How to take care of yourself and stay healthy during the run of a show.
A theatre run is a thrilling yet demanding experience. Behind the scenes, it can be a real challenge to maintain your physical health and mental wellbeing. Long hours, emotional intensity and constant physical activity can take a toll if you don’t look after yourself properly. Performers need to adopt healthy habits, so you don’t burn out.
We asked the winners and nominees at the Off-West End Awards 2025 how they take care of themselves during a theatre run. Everyone we spoke to is a professional theatre performer, used to sustaining themselves across long and active shows. Here are the tips they shared for surviving a theatre run:
Get Plenty of Rest
Rest is the foundation of a sustainable theatre career. The physical exertion of performing combined with the mental focus needed night after night, means your body requires more sleep than you might expect. Prioritising quality sleep helps your muscles recover, sharpens your concentration and supports emotional resilience.
Many of the performers we spoke to emphasised the importance of taking breaks whenever possible and not pushing through exhaustion. Sometimes, this means going home early after the show and avoiding late-night socialising. Other times, you may need to manage your schedule to allow for sufficient rest – even if it means skipping events.
Performer Victoria Yeates (the Fantastic Beasts series), who played nun ‘Sister Winifred’ for six seasons of Call the Midwife, noted that, “You have to live a bit like a nun to keep yourself well because it’s really hard work. Especially when you’re doing something that has a high emotional cost.”
Drink Water, Not Wine
It might be tempting to celebrate and unwind after a show with a glass of wine or another alcoholic beverage, but moderation is key. Performer Christian Vit (Vikings: Valhalla, FBI) advises, “Try to keep the glasses of wine to a minimum.”
Not only is alcohol bad for your vocal health, it also dehydrates the body and can impair sleep quality – both are detrimental during a theatre run, as it keeps your body from recovering properly.
Focus on drinking plenty of water throughout the day – especially before and after performances. Staying properly hydrated is non-negotiable. It supports your voice, physical endurance and cognitive function – all of which will ensure you’re ready to give your performance your best shot night after night.
Incorporating other wellness practices, such as steam inhalation and daily warm-ups, can also assist with hydration and help maintain your overall wellbeing.
Stay Active
Physical fitness plays a vital role in managing the strain and demands a theatre run can have on your body. Exercise boosts endurance, flexibility and mood – qualities that directly impact your stage presence. Writer and performer Arturo Luíz Soria enjoys the benefits of this, saying, “I go to the gym, I box a lot and that’s really fun. It’s good cardio.”
Whilst exercise is important , you don’t want to overdo it and exhaust yourself. Staying active doesn’t mean pushing yourself to exhaustion. Pacing yourself is essential to avoid overtraining.
For those who prefer gentler physical activity, going for daily walks and doing yoga can help reduce stress and clear your mind. Walking is a low-impact way to stay active without overexerting yourself. Warming up before a performance is also crucial for preventing injury during the show.
Eat Well
Nutrition fuels every aspect of a performer’s day. Christian Vit reminds us to, “Keep a healthy diet,” while Arturo Luíz Soria simply advises that, “Eating well” is important when it comes to fuelling your body for a show run.
Balanced meals rich in protein, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats provide sustained energy for rehearsals and performances.
Try to avoid the convenience of heavy, processed foods and instead focus on fresh ingredients. Eating a healthy, balanced diet and keeping yourself hydrated go hand-in-hand with each other.
If you’re struggling for time or ideas to prepare healthy meals for yourself during your theatre run, take a look at our guide to healthy food prep for the busy actor for inspiration.
Taking care of yourself during a theatre run is a balancing act of rest, hydration, activity, and nutrition. The theatre performers we spoke to agree: prioritising these basics helps you meet the physical and emotional challenges of the stage.
Your body, voice and mind are your instruments – treat them with respect, and they will carry you through every curtain call.
Take a look at our website for more acting tips and advice and video interviews with creatives.
