I have long been working and lurking behind the scenes of showbiz-zy stuff; as a scenic painter and prop maker on theatre sets and at… drum roll, please… Pinewood Studios! I’ve created stage sets and props for various entertainers and have even trod the boards myself as a Speed Painter. What’s a speed-painter? It’s where I paint a portrait very quickly to music as a performance piece. (Check out my Speed Painting Playlist on YouTube for some clips.)
Having been in a position to view variety shows from the other side of the curtain (TV shows and movies, circuses, events and theatrical performances), I had the desire to bring this fascinating secret world to life. In other words, to the stage!
I shadowed my friend Adrian backstage at Funny Girls (a legendary Blackpool cabaret venue for drag artists and a must-do for tourists) and sketched him transforming with wigs, make-up and stunning dress into DJ Zoe. Being backstage is really fun for me; seeing what the audience never sees (but through my Backstage in Blackpool exhibition, soon will do!).
After this session with Adrian, the seed for Backstage in Blackpool was planted.
I spent that evening casually sketching and chatting to the performers backstage. I took a few photos to sketch from when I got back to the studio later.
Being experienced professional dancers and performers, being backstage was very relaxed with great camaraderie. I did a few sketches in a very loose style of Toulouse Lautrec but, of course, with my own experienced artistic touch.
From all the photos and sketches of that evening, I created a large painting, titled ‘Backstage Banter’ (pictured below). It remained in my studio as a reminder of the seed of the idea I had for a larger backstage collection, featuring a variety of diverse performers and venues across the showbiz town that I call home.
‘Backstage Banter’ was recently displayed at a prestigious exhibition and celebration of 30 years of Funny Girls. Given the reception to my original work, this exhibition solidified the urgency to document what I feel is an important part of Blackpool’s heritage across the many historic venues of Blackpool.
While all the dazzling shows and lively performances of Blackpool are publicised, the moments behind the curtains go unnoticed. I want to tell those stories through a moment captured in time in a painting; these intimate, vulnerable, funny, frenzied and powerful moments that occur night after night behind the scenes. It’s a fascinating world I will share with you, celebrating the hard working, talented, world class performers of Blackpool.
