Roy Shearer

Roy Mohan Shearer grew up in Lytham St. Annes, Lancashire, and has lived in Glasgow since 2001, where he studied Product Design Engineering at Glasgow University and Glasgow School of Art. He initially worked as a design engineer and maker, specialising in prototyping and digital fabrication. In 2010 Roy was awarded funding by the then Scottish Arts Council to collaborate with researchers at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design experimenting with Open Design methods in DIY electronic products. This sparked his ongoing interest in programming, electronics and interaction design. Since 2016 he has been a consultant technician for artists, designers and small manufacturers. He has been awarded two commissions by the Edinburgh International Science Festival, and has regularly collaborated with theatre designer and puppet maker Fergus Dunnet on projects such as The Elevark, The Dab Hands and Gaggle. He has at various times also worked as a maker with Considerate Digital, NVA, The Stove, National Theatre of Scotland, Soundplay Projects, MK Music, Civic House, Starcatchers, Ecodrama, Imaginate, The Glad Cafe, and Guy Veale.

In recent years Roy has developed his technical skills further towards stage and live events, and has completed the first year of Production Technology and Management at the Royal Conservatory of Scotland, with a focus on Stage Technology. Through this he was a theatre technician on RCS productions She Loves Me, This Restless House, Hamlet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Modern Ballet Showcase 2025, and Spring Awakening. Following this he designed and fabricated lighting devices for Tenterhook’s recent show Gaggle, and for artist Rachel Maclean’s new sculptural work They’ve Got Your Eyes!. He has also recently worked as a general technician for The Tron and the newly reopened Citizen’s Theatre and as a LX technician and lighting designer at venues such as the Glad Cafe and the O2 Academy, SWG3 and at the Kelburn Garden Party Festival.

Roy is also a musician and has performed in stage productions with Scottish Dance Theatre at the South Bank Centre, and in more than 120 pantomime performances at the Gaeity Theatre, Ayr. In 2016 he produced and performed in Cymbals, Snare and Kick – a series of three solo site specific percussion performances exploring spaces, light and mechanical contraptions. He regularly performs with alt-folk trio Hank Tree, and community street band Brass, Aye?, and has featured on over 15 record releases, including the recent For Gaza With Love Volume II compilation in support of humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza.