Sat, 09 Nov
|The Straw Yard
Unscripted
Theatrical photographer Ruthie Philip-Smith brings her work to The Straw Yard for an exclusive exhibition.
Time & Location
09 Nov 2024, 14:00 – 15:00
The Straw Yard, The Barracks, Parade, Berwick-upon-Tweed TD15 1DF, UK
About the event
Working within the entertainment industry is notoriously precarious, fiercely competitive, unpredictable and insecure. For those with caring responsibilities it's particularly difficult - 'six out of ten female backstage workers have had to change jobs because of caring responsibilities', whilst two thirds of freelance performers suggested that having a child would limit their careers.
Yet year after year, the lure of theatre proves powerful enough to see performers and creatives make enormous financial and personal sacrifices to continue to step into the harshest of spotlights. Successive generations of young people gravitate towards the profession despite it's every increasing competitiveness and cut-throat nature with over 1500 students graduating from drama schools every year.
Unscripted is a look at the faces of those for whom theatre is not just a career. It is a way of life, a passion, a calling beyond a job - uncertainty the gamble for the validation of the applause.
Creating striking monochrome portraits of artists, alongside candid vignettes of life behind the curtain, and combining them with words, taken from interviews, photographer, Ruthie Philip Smith investigates what it is that makes the draw of theatre so potent.
Seeking to reveal the juxtaposition between the gaze of the audience witnessing a polished and accomplished creation, and that of the organic, imperfect but eternally compelling world behind the curtain.
This is a free exhibition provided by The Straw Yard with the support of Northumberland County Council, North of Tyne Combined Authority and Create Berwick. We would advise booking your time slot in advance as space for the exhibition is limited.