BEAUTY and the Beast is among the largest touring musicals to take to the stage in this country -- so the effort to get the show on the road is quite a production in itself.

The lavish show opened in Manchester's Palace Theatre last week, but the action on stage only tells a small part of the story.

Above the actors' heads, out of sight in the dark space above the stage hangs 31 tonnes of equipment.

More than 60 ropes control the scenery -- which changes 18 times -- while 50 moving lights and 150 stationary ones hover overhead. These do not include a further 1,000 or so individual bulbs which help light up the stage.

Equipment arrives in a convoy of articulated lorries and backstage crews have four days to turn the mass of wiring, sets, cables, computer decks, wigs and costume into the spectacular that audiences marvel at.

Nick Harris is the technical director on the show. He said: "We arrived here on a Sunday at 7pm and worked through the night to 3pm the following day. This is a very large show which had to be put together in just four days.

"Shows are getting heavier -- not lighter. And this presents us with more and more problems. Gone are the days of the canvas backdrops.

"Every time we arrive at a different theatre we are presented with having to modify the sets. The first thing we do when we arrive at a theatre is mark out the stage from the roof, deciding where each flying piece will have to hang. The most important thing to us is the roof space.

"The majority of theatres in the country could not fit this show. Then, of course with scenery and lights coming down from above there is the safety aspect. Everyone has to know where they have to stand and what they should be doing."

Beauty and the Beast has a backstage crew of 108 -- 78 who tour with the production and a further 30 members of staff brought in from the surrounding area.

And that is where company manager, Chris Boyle, who represents Disney, steps in. He tours with the company making sure everything runs smoothly and that everyone -- back and front of stage -- is happy.

He said: "In addition to the carpenters, electricians and sound engineers, we have six touring members of staff and one local person working on the wigs, and five in wardrobe, as well as bringing in a further 10 dressers from the area."

And this is before cast members even arrive at the theatre! There are more than 150 wigs in the show, 200 costumes, and whole cupboards full of haberdashery and paints. The company even brings its own washing machines and has to carry out repairs on an almost daily basis.

The costumes alone take up 21 crates.

Rows of wigs, mostly made out of human hair, get the same sort of attention. Each has to be maintained every day. As one of the wig stylists explained: "I chose to go into specialising with wigs because they don't answer back!"

And, on top of everything else, the story goes that the Beast's tail is made from yak hair!

Chris smiles: "That one has yet to be confirmed."

Beauty and the Beast runs at the Palace Theatre, Manchester, until February 8. Tickets are available from 0161 242 2524.

No whistling is allowed backstage. Sailors would traditionally work behind the scenes and whistles used to be a favourite means of communication on the ships. Therefore, an unsuspecting stage hand could be whistling a tune, unaware he is signalling some kind of command.

The term "break a leg", meaning to wish someone good luck on the stage, came into being as a leg would be something used to bring the curtain up and down. If the performers had lots of curtain calls, a leg could be broken.