In the minutes before curtain up, as audience members take their seats in the theatre, some will be having a read of the programme, some will be chatting until the lights go down or rushing to make a last-minute order at the bar. Others might wonder what is happening backstage, where actors are getting ready to tread the boards.
That half an hour is a critical time for calming nerves, keeping adrenaline in check and stepping from everyday life into theatrical fantasy.
For more than 30 years, photographer Simon Annand has been documenting these intimate moments, photographing portraits of stars of the British stage from Colin Firth and Stephen Fry to Cate Blanchett and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Many of the pictures show actors near the start of their careers, and show a variety of emotions.
“The 35 minutes before curtain up is a private time and the access that has been granted is exceptional,” says Annand.
Annand has been a photographer in theatre for more than three decades, taking production and rehearsal pictures as well as portraits.
Seventy-four of the portraits are set to go on display at the Lawrence Batley Theatre in Huddersfield this month.
