BLOG || PROJECT PRINCESS || 2022

As a blog, the most recent posts are at the top. If you want to read it from the beginning, scroll to the bottom of the page and start there.

20/09/22| Spotlight launch event

Delighted to have our belated launch event as part of Devon Open Studios.
This after hours, evening event saw the Princess Theatre throw open its doors, with behind the scenes tours by Martyn and Eric.
A huge thank you to everyone who came, and all at the Princess Theatre.

30/05/22 | Installation

Today’s the day! Twelve works from the “Spotlight” project are now installed in the upper and lower bistro gallery spaces.

There are still the labels and information boards to go up and I’ll probably move the pictures around again, but in the main, this work, which is all about this theatre and the people who work and play in it, is right where it was intended to be. I couldn’t be more pleased and proud.

Massive thanks to Paul for his invaluable assistance with the hang - not just for being entirely responsible for the fact that they all sit in a straight line - but also because it’s really helpful to have someone else to bounce ideas off and discuss the what-goes- where with.
I was super useful for…well, I did hold the other end of the tape measure!

It was nice that there were lots of members of Princess Theatre staff around yesterday, who got to take a look at the work as it went up. The positive feedback was lovely to hear. The spaces already feel different with art on the walls, and it is another reason for people to come to the theatre, so I hope we get to make the most of this fantastic PR opportunity for the Princess Theatre to bring in new audiences - for food, art, and live performance!

29/04/22 | Instants

Polaroids from the roof and other inaccessible places.

23/04/22 | Instagram hits

This montage of images from the project has had over 2000 views and counting on my Instagram feed, so I thought I’d share it with you.
Admittedly the soundtrack there was better, but owing to copyright issues sadly I can’t share it so have added a different one. If you want to listen to the original you can find it here

24/04/22 | History in plain view

Signage in a building is often a wonderful source of history and lost information; even in a relatively “young” building such as the Princess Theatre, opened in 1961, that is getting on for 7 decades of history.
​
The board below, is, as far as I can tell, the same age as the theatre. On the wall in the follow spot room, perched above the circle, this board has been written on by lighting technicians for shows from the Royal Ballet to Cats. It’s a wonderful piece of theatre history.
Quiz question: ‘Adam J’ has an ongoing connection to the theatre today….who knows what it is?

23/04/2022 | Lights are Gonna Find Me

Sharing three of my favourite images from the lighting rooms. The shared colours make them a natural group.

​The customised beer towel arrangement is on one of the follow spots (the spotlight that follows the performer around the stage).
Bonus fact: this song is about follow spots (…but ours are actually Lycians, not Super Troupers 🔦)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BshxCIjNEjY

13/04/2022 | A Body of Work


Busy times! Schools breaking up, Easter hols, actual-going-away-hols (hello from Cornwall where I’m pretending not to be working and my family are going along with it). Add in the very tight timelines of this project and it has been an exciting few weeks!

But it has all been worth it on so many levels. In March, I couldn’t possibly have imagined the directions this project would take; we are far away from the original set of ideas. But I think we are exactly where we should be. The time I’ve spent in the theatre, meeting people, watching them work, getting in the way of them trying to work, taking up their time so they can’t work…Well, it was worth it! I’ve taken all that and put it into the pictures I’ve made. This work is all about the Princess Theatre, Torquay: the building, the people, the audiences. It’s about putting all that in the spotlight and making it the absolute focus of the work. It’s full of colour and darkness; weird pools of light; props and tech; ropes and ladders; raw terror; names; notes; theatre history; people working and the spaces in which they work. I’ve tried to take all that, give it recognition, and then give these scenes a little touch of transformational theatrical glamour all their own, for the spotlight.

But for me, there is another important aspect of this project: a documentary one. Fresh eyes in old spaces. Documenting and recording the obsolete for posterity. So at some point I would very much like to put all my research photos, working drawings and finished works together in a book or catalogue. Now my work and this project are part of the fabric and history of the theatre too, and I couldn’t be more proud about that.

Enough words. Here’s a link to the finished works - I hope you all approve of the direction this project has taken, and thank you to everyone who has been so patient and generous with their time. If you’d like to give me any thoughts, feedback, polite suggestions - e.g. for what things are called that I’ve got wrong - you can email me at [email protected] - I’d love to hear what you think (keep it clean, folks).

07/04/2022 | The Grand Tour


Do all Theatre Technicians have knees that bend backwards, like flamingos? I don’t understand where your knees go when your go up and down THE LADDER. My knees were covered in bruises, presumably due to bending in the normal way… 🦩

Today’s post focuses on my tour with Martyn Jenkins, of those parts of a theatre other beers cannot reach. A prize to anyone who can identify all the locations in the photos below!

The video is some of my work inspired by theses spaces, the bones of the building if you like; followed by a gallery of some of the photos I took, which might be interesting to those of you who like to keep your feet on the ground. Let’s face it, I went up THE LADDER so you don’t have to…

Once again, a great big thanks to Martyn for such a comprehensive and interesting tour, and for being so generous with your time, expertise and stories. It was a lot of fun and I really appreciate it.

06/04/22 | Layers, Time, Movement

Today’s video is a sample of work in progress. Chosen to try and show some process and evolution. (Art-Speak Merchants would say it’s an “iterative” process, which basically means doing the same thing over and over and getting small changes each time. Whereas someone 400 feet above a stage in an uncomfortable harness holding something heavy at arm’s length might say “get a bloody move on woman”. That’s what is known as “context” 😉).

Some of the pictures in the video:

i) A couple of dressing room shots taken when the Gangsta Granny actors were in. The dressing rooms when empty are quite bleak; I wanted to capture some colour and a bit of old-school glamour perhaps? So the frilly dress was perfect. I also love the table full of makeup and little bottle of Prosecco and personal stuff. There is a real story in that photo. I’m working on a way to make these work in a single image but not working out so far.

ii) Attempting to settle on a final image for the wings. So many props and bits of technical equipment and water bottles and lights and….stuff! I love the elephant.

iii) Costumes. Layering the image to show the many times they are worn, over an over again. I really like this. I’ve also used this idea in a picture of the dressing room wardrobes. Think this has potential.

iv) The giant stage door where everything comes in and out. Taken from inside, outside, and when in use (taking down Gangsta Granny and reloading the van). I like these because the door is really important - everything comes in and out that way), and because I was able to capture it in use, it records a little piece of theatre history which I want. I also like the movement and figures in it, although this needs more work. And also, it’s enormous! What’s not to like? (Scale).

v) People entering and leaving the theatre. I love these and think they speak for themselves!

​Back later with some images of the bones of this building!

05/04/22 | Words and Numbers

Is a picture worth 1000 words? What if the picture is of 1000 words?

Part of the brief of this project is examining/recording/reflecting the impact of over 500 days of closure on regional theatres like yours.

And of course celebrating the reopening and renewal as you welcome touring companies, shows and audiences again.

These empty spaces, and words and imprints from over 6 decades, are part of the fabric and history of this building and it’s story. When I think of it being closed and empty for over 500 days, it gives these images extra impact and meaning. And it makes me think of Annie, having to come in every week through the pandemic and make an inspection tour of all these deserted spaces. Now that experience is all part of this building’s history too.

500 days. It’s a number that really stops you in your tracks. This building is full of words and numbers (see video) and I want to record some of them in the work I create for this project.

04/04/22 | Two Tribes / Two Worlds


Work on the project is going well; I have so many ideas and so many things I want to include that it is going to be very hard to decide what we finally put on show. But I’ve hit a natural pause point (not to be confused with procrastination at all…No, definitely not. Because as we all know: procrastination is the thief of time. But I’m p̶r̶o̶c̶r̶a̶s̶t̶i̶n̶a̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ digressing).

So I thought it might be interesting to show you some of the raw photos from my visits.

It seems to me (as a tourist in both places) that front-of-house and backstage are two quite discrete and separate worlds, with different geography and different languages. I wouldn’t want to have to navigate either country without a map or a guide!

Befor I flog this metaphor to death, here are a couple of video montages to give a taste of each “country”. There might even be a brief glimpse of the illusive Martyn if you keep your eyes peeled.

On a more serious point, seeing these raw images is a part of the process. For this project they are what I have to work with and to draw from. They are a research tool, but also a raw material.

As usual, clicking on the arrows in the top left corner of the video box will make it full screen. They also have jaunty little soundtracks to make it seem like they go faster. I hope you enjoy. I’m off to do some drawing.

29/03/22 | Front of House


Well. What a lovely lot you are. A huge thank you to everyone I met on Friday and Saturday and on previous visits - without fail, everyone I’ve come into contact with has been so welcoming, patient and generous with their time and knowledge, so thank you to all of you! There is absolutely no doubt that this project is about the people who make this theatre tick, so that means every one of you. I hope you all feel that it belongs to you and that you had a hand in it, because you have!

So: Friday’s visit. I spent a few hours backstage with Martyn, investigating the depths and heights of this fascinating building - from the brand new air con room (think: a wall of 8 giant stainless steel washing machines fitted with jet engines!) to the dressing rooms, lighting rooms, up on the roof, and 400 terrifying feet up and down a ladder to be above above above the stage (thought I was going to have to stay there and make a new life for myself as a roof dweller…).

A massive thank you to Martyn for his time, patience, expertise and stories. It was totally worth having to share the custard creams with you. (Which reminds me - Princess Laura I must confess that I borrowed your mug and didn’t wash it up I’m very sorry and I hope someone washed it out for you).

On Saturday night, my daughter and I came to see the performance of Gangsta Granny. Thanks so much to Tim and everyone on duty. This was my daughter’s first trip to a proper theatre (another effect of the pandemic) and I was able to get some photos of the theatre filling up with people, and to see what it’s like for the front of house staff on a performance night. And I’m so, so glad I did! Having spent the majority of time back stage, this visit really balanced that out and reminded me that backstage and FoH are two halves of the whole, and one can’t and wouldn’t exist without the other. Which is also a point that Martyn made.

I was also able to get some really excellent shots of crowds leaving the theatre, and also of the backstage guys loading up the lorry round the back, so it was a very successful evening. Oh - and It was such a delight to watch Chloe watch her first performance. She gave the whole experience top marks.

So by way of a thank you, here are a few shots from Saturday night. I’ve taken over 1500 photos since this project began, and it’s time to start sorting through them and making some decisions. But this set is just a bit of fun and just for you. I hope you like them.

(If you click on a photo, it brings the gallery full screen and you can scroll through).

24/03/22 | Pre-visit update


Morning all. I thought I’d do a quick update before I come in again tomorrow.

The videos below are a montage of works: a real mix of abandoned ideas, half baked ideas and ideas I think might just make the final cut in some form.

I’m really pleased with how the work is evolving - if you’ve been following my updates, you’ll have seen how the process evolves over time: revisiting ideas, lots of layers of places and people and time, merging things together.

I think some of them look really painterly now, and have a real sense of movement - exciting, vibrant, places. I’m hoping you will like the transformation of these backstage, working spaces into something that will be the focus of attention for the audience. 🙌

I’m looking forward to coming in to the theatre tomorrow and hope everyone who wants to will find me and say hello. I may have biscuits (just sayin’).

I’m hoping to get lots of pictures of busy people, doing what they do, and it will be really interesting to see what these pictures look like with some people in them won’t it? Can’t wait!

18/03/22 | Process: sketchbooks and working drawings

Sketches/working drawings. I often draw from the photographs I take, or from a digital artwork that’s in process. I find it helpful in terms of finding out what’s important in an image, or what I’m really interested in. Things like light, shadow, colour, the physical features that are most interesting. Then I layer them into the work, and the process starts again. I’ve tried to show how this works in the slideshow.

It’s proving really helpful with this project, because the light in the theatre is so strange. There’s a lot of shadow and then very strong, focused light in the spotlights etc. No natural light at all.
It’s also helping me to work through some of the colour issues. The first impression is of an overwhelming sea of red/orange, and then black and grey. But through the process, other colours start to emerge.
When I visited, the old batteries were coming out and the new server cabinet was awaiting installation. I think it would be great to be able to record this little bit of the theatre’s history in the work somewhere; likewise with the fire hoses, before they are decommissioned and disappear forever.

11/03/22 | First thoughts and initial images

I had my second visit to the Princess Theatre, Torquay today. Here are a few images putting “backstage in the spotlight”; followed by some works based around the views from the bistro - beaches, piers, boat trips.

These move into images mixing the two - seascapes depicted in the dressing room mirrors. Food for thought!

(Click on the arrows in top left of the video box to see on full screen)