FELICITY MCCABE
FOR
ROYAL EXCHANGE THEATRE

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Working on an entire season of shows for The Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, Felicity McCabe shoots the imagery for four individual productions.

Shot across two months, Felicity captured the imagery for Romeo & Juliet, Brief Encounter, Great Expectations and an original production, SHED: Exploded View. Working across multiple disciplines, Felicity’s ability to capture both talent and still-life in an equally striking way allowed her style to shine across the varying visuals. Shooting with talent for three of the productions, Felicity’s still-life imagery for SHED: Exploded View takes creative inspiration from her ongoing project titled, Love Story. Working closely with the Royal Exchange Theatre team, the creative for each brief was developed to retain Felicity’s distinctive look and use of colour and lighting.

 

FELICITY MCCABE
ROYAL EXCHANGE THEATRE

 

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SHED: EXPLODED VIEW- ON SHOW EARLY SPRING 2024.

Focusing on encapsulating the production in full, Felicity’s imagery draws inspiration from the play itself. Described as a “devastating and delicately woven piece about violence, love and loss”, Felicity and Victoria selected the items stuck into the heart from objects that are mentioned in the theatre production to create a stand-alone image that helps to tell the story.

CREATIVE PROCESS BEHIND THE IMAGERY FOR 'SHED: EXPLODED VIEW'.

CREATIVELY INSPIRED BY FELICITY MCCABE’S ONGOING PROJECT: LOVE STORY,  CREATED IN COLLABORATION WITH STYLIST, VICTORIA TWYMAN.

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Romeo & Juliet
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The concept for Romeo & Juliet was to create an ethereal and dreamlike image that captures the moment of the main characters meeting again in the stars after they have both taken their lives at the end of the tragic story.

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INCORPORATING THE USE OF LIGHT AND ARTIFICIAL SMOKE TO CREATE A DREAM-LIKE QUALITY TO THE VISUALS
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BEHIND THE SCENES IMAGERY FROM FELICITY'S SHOOT FOR ROMEO & JULIET:
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TESTING DIFFERENT LAYERS AND LIGHTING COMBINATIONS TO DELIVER THE RIGHT VISUAL CONCEPT FOR 'GREAT EXPECTATIONS'.

Bringing a psychedelic and heightened-reality approach to the imagery for ‘ Great Expectations’, the creative layering, saturation and multi-exposure aesthetic of the photography transforms the viewer into an integral part of the production itself;  viewing the central characters, Pip and Herbert Pocket, through the opium addled eyes of Miss Haversham.

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SKETCHING AND VISUAL PLANNING FOR 'BRIEF ENCOUNTER' TO MIMIC THE LIGHTING OF A PASSING TRAIN.

Shot in a studio, the image focused on ensuring that the lighting was reminiscent of a station waiting room. Using a rig that allowed the lighting to be moved within the image, Felicity was able to recreate the motion blur of a passing train on the other side of the glass, as she watches Alec’s train departing for the last time.

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BRIEF ENCOUNTER - ON SHOW DECEMBER 2023.

Photographer
@Felicity McCabe

Production
@Wren Agency

CREATIVE
@Royal Exchange Theatre
@Alfie Mulroy
@Paula Rabbit

TALENT
@Hired Hands Models
@Sharkey & Co

PROPS/ SET STYLING
@Victoria Twyman
@Victoria Buurman

WARDROBE STYLING
@Victoria Twyman

HMU
@Corinne Robinson
Jo Shepstone

SPECIAL THANKS
@ Phoebe Eclair-Powell
@Atri Rohan

BEHIND THE SCENES
CREW +
@Elliot Whiteman