Backstage: Portraits of Actors at Work in the Theatre

by Simon Annand

• A unique series of photographs that go behind the scenes in London theaters, capturing world renowned actors before they go on stage • Includes a foreword by Cate Blanchett • "Simon Annand is one of the most amazing photographers I have had the pleasure of working with. He is an individualist with an eye for the unusual." - Dame Judi Dench, actor • A repackaged edition of Time to Act, ISBN 9789089898364 “…delivers an absorbing portrait of actor’s final preparation during their last 30 minutes before going on stage.” – The Lady British photographer Simon Annand has been shooting candid photographs backstage at West End theatres in London for 35 years. In these meditative portraits, often shot in the intimate space of the dressing room, he captures the focus and tension of world-class actors right before they go on the stage. Actors such as Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Anthony Hopkins, Jake Gyllenhaal and Judi Dench are seen in these moments of vulnerability, which every actor experiences no matter how long they have been working. Backstage, with an introduction by Cate Blanchett, contains a hand-picked selection of Simon Annand's remarkable and unique portraits.

256 pages, Hardcover

Published December 9, 2023

Reviews

[Susannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a theatre performer myself, I was greatly interested in reading this book by Annand of photos he has taken of well-known, and not so well-known, theatre actors preparing to go onstage. In the book they term this time for actors as "the half" which is not a term I had heard before. It is great to see another side to famous faces, and as a performer myself, to relate to their preparation to go onstage to perform. Most of the photos were taken from the early 2000s to around 2016. It adds some poignancy that some of the performers photographed have since died.
Recommend for lovers of the theatre, especially of the English stage.