Mark Dawson Photography
Nicholas Nickleby
Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
Photography for rehearsals, design development, production images and behind-the-scenes
Nicholas Nickleby was a major showcase production for Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, staged at Bristol Old Vic and bringing together graduating acting students alongside the costume, set and lighting design work behind the show.
I was commissioned to photograph the project across rehearsals, design development, performance and behind the scenes, creating images that were intended not only to document the production, but also to support the students as they moved into professional work.
For the actors, the photographs captured a range of character and performance that could be used for Spotlight and other casting material.
For the design students, they provided portfolio images showing how costume, set and lighting ideas were realised on stage. The result is a body of work that follows the production from early process through to finished performance.
Rehearsals
The rehearsal images focus on the concentration and focus in the room, the actors beginning to find the characters, and the sense of a company gradually coming together through the rehearsal process.
Design development: costume, set and lighting
The design images follow some of the work that shaped the production away from the rehearsal room, from costume development to the set and lighting world of the finished show. They add another layer to the project, showing how visual ideas moved from preparation and making into performance.
Production images
The production images reflect the scale, energy and visual character of the finished show. The aim was to capture both the atmosphere of the production as a whole and the detail of individual scenes within it, showing the performers, the staging and the design working together in front of an audience.
Behind the scenes
The behind-the-scenes images offer a different view of the production: moments of preparation, waiting and concentration around the edges of performance. Together with the rehearsal and production photographs, they give a fuller sense of the work, care and transformation that sit behind what the audience sees on stage.