Will be doing rehearsal and production shots for the new Stiles and Drewe musical, The Wind in the Willows. Book's by Julian Fellowes. Rufus Hound stars. Rachel Kavanaugh directs, the brilliant Peter McKintosh designs and Simon Lee is MD. Jamie Hendry produces. The production opens in Plymouth, before going on tour and then, hopefully, ending up in the West End.
Been flat out lately and a bit remiss when it comes to updating the blog - a raft of new stuff coming up.
In the meantime, I'll be shooting They Drink it in the Congo at the Almeida later this week. It's written by Adam Brace and directed by Michael Longhurst, who gave me plenty to shoot a while back on Carmen Disruption.
#almeidatheatre
Always great to make contact with a new client - and in February I'll be shooting my first job with the Royal Academy of Music. The Musical Theatre course is showcasing three shows and I'll be taking production/rehearsal shots for each. Sam Yates directs Stephen Sondheim's Company, Lisa Blair directs Howard Goodall's Love Story and Matt Ryan directs Adam Guettel's The Light in the Piazza. I've worked with Sam many times before and also had the pleasure of meeting Lisa, who was was associate director, on the Dawn French show last year.
Can't remember the last time there was a Genet in the West End. That's set to change with this new production of The Maids, directed by Jamie Lloyd. I'll be on production duties for this one in February. It stars Uzo Aduba, who plays Crazy Eyes in Orange is the New Black; the fantastic Zawe Ashton, from Fresh Meat; and Downton Abbey's Laura Carmichael. I strongly suspect that Jamie will create 'an image or two' with this source material.
I'll be taking production shots for Peter Shaffer's Five Finger Exercise at the Print Room, in Notting Hill. It's directed by Jamie Glover, an actor who appeared in perhaps the greatest thing I've ever seen on stage - The Chalk Garden (Donmar). A teaser video has been released by the producers.
Really pleased to have been asked to take the rehearsal shots for this new play by Matthew Perry, and starring Matthew Perry. Further casting information should be available later this week. All very intriguing. It opens at the Playhouse in the West End next month and it's directed by Lindsay Posner. Unfortunately due to to a diary clash, I won't be able to take the production shots for this one - which is a real shame. Still - looking forward to posting up the work-in-progress images.
Really excited that Genius, a film I worked on as unit photographer, will have its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival next February. The news broke in Variety and was accompanied with a new photograph, featuring Colin Firth and Jude Law. Really cannot wait to see this.
Colin Firth and Jude Law in Michael Grandage's Genius.
There appears to be a walloping hit down Southwark way, with the new production of Funny Girl, starring the excellent Sheridan Smith. I was lucky enough to take production shots for the show and they've already been published pretty widely. The show's a complete sell-out at the Menier Chocolate Factory - but booking is already open for the Savoy transfer. Here's a selection...
My rehearsal shots have just been released for The Dazzle, which stars Andrew Scott, David Dawson and Joanna Vanderham. It's a Michael Grandage Company/Emily Dobbs co-production and it opens at the old Central St Martins HQ on the Charing Cross Road in a week or so. Amazing location and venue. I'll be shooting production on this show and can't wait to see it in the space. Simon Evans directs.
Pinter's classic kicks off the new Jamie Lloyd season at the Trafalgar, and I was lucky enough to take production shots a few weeks back. The show opened to strong reviews earlier this week. It has an incredible cast, but I must say that the superb Ron Cook surpasses himself in this one.
The play also features Keith Allen - and so begins my series of 'Fellow Fulham Fans What I Have Photographed' - I'm not convinced that it's going to be a massively long series.
What a play this is. There's something about Pinter that has always resonated so deeply with me. The rhythms. The relationships. The ratcheting tension. Highly recommended.
#trafstudios #jamielloydco #homecoming50
The first few of my images from the Menier Chocolate Factory's production of Funny Girl have been released. Sheridan Smith plays Fanny Brice and Darius Campbell plays Nick Arnstein. The shows is directed by Michael Mayer and Harvey Fierstein has reworked the book for this West End outing. I'll be down at the theatre next week to take the production shots. The show transfers to the Savoy Theatre next year.
I'm about to take the production shots for Pericles at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse - Dominic Dromgoole directs in his final season as artistic director of Shakespeare's Globe. In the meantime, my rehearsal photos have been released. Click on the snaps for the full crop.
Will be shooting the rehearsals for the forthcoming West End production of A Christmas Carol, with Jim Broadbent as Scrooge.
Show opens at the Noel Coward Theatre.
I'm going to be shooting both rehearsals and production for the much-anticipated Funny Girl, at the Menier Chocolate Factory. The production is completely sold-out already.
I've taken photos of Sheridan Smith before, on Legally Blonde and on Michael Grandage's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Cliche, I know - but she's an incredible actor. Can't wait to see what they're up to in the rehearsal room.
Have had to keep this one under my hat for a bit, but details have just been announced for a new short film that I've been working on. It's called The Hope Rooms, and it's directed by Sam Yates who I've had the pleasure of working with on a couple of shows. It's his first film and he has pulled together a rather stellar cast, including Ciarán Hinds, Andrew Scott and Agnieszka Grochowska.
Here's what the press release says...
The film tells the story of estranged father, Eamonn (Ciarán Hinds), and his son, Sean (Andrew Scott), who meet up after 15 years in a cafe in London. Under the gaze of waitress Ileana (Agnieszka Grochowska), Eamonn asks to be useful again, and seeks forgiveness for his absence in Sean’s life. But past hurts are difficult to overcome, and what begins with hope ends in a wounding transaction.
It was great to be part of this very talented crew - and here are the early shots released.
The producers of Photograph 51 have gone public with a number of shots from the soon-to-open show. This is one of mine. Unfortunately I won't be able to make the first night, as work forbids - but all luck to cast and crew.
In other news, yesterday I spent the day at the Almeida, shooting a rehearsal of Rupert Goold's new production of Medea, starring Kate Fleetwood. Hopefully it shouldn't be too long before I can publish some shots. I think it's going to be a rather special show.
Me and the Oresteia - we go way back. I remember seeing Peter Hall's masked production at the National way back in the early 80s. I remember an incredible score by Harrison Birtwistle and, I was so knocked out by Tony Harrison's incredible translation I bought my own copy of it. Not a year has gone past where I don't pick it up.
Delighted to have been asked into the Globe rehearsal room to shoot a new version of the play, by the young writer Rory Mullarkey. It's directed by one of the nicest directors I've ever worked for, Adele Thomas. Unfortunately I can't shoot the production on this one as I'm getting married on the same day as the dress. Good luck to them. Good luck to me. Good luck to us all.
A few weeks back I took pre-publicity images for the world premiere of My Eyes Went Dark.
The play, written and directed by Matthew Wilkinson, opens the Finborough Theatre’s Autumn Season and it was originally developed with the support of The National Theatre Studio. It stars Cal MacAninch and Thusitha Jayasundera.
The images were taken the old Guardian offices in Clerkenwell. Rather fun and odd to pad about that rather ghostly office block.
(C) Marc Brenner
Here you go - the first of my photos of Nicole Kidman has been released. We spent the afternoon down at Kings College London, looking at the Rosalind Franklin archive. Incredible day. Here's herself looking at the actual photograph that led to the discovery of DNA. Kidman will play Franklin in Phiograph 51, which opens at the Noël Coward Theatre in the West End next month. More photographs soon...
