When the pandemic hit, the performing arts industry felt the impact in a large way. Other ventures were allowed to continue in a reduced capacity, but theatres, comedy clubs and music venues were not. Even with an attempt to move online it was clear that nothing could compare to the experience of a truly live performance, and revenue streams suffered as a result. Watching a stream of a play is fine, but nothing compares to the shared emotional experience of sitting in a room with a bunch of strangers to laugh at the funniest new comedians or weep at a perfectly spun tale of loss.
It was also hard from a financial perspective. Here in the UK, many industries received financial support from the government, but the arts were left to suffer, a particular hardship for younger or less experienced performers who suddenly had their blossoming careers halted.
All of this meant that the announcement that the Brighton Fringe Festival would be going ahead again in 2021 felt like suddenly seeing a light at the end of the tunnel and for once not fearing that it was an oncoming train. Fringe festivals are hugely important in the theatre scene, they’re a place for newer acts to make a name for themselves in front of an accepting audience, and ticket prices are low enough that anyone can come along for an affordable evening out to see something that may very well be the next big thing. (After all, famed actors like Alan Rickman and Robin Williams made their start at Fringe festivals!)
“Alan and Ron”, a show about climate change, sound effects, and friendship. The back wall of this theatre is made from oil drums and scaffolding. Because sometimes Fringe is very strange. [Top: 56mm Bottom: 16-80 F4 @ 80mm]
For me personally, the announcement couldn’t have come at a better time, I was itching to photograph more live performances and the news instantly pulled me out of a photography slump that I’d been experiencing in the first few months of the year. I immediately started to contact performers to work with, grabbed my XT30 and a pair of favourite lenses (the 56mm 1.2 prime and the 18-60mm f4 zoom) and got to work.
Anjali Singh performing ‘A Matter of Time’ – A crossover between a history class and a cabaret show [56mm 1.2]
Brighton is an eclectic city even at the most boring of times, and thousands of thespians travelling from all over the country only add to that. A standout feature of a Fringe Festival is that it caters to performance of every genre, from stand up comedy and live music all the way to anarchistic drag musicals. A large part of the appeal from an audience perspective is that you very literally never know what you’re going to get next, and many tickets to fringe shows are sold on the door after prospective audience members had a flyer confidently thrust into their face.
“Polly: A Drag Rebellion” by Chronic Insanity Theatre. That’s the ‘anarchistic drag musical’ I was talking about. It was great. [16-80 @ 16mm]
Comedians Laura Kojo (top) and Charlotte Fox (bottom) performing at the neon-backlit Electric Arcade [16-80 @ 50mm / 41mm]
Theatre company ‘Elephant In The Closet’ considering the nature of cults, queerness and fruit, in their show “Why Am I An Avocado” [16-80 @ 56mm]
Being a photographer for shows like this means you have to be prepared for anything, and be ready to work with the performers to help them showcase their work in the best way possible. This innate unpredictability is the reason the brilliant 16-80 F4 was my main lens for most of the work presented in this article. The zoom range is perfect for covering an entire show without getting in the way of the audience no matter what size or shape the venue is, the autofocus is lightning fast, the constant aperture means you don’t have to re-expose when zooming, and the built in stabiliser gives me the freedom to move around without worrying about needing a tripod.
Turnaround times at Fringe shows are often very tight in more than one respect. Performances tend to only be an hour long, and with only minimal time between one show leaving and the next coming in, and additionally the performers often won’t have access to the venue until the day of their first show, which means that often I would be shooting the first show and looking to deliver the images later that evening so they could use them to promote the rest of their run. This was another point where Fujifilm shines, as a good film simulation setup can drastically cut down on editing time. Some people might think it’s “boring”, but I find Provia to be excellent for work like this, with accurate colour reproduction that doesn’t distort the work of the lighting designer and highlights that are handled with a smooth falloff to ensure that spotlights aren’t overpowering. If a performer is after a more stylised look then a quick switch to an edited Acros or Eterna recipe can accomplish that too.
Nerd culture aficionado Emma Ashley-King cosplaying She-Hulk and playing clarinet for her comedy show “Accio Fandom”.
Fringe isn’t always brand new acts. Jake Lambert is an established part of the UK comedy scene, but still performed his new material for the first time in front of a Fringe audience [16-80 @ 80mm]
I’m immensely proud of the theatre scene in my country, and spending a month shooting its triumphant return was an honour and a privilege. Live performance is back, and with a year of pent up creativity it’s back with a bang.
Long Live Live.
