Mark Dawson Photography
Reverb
Almeida Theatre
Rehearsal photography, cast headshots and production images
I photographed Reverb for the Almeida, creating a set of rehearsal images, cast portraits and production photography. Reverb was created with and performed by the Almeida Young Company and presented by the Almeida as both a celebration of the theatre’s last twelve years under Rupert Goold and Denise Wood and a curation of extracts from fourteen Almeida plays from the last decade.
The project was a great opportunity to work across different stages of the production and respond to each of them in a slightly different way: the energy and focus of the rehearsal room, the challenge of making quick but characterful portraits of cast members in just ten minutes each, and the atmosphere, performance and visual world of the finished show.
Taken together, the images offered a fuller picture of the production and supported a range of uses, from programme material and publicity to press, marketing and archive.
Rehearsals
The rehearsal images focus on the energy in the room, the actors working with the directors to find the characters, and the sense of a company gradually coming together through the rehearsal process.
Headshots
Each cast member was photographed for the programme in a ten-minute slot, so the process needed to be quick, focused and responsive. The aim was to put each actor at ease, establish rapport quickly, and make portraits that felt natural, characterful and consistent across the set.
Production images
The production images reflect the visual character of the finished show: performance, staging, atmosphere and design.
