I wanna make magic : backstage shots with the Showstoppers.

For the last 10 weeks these people have created a brand new musical every day at the Apollo Theatre in the West End. Yes, a completely improvised 2 hr show with songs and dances and harmonies and emotion and love and disaster and everything in between.

These people are the team behind Showstopper! The improvised musical and I think they're a bit good. It's one thing to make up a comedy song, or even improvise a whole show, but to do it every day (sometimes twice) for 10 weeks, in front of an audience who chose to see this instead of Thriller or Les Mis or Wicked or any of the many other (completely brilliant) west end shows out there, is kind of impressive.

I've been photographing these faces for several years now, as part of this show and in the wider improv community and I love to watch them work, it never gets dull. Hence why I went in for two 2-show saturdays and just photographed whatever was happening - in warm-up, in the dressing rooms & in the wings.

These people make me feel included and appreciated and not weird! I love how they take me into their "family".

Thanks guys. x

^ My two favourite shots. Sean & Dylan, the men who steer the ship that is Showstopper by conversing with their audience and creating the scene. ^

On a thoroughly techie note, the following block is half canon 5d mk2 shots and half fuji xt10 shots - I love that whilst I know the difference it doesn't matter which was shot on which....

Showstopper are Adam Meggido, Dylan Emery, Sean McCann, Ruth Bratt, Lucy Trodd, Pippa Evans, Sarah-Louise Young, Andrew Pugsley, Phil Pellew, Justin Brett, Susan Harrison & Oliver Senton. Their amazing band are Duncan Walsh Atkins, Chris Ash, Alex Atty, Craig Apps & Yshani Perinpanayagam. 

And because there should always be a photo with a story….. I wish I could remember what Ruth was rushing back from under the stage, but it had been stupidly funny and I love this shot even though there's movement and a hell of a lot of noise. In my defence, it was shot at 6400 and probably under-exposed a little too much. :-)