From stage to supermarket: lighting designer turns delivery driver

From stage to supermarket: lighting designer turns delivery driver

31-year-old lighting designer Elliot Griggs was busy working on a new theater production before theaters around the world were forced to shut down.

But rather than sit at home during lockdown, the Londoner decided he needed to keep busy and contribute so he took on a job as a delivery driver with a major British supermarket chain.

Adam Reed reports.

Elliot Griggs works as a Tesco delivery driver these days.

It's not something the 31-year-old Londoner has been doing for long.

Until the pandemic struck, his work was quite different.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) DELIVERY DRIVER/LIGHTING DESIGNER, ELLIOT GRIGGS, ASKED WHAT HE WAS DOING AT TIME OF OUTBREAK SAYING: ''So before the outbreak took hold, I was a full-time self-employed lighting designer working in the theatre industry, designing the lighting for shows.'' But for now the theaters are closed - with little hope of them reopening anytime soon.

Griggs says he was in no mood to sit around and wait for the that time to come.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) DELIVERY DRIVER/LIGHTING DESIGNER, ELLIOT GRIGGS, SAYING: ''I needed to find something which I could do, something which I would feel like I was contributing and helping because I knew I couldn't just sit here and wait for sort of three months, however long that this is actually going to be going on for.'' UPSOT PHOEBE WALLER-BRIDGE PERFORMING IN ''FLEABAG'' Griggs has worked on large-scale theatre productions including the sold-out run of Phoebe Waller-Bridge's 'Fleabag' in London last year.

He says it's strange to have gone from somebody who no one sees or fully appreciates, to a 'key worker' whose efforts in these times don't go unnoticed.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) DELIVERY DRIVER/LIGHTING DESIGNER, ELLIOT GRIGGS, ASKED WHAT IT'S LIKE DOING A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT JOB, SAYING: ''It's nice being able to interact with people, especially in the current circumstances, where for many of the people I'm delivering food to I'm the first person they're seeing in weeks." (SOUNDBITE) (English) DELIVERY DRIVER/LIGHTING DESIGNER, ELLIOT GRIGGS, ASKED HOW IT FEELS TO BE A 'CRITICAL WORKER', SAYING: ''I had one evening where I was out at 8:00 p.m.

On a Thursday driving down a small residential street and having people clap and wave at me, which was completely bizarre.'' Griggs is one of 500 drivers at Tesco's centre in Croydon, south London.

He says he'll keep driving until he's able to go back to the day job.