In pictures: Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Jude Law and Tom Hardy 30 minutes before going on stage
Photographer Simon Annand, who works with actors in the 35 minutes known as ‘The Half’, before they go on stage, shares some of his favourite shots, as told to Kat Hopps.
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Daniel Radcliffe as Billy Craven in The Cripple of Innishman by Martin McDonagh, Noel Coward Theatre: The doors where Daniel is photographed here have an interesting story. As he came off stage, he wanted to be photographed by the same doors that acting legends Ralph Richardson, John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier went through during their own seasons. Daniel likes his history. For their services helping cheer up the people of London after the end of the war, each of them [the actors] later received a knighthood.
Dame Judi Dench as Alice, in Peter and Alice, by John Logan, Noel Coward Theatre, 2013
The actor enters the building as themself and goes on stage as somebody else.
During the half an hour before they go on stage, the actor has to start imagining and constructing the fictional character in that particular play.
Judi is famously buoyant and a lot of fun to be with.
She was in Noel Coward’s dressing room there.
That couch she is on has seen a lot of people sitting on it over the years.
You can see from the red tartan dressing gown that she’s wearing that she does not take herself too seriously.
Gillian Anderson as Blanche Dubois, in A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams, Young Vic, 2016
In this moment, taken about 17 minutes before she left the dressing room, she is part Blanche and part Gillian.
She is slowly allowing Blanche to come into how she feels and prepares for that part. I was there for about six minutes.
It was quite a short amount of time so it’s a mix of two women, Blanche and Gillian, although I had no idea what was inside her head.
The one thing I’m aiming to do is not tell people who Gillian or Blanche is.
I’m trying to take strong images but for them to remain open so that each viewer can place their own story upon the picture.
Jude Law as Hamlet, in Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, Wyndham’s Theatre, 2009
Jude is someone who possesses a great presence in the room. He’s been given a remarkable face and attracts huge energy.
He is about 10 minutes away from leaving the room here and has got to go out there and give Hamlet, one of the Everests of acting.
So he’s getting his head ready for that whether I’m there or not. The more I allow him to do that, the more poignant the pictures will be.
Over the course of a two- or three-month run, actors will be sent all sorts of things by other actors, friends and so on.
They will keep the ones that help them play the part and stick them around the mirror.
David Tennant as Jack Absolute, in The Rivals, by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Barbican, 2001
Some people prefer an exchange between me and them, some are more method so the actor does not really relate to anyone whether it’s the dresser or the photographer.
They are trying to channel themselves into the fictional character. David’s quirky, intelligent and there is an electricity
about him, especially at that time when he is starting out.
He has got a load of fireworks going off in his head all the time. He’s thoughtful, caring and kind.
He’s amused by life a lot. I wouldn’t have asked him to sit there. He’s just doing it and he liked that rather than trying to be fancy.
Tom Hardy as Michael, in Festen, by David Eldridge, The Almeida, 2004
Because of the digital age, many things can be corrected. I feel the value of live performance, whether it is music, theatre or dance, is very visceral and human.
When it works, it is much closer to a genuine thrill for a performer and audience.
Tom is reading the script of a Mission Impossible film. People are sometimes surprised at how Tom looked then.
He appeared supremely confident and, in a way, plotting the future which was to be so successful. The kind of presence you cannot miss in a room.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Leila Arden, in Rope, by Patrick Hamilton, The Almeida, 2010
If someone is very well known, I will never chat about their previous work.
It’s not the reason I’m there. I’m not interested in their relationship to the camera but it is their relationship to themselves that makes a good image.
Phoebe is a positive, up-for-it person, quirky, bright and not afraid to explore the kinds of avenues that will allow her to express what she finds interesting about life.
I love her face but it’s very interesting because it’s not a classically beautiful face in a way, but it is so expressive and attractive.
Stephen Fry as Malvolio, in Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare, The Globe, 2012
Malvolio is melancholy as a character but it has to be funny for it to work and that’s quite a potent mix to take on board if you’re returning for the first time since you left the theatre from your previous experience [Fry left Cellmates in 1995 because of stage fright] and I really admired him for doing that.
This is where he has decided to put himself out there in front of another 800 strangers and they can make of him what they want. It’s quite bold.
An exhibition of Simon Annand’s photographs, The Half, is running at the Lawrence Batley Theatre in Huddersfield until February 2020