Weeks before Sweeney opens at the Orange Theatre on November 21, local barber Lindsay Totman taught Mr Sattler some of the fine points of shaving with a cut-throat razor.

The show’s director Trevor Carroll assumed the role of guinea pig.

Mr Totman said that once learnt, shaving with a long bladed razor was a skill you never lose.

“The old fashioned way to learn used to be to tie a balloon to a bench and then cover the balloon with shaving cream ... when you stopped bursting the balloons you knew you had it,” he said.

The Orange Regional Conservatorium production will feature a cast of 40 and an orchestra of 50.