 2026-28. This group includes the National Theatre, National Theatre of Scotland, Royal Ballet and Opera, Royal Shakespeare Company, ATG Entertainment, Bristow Consulting, Charcoalblue, Haworth Tompkins Architects, Trafalgar Entertainment, and Unusual Rigging.

The new structure will also integrate Theatre Green Book’s growing international networks, supported by Strategic Partners including Theatres Trust, Society of London Theatre & UK Theatre, and the Association of British Theatre Technicians. The new organisation will be chaired by Abigail Pogson, who will lead its ongoing work to accelerate change throughout the UK performing arts and to grow its reach globally.

Steeldeck Rentals was proud to support Westminster Under School’s recent production of Disney’s Newsies, Jr., providing a bespoke modular staging design to bring the high-energy musical to life. 

The brief called for a multi-level performance structure, with two grand staircases positioned on either side of the stage descending into a central performance area. To extend the layout and enhance stage movement, two smaller staircases were mirrored downstage, creating layered levels for the performances. 

Our custom-built staging solution transformed the school’s theatre into a dynamic space that supported the pace and energy of the production, ensuring every performer had room to shine! 

If you’re planning an event, performance or brand activation, one of the first questions that comes up is: how much does it cost to hire a stage?

Every project is unique, from the scale and layout to the venue location and how it’s built. This is why at Steeldeck Rentals, we focus on providing flexible, bespoke staging solutions that fit your brief, your space and your budget.

Size and Scale
Whether you’re planning a small indoor talk or a large outdoor concert, the size of your stage will shape everything. Need a single 8” x 4” deck for a corporate event? We can do that. Need 1,000 decks to build a multi-level structure for a festival or film shoot? We can do that too.

Our full product range can be found here

Our modular stage hire system means you have the flexibility to deliver to your event criteria – ensuring it can be scalable, practical and designed to perform safely in any environment. Explore our event staging solutions

Location and Ground Conditions
Every site is different. Indoor venues often have fixed access points or limited headroom, while outdoor locations may involve slopes, uneven ground or tricky logistics.

Our experienced team has worked in TV studios, live venues, festivals and heritage sites. So whatever your space looks like, we will advise early on what is needed to make it work safely and efficiently. See our projects and case studies

Bespoke Design and Access
A stage should work for everyone. From integrated steps and DDA-compliant ramps to custom fascia finishes and handrails, every structure can be designed around your audience, performers and brand. Our bespoke staging service ensures the final build not only performs flawlessly but also complements your event design, whether it’s for a live activation, concert or conference.

Following the success of last year’s 25th anniversary event, Steeldeck Rentals is delighted to be sponsoring the 2026 WhatsOnStage Awards, continuing our support for one of the most anticipated celebrations in the theatre calendar.

As the only UK theatre awards nominated and voted entirely by the public, the WhatsOnStage Awards shine a spotlight on the incredible talent and creativity that define British theatre.

Our partnership reflects Steeldeck Rentals’ long-standing commitment to theatre and the arts by providing bespoke staging and seating solutions for productions and venues across the country.

We are proud to play a part in supporting the theatre community and look forward to another unforgettable evening celebrating outstanding performances, productions and creative achievements in 2026.