Backstage (Portraits of Actors at Work in the Theatre)

"[Simon's] sensitivity to atmosphere is, quite simply, astonishing. His decades-long examination of lives lived in the theatre is an invitation into very private worlds, at the second before they become public." CATE BLANCHETT "Simon is on the actor's side and his camera respects all facets of their preparation before going live on stage." VICTORIA BROACKES "Simon Annand has a unique sense of the whole process, the confluence between backstage and onstage. He has found a way of capturing the careful marshalling of energy backstage and its subsequent explosion into performance once in the lights. Any actor will tell you that Annand's photographs tell the truth about the life of the theatre." SIMON CALLOW BACKSTAGE is a book of photographs celebrating theatre as live performance, and provides a unique opportunity to see leading actors in the intimacy of their dressing rooms. It records actors' preparations for their appearance in the thirty-five minutes before they go onstage. These moments, rarely witnessed by anyone outside the profession, offer a fascinating glimpse into the theatre world behind the scenes.