Theatre sets, scenery and props, built in-house.
The renowned scenic workshops that build your vision and tour it. Scenic builds, props and set hardware - plus museum, gallery and exhibition work beyond the stage - made in timber, steel, aluminium and composite, engineered to move on cue and survive a national run. Concept to strike, with the engineering paperwork to back it.
A creative workshop,
not a commodity shop.
We build sets, scenery and props for stage and touring productions - and museum, gallery and exhibition work beyond the stage - in timber, steel, aluminium and composite, across two specialist workshops staffed by carpenters, machinists, welders, sculptors, scenic artists, joiners and set electricians. The set is engineered to move with the automation and rigging, not dressed over it.
Every build runs concept to strike, backed by in-house drafting and engineering coordination - so what leaves the floor is load-in-ready, tour-rated and documented. This is craft and scope, not the lowest-cost structure on the floor. See how a build comes together.
The workshop owns the middle. Scenic design takes a brief to fabrication-readiness; the build turns it into scenery that moves on cue and tours - documented, certified and load-in-ready.
From the stage to the gallery.
From a full scenic build to a museum fit-out to a single sculpted prop, the same trades and the same in-house control carry it. The museum, gallery and exhibition builds also carry the Show Works name, now a TSA-owned brand, and that work is set out on the Show Works site. Start with the build you need - or tell us the brief and we will scope it with you.
Set Construction
Full scenic builds in timber, steel, aluminium and composite - engineered to move with automation and rigging, and to tour.
02Prop Fabrication
Sculpting, moulding, casting and scenic finishes - props built to read up close, where the audience is near enough to see the detail.
03Museum & Gallery Fit-out
Fine joinery, cabinetry, showcases and heritage recreation - fabricated in the workshop, installed on site to the exhibition designer's intent.
04Exhibitions & Interactives
Sculptural objects, hands-on interactives and brand activations - engineered to survive crowds, weather and a tight install window, venue to venue.
05Scenic Design & Consultation
Concept to fabrication-readiness, with the drafting and engineering behind it - so the design can actually be built, certified and toured.
06Scenery Hire
Stock scenic elements for hire - flats, stands and bases ready to deploy, with the option to build custom around them.
07Touring Support
The workshop stays with the show on the road - repairs, resets and modifications engineered for fast deployment, venue to venue.
Every trade a build needs is in-house.
A scenic workshop that can carpenter, weld, sculpt, paint and wire a set in-house is not a standard joinery shop. The breadth is the point: complex, integrated builds stay in-house, coordinated by one team, from first cut to load-in. Pick a trade to see what it covers.
From a rehearsal prop to a full stage.
Small props and rehearsal furniture through to full stage construction and exhibitions - stock and custom flats, stands and bases, cut and assembled in-house to your dimensions.
Explore set constructionSets engineered to move on cue.
Actor and scenery lifts, multi-track automated trusses, raked and tracked show decks, wagons. Metal fabrication in steel or aluminium with paint, powder-coat or galvanised finishes - plus CNC design and fabrication for the precision components.
Explore set constructionBuilt to read up close.
More than 30 years of it: clay sculpting, silicone moulds, fibreglass, epoxy and scenic finishes, and large polystyrene props - built for the seats near enough to see the detail.
Explore prop fabricationThe finish the audience believes.
Finishes on canvas, wood, metal and polystyrene - blocking, wood-graining and gold-leaf that read true under stage light, close up and from the back row.
Explore prop fabricationWired into the set, not bolted on.
Automation systems, DMX, lighting, LED, pneumatics and power distribution built into the scenery from the start - so the practical effects are part of the build, not an afterthought on load-in.
Explore set constructionOne workshop carries the former Adelaide Festival Centre Workshop lineage, building scenery since 1979; the other brings three decades of museum, gallery and exhibition fabrication. Both run in-house, coordinated by one team from first cut to load-in. See how a build comes together.
Where the scenic build sits.
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Before the build
Identify
A brief, a model box, a deadline. We start from what you have and pressure-test what it takes to build.
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The workshop owns this
Specify
Scenic design to fabrication-readiness, with the drafting and engineering that makes it buildable and tourable.
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The workshop owns this
Deliver
The build. Cut, welded, sculpted, painted and wired in-house, then handed over load-in-ready.
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Across the run
Maintain
Touring support and resets across the run, with rigging and compliance available around the build.
The scenic build is the middle of the journey, not the end of it. When a show needs whole-show automation control, technical design or bespoke mechanical kit beyond the set, our Production Engineering team carries it.
Explore Production Engineering ›Already building in your world.
A school production, a long-run musical, a touring show and an immersive event each ask different things of a set. Find the scenic approach built for the room you are working in.
Built here,
seen on tour.
From a long-run musical built through 18 months of lockdowns to integrated overhead systems on real stages, the workshop builds it and the TSA group stands behind it.
See all projects
A workshop that did not stop when Melbourne did.
Soft scenery, drapes and set pieces for Moulin Rouge! The Musical, built and finished in-house through 18 months of lockdowns.
Read the project
36 hoists, one ceiling, every brief accepted.
A 36-axis hoist array and 42 metres of box truss - the overhead staging system that lets the Great Hall take whatever build walks in.
Read the project
4,000 shows. One staging system. Zero missed cues.
Seven-plus years on the staging and automation behind Australian Outback Spectacular, built to run night after night.
Read the projectAsk us for examples of our work.
Scenic builds, sculpted and stage-ready.
Scroll through the builds - Matilda's letter-block proscenium, the Moulin Rouge arch and the Beetlejuice facade, from workshop floor to opening night.
Matilda's letter-block proscenium
Gala arch, stage-side
Custom ring truss for Illuminate
Moulin Rouge proscenium, mid-build
Painting the Beetlejuice facade
Pocket-watch build, flown for finishing
Hedge maze, trimmed by handThe bits people always ask.
If we missed yours, send it through. We'll get back to you.
Sets, scenery and props for stage and touring productions - built in-house in timber, steel, aluminium and composite, with scenic painting, sculpting, set electrics and integrated automation, from concept through to a load-in-ready handover.
Yes - the workshop engineers scenic elements to work with automation and rigging: actor and scenery lifts, tracked wagons, raked and multi-carriage show decks, and show-controlled practical effects built into the set, not dressed over it.
Yes - touring is the workshop's proven core. Builds are engineered for repeatability, transport efficiency and rapid deployment across multiple venues, and the workshop can stay with the show through the run.
It is the former Adelaide Festival Centre Workshop, building scenery since 1979 - with credits across award-winning productions including Phantom of the Opera, Billy Elliot, Matilda and Moulin Rouge.
Bring us the brief.
We'll build the show.
A drawing, a model box, or an idea on a deadline - the first conversation is with an engineer who knows scenic work. Built in-house, toured nationally. Australia wide.