Christiana Bianco and William Ilkley pre set the mic in a new venue on tour. ‘The Rise and Fall Of Little Voice
Sam Willoughby removing make up on the first bus back to the hotel. Available light was her I phone torch. Chicago The Musical China Tour.
Carmen lit by a single bulb in her quick change area. Chicago The Musical China Tour.
Director of photography Alexandre Jamin lighting a submerging actor in a one off water tank for the film Seed.
Nansi Nsue recording audio dialogue with the director Tao Delport in a handy soundproof underground shooting range.
Blue Murder ITV. Nicholas Murchie (left) and Paul Loughran sitting on a pew at the back of Manchester Cathedral wearing supporting artists police hats. This shot was taken while Caroline Quentin was up front, at the alter, delivering a huge eulogy speech. Team Work.
Girl From The North country. Gielgud Theatre. A Back stage crew member still transfixed with the show she is working on.
As the curtain descends every night on Chicago The Musical, characters Velma and Roxy exit the stage on a motorised trap door. To give the effect the girls are being lowered under the stage, Michelle Antribus (left) and Carmen Pretorious, seen here, have to continue the decent, when the lift has stopped at ground level, by bending their knees slowly adding to the ‘illusion’.
As the curtain descends every night on Chicago The Musical, characters Velma and Roxy exit the stage on a motorised trap door. To give the effect the girls are being lowered under the stage, Michelle Antribus (left) and Carmen Pretorious, seen here, have to continue the decent, when the lift has stopped at ground level, by bending their knees slowly adding to the ‘illusion’.
As the curtain descends every night on Chicago The Musical, characters Velma and Roxy exit the stage on a motorised trap door. To give the effect the girls are being lowered under the stage, Michelle Antribus (left) and Carmen Pretorious, seen here, have to continue the decent, when the lift has stopped at ground level, by bending their knees slowly adding to the ‘illusion’.
This shot pretty much sums up what its like to work on Bbc Doctors. Absolute chaos, but what a laugh to work on. A snow machine on location had gone crazy and just wouldn’t stop, covering Dido (left) and Sarah. In the background the crew showing great sympathy.
Girl From The North Country. The Gielgud Theatre. If I am not performing in a show I am shooting I either watch the show or shoot on a two show day. I remembered a moment was coming up where Carl Johnson’s character enters from up stage left and proposes to a young girl. It was a big moment in the play and superbly played. I thought I would get myself into position early and find a dark spot to capture the actor preparing for his entrance. Carl was already there preparing.
The understudy is the hardest job in the cast. Sometimes known as the Super Swing, depending on how many parts they are covering. Luke Redmore was in the wings studying his various parts every night. Whenever he was called to the stage, he never put a foot wrong.
Coronation Street. Oliver Farnworth on location rehearsing with a dummy gun. My character ‘Vinnie’ was shot and killed on screen before the watershed time of 9 pm. When this happens there are very strict guidelines we all had to follow even down to how many millilitres of fake blood is used.
Understudy Michelle Antribus gets to play Velma on the China leg of Chicago the musical world tour.
This is not a good representation of Okon because he is usually talking. A lot ! This was taken during the UK tour of The Verdict. An adaptation of the Paul Newman film. I will never forget the nights I had to cross-examine Okon during the show with some very complex medical legal jargon never quite knowing what his reply would be. It’s not easy to improvise latin legal talk.
Blue Murder ITV. Caroline Quentin and Paul Loughran ‘learning lines’ in one of many car parks Manchester had to offer. The glamour.
Denise Van Outen, Ruthie Henshaw, Ute Lemper and Bonnie Langford at a quick press call in between the dress rehearsal and the one off 10 year anniversary performance for Chicago The Musical at The Cambridge Theatre.
Chicago The Musical 10 Year Anniversary. Cambridge Theatre West End. Ute Lemper, centre, is one of 8 Velmers for this one off special occasion. It was such a special night, I would have loved to have seen the show but i was one of the 6 Billys appearing. There were so many cast members they had to limit the amount of performers back stage during the performance. The overspill were getting ready in the Covent Garden Hotel opposite the theatre. A live feed was being fed into the main suite in the hotel so we could keep an ear out for our que. A team of umbrella holders were on hand to ferry groups of Roxies and Velmers to and from the Cambridge. The shot I didn’t get. Sorry.
Blue Murder ITV. Paul Loughran and Nicolas Merchie Between scenes. If there was one piece of advice I would give to anyone going into this business of show, it would be ‘zip it’. Learning when to keep your mouth shut is invaluable. Yes there are times when you have to ‘unzip’, but usually, on reflection, zipped would have been better choice.
Chicago the Musical Cambridge Theatre. Two cast members wearing white gloves take the hats and canes from Velma and Roxy through the glitter cloth during ‘Hot Honey Rag’
Chicago The Musical. This is what the audience see before the show begins. Typically simple and well lit. All things Fosse.
Chicago The Musical. China. The wardrobe department standing by to hand over the ostrich feather fans in a very quick change for the girls in the song ‘All I care About Is Love’. During this song the feathers would surround my neck creating a plumb around my protruding head as I sing the song. I would be regularly booted in the bum by a certain 6 foot Australian dancer when i was in the west end. Thanks for kicks Lisa.
Chicago The Musical. China.
Chicago The Musical. Cambridge Theatre. Understudies for Roxy and Amos watch their contemporaries from the wings
Chicago The Musical. Cambridge theatre. I can’t quite remember if Tiffany was warming up for her number or was collapsed after her number. Either way, it still looks like she has fallen from the rafters.
Chicago The Musical. Cambridge Theatre. Mary Sunshine telling me to go where the sun don’t shine.
Chicago The Musical. Cambridge Theatre. Directly above Dean Street, seen here, the character ‘Kitty’ is preparing to slide down the side of the band stand. Its a 20 foot drop so as a precaution there was always a cast member below her to break her fall. She never fell.
Chicago The Musical. Cambridge Theatre. Amra-Faye Wright Delivering her usual 120 percent playing Velma Kelly shot during The Cell Block Tango. ( If the producers are reading this, it was during a dress rehearsal…………… )
BBC Doctors. Chris Walker and Jan Pearson Embrace. I have never worked on anything as quick as Doctors. On set you would regularly hear from the !st assistant “was the boom in?………….. moving on”
Chicago The Musical. Cambridge Theatre. A perfect match, Well they were the same height. They are now divorced.
Blue Murder ITV. A Regular sight for me. Caroline Quentin was a superstar on this gig and making sure the cast were looked after properly. We all lived in the same apartment block and every night over leerdammer cheese and wine we would learn the following days lines, play thuno and laugh. A lot!
Chicago The Musical 10 Year Anniversary. With so many cast members involved in this one off show, dressing rooms and quick change areas were in every nook and cranny of the theatre. Brenda Edwards is having a last look in a make shift mirror at the foot of the stairs just by the stage door.
Puldat Sharma filming for an experimental 360 degree camera.
Justin Fletcher. Not the usual look for Justin. I blagged the Emmerdale set to shoot a pilot episode for a project we are both producing. Watch this space…….
Blue Murder. ITV. If you told the first assistant director ‘Just running lines’ they would know exactly where you were. Basically having a fag in the side room. There is a code of conduct on a film set, and that is to let someone know where you are at all times. On Emmerdale ‘Just nipping to the chemist’ was The Fleece opposite the studios. We were on first name terms with the head pharmacist.
Blue Murder. ITV. John McArdle on a F.A.T.S. ( F*** All To Say) Made up to look dead and lay on slab for the day. Another term to describe what type of scene you had coming up is a Deborah. A ‘Deborah’ is a scene that can be ‘Winged’ on the day. Eg. one or two lines that don’t require heavy study. Thank you Deborah Winger.
Blue Murder. ITV. Paul Loughran. One of the hardest things on a long running tv gig is staying in shape. Unfortunately the catering is usually fantastic. As always you start the job eating cereal for breakfast and a light salad for lunch. It’s not too long before you are sat on a double decker bus at 5.30 am in a remote carpark in front of a full fry up and back on the same bus for lunch asking for the beef and ‘once around the garden’, (everything else).
Blue Murder. ITV. Our lovely director Suri Krishnama attempting to have a quiet moment to plan the next shot. Paul Loughran and Nick Merchie (sat) being very helpful and suggesting how they would shoot the scene. If a scene was to be covered in just one shot, That would be known as a ‘Bully’s Prize’. Taken from the commentator on the game show Bullseye. “Innnnnnnn one”.
The Crew, Blue Murder ITV. The ‘dolly’ is the contraption on wheels the camera is mounted on and used by The Dolly Grip. After the war someone, who is now very rich, came up with the idea to use the bomb loading contraptions on film sets. The same design is still being used today.
Chicago The Musical. Cambridge Theatre. Natalie holding an ice pack to her head. The heat almost caused a ‘walk out’ from the cleaning staff at the Olympia Theatre Dublin during the run of Grease The Musical. Myself and a few of the T Birds had the top dressing room and we had noticed it wasn’t being cleaned. We were informed that the Cleaners refused to empty our bin as it contained five condoms every night and they presumed that extra rehearsals were taking place. The condoms were handed out by the sound department to protect our mic packs from being ‘sweated out’. The glamour.
Blue Murder. ITV. Paul Loughran played DC Butchers and was brought up in Manchester. Every night we would gather in one of our apartments to ‘learn lines’. Here Paulie stands looking over the expanding skyline that was once his playground.
A rare day in Manchester. Paul Loughran wearing a sun hat, provided by Fi, to protect his skin and the filming continuity of him looking bright red in the next shot.
Phaldut Sharma. 360 Oculus Camera short film
Phaldut Sharma shooting a 360 degree film highlighting the return of theatre post covid.
Phaldut Sharma Filming a 360 degree film highlighting the return of theatre post covid. In this shot he can be seen catching his hat after flicking it up from the floor with his foot. I was at drama school with Phaldut and I have seen this trick many times. Too many times. If he fits this trick into another show I will burn that hat. Sorry Phaldut.
Mark Allen defends into the stage at The Tower Ballroom Blackpool playing the world famous Wurlizer Organ
Blue Murder ITV
