Actors in rehearsal at Tower Theatre

Date posted: 15 October 2019

On one Sunday morning May I had the opportunity to photograph the actors in rehearsal for the play "Fix Up" at Tower Theatre, Stoke Newington, London.

The experience gave me a real insight into how the director and actors worked together - working through the script and developing scenes - sometimes repeating one specific moment over and over again, making minor adjustments to get the scene just right. Even the warm-up exercises and games at the beginning were interesting to see how the actors got themselves ready to rehearse.

The play, written by Kwame Kwei-Armah, is set during Black History Month in Tottenham bookshop "Fix Up". But nobody's coming to buy books anymore. Property developers are looking to turn the shop into a hair and beauty salon and the room upstairs into luxury flats. But then one day, in walks the mysterious Alice - the first person to buy a book in a long time - and then life becomes complicated for shop owner Kiyi and his friends. The play's theme is an honest and witty exposure of a modern black society that has become more interested in pop culture rather than acknowledging its forgotten past.

Below are some of my favourite photos of the actors Kieron Myers, Jasmine Lee-Jones, Valerie Paul, Richard Bob-Semple and his son Isiah Bobb-Semple.