“For West Side Story I had the privilege of calling a show from the back of the auditorium, having one of the best seats in the house every night”

Lisa Lewis, Deputy Stage Manager of our Made at Curve production of West Side Story shares a backstage image and her insight into what it was like to work on the show.

“Hundreds of elements make up multiple layers of sounds, from the loud and obvious sweeps in and out of scenes to the distant ambience that is only just audible in the background”

Read Sound Designer Tom Marshall‘s insights into creating the soundscape for a key scene in our Made at Curve drama, My Beautiful Laundrette.

“The sitzprobe on any musical production is one of the most exciting days for me as a Musical Supervisor.”

Musical Supervisor, Stephen Brooker, remembers the excitement of the sitzprobe for the Made at Curve production of White Christmas.

“It was an exhilarating moment – the perfect cast, choreography, design, pulsating music and all in perfect harmony”

Paul Kerryson, Director of the 2013 Made at Curve production of Chicago, discusses crafting the look of the production and putting a new spin on a classic show.

“This picture sums up the love and respect I have for these two young men and the production team at Curve”

Writer Riaz Khan reflects on being part of our Made at Curve production of Memoirs Of An Asian Football Casual and seeing his story performed by actors Jay Varsani and Hareet Deol.

“Reflections can add a surreal feeling to the image, however when photographing a production the photographer has no control over lights, actors movement, props…”

Photographer Ellie Kurttz talks about using reflections to capture a moment in our 2019 Made at Curve production of Hanif Kureishi’s My Beautiful Laundrette.

“It was amazing to feel that audiences were still appalled as well as moved by Archie Rice”

Sean O’Connor, Director of our Made at Curve production of The Entertainer, discusses the show’s title role and the enduring relevance of Osborne’s play.

“When used well, [lighting] should add an additional and unique language, texture and colour to a production”

Douglas O’Connell, Video Designer for the Made at Curve production of Sunset Boulevard, on the role that video has to play in the symphony of theatre.

“This image was taken just before we left for the night and was the first time we got to see all the lights on together”

Lighting Designer for the Made at Curve production of West Side Story, Guy Hoare, remembers an evening spent creating the show’s stars and stripes lighting.

“Each area of the design is interlinked and navigating this challenge is demanding, but rewarding when we have the finished product on stage”

Jonny Laidlow, our Head of Lighting on what it means to be a producing theatre and working with teams across the building to create a Made at Curve production on stage.

“There’s a certain ambiguity I feel works for her character and the story. Is she walking towards something she wants or is she leaving something behind? Or both?”

In this commentary, photographer Manuel Harlan explains the art of being in the right place at the right time to capture a key moment of our 2017 Made At Curve production of Sunset Boulevard.

“It brings me great joy to see the cast having such a fantastic time performing my choreography”

Mark Smith, Choreographer of our Made at Curve and Birmingham Hippodrome co-production of The Color Purple, writes about bringing movement to Shug Avery’s number ‘Push Da Button’, performed in Harpo’s Juke Joint.

“From our first publicity shoot I could already feel I was witnessing something special”

Photographer Ellie Kurttz writes about the very first step of capturing our Made at Curve production of West Side Story– the promotional photoshoot, which took place in the streets surrounding Curve.

“Dressing rooms become a home from home on any production but especially on a Christmas show”

Having played Paula Pokrifki in our Made at Curve production of An Officer and a Gentleman – the Musical, Emma Williams returned to Curve in 2018 as Betty Haynes in our festive production of White Christmas. In this commentary, she talks about creating a ‘home from home’ in her dressing room.

“The supersaturated colours used to create the world of Legally Blonde and carefully planned from the initial design stages, were thrillingly in front of us”

Matthew Wright, Designer of our Made at Curve production of Legally Blonde, talks about the process of staging the show at Curve and at the Opéra de Monte Carlo in Monaco.

“These pictures for me illustrate a few of the many steps in the process of developing a production from page to stage.”

In this Creative Commentary, our Executive Producer Aidan Grounds writes about the process behind the commissioning and creation of new productions.

“Imagine trying to act out Romeo and Juliet, but on the 1980s set of Top of the Pops. That was the initial concept for the design.”

Set Designer Grace Smart writes about creating the right setting for the culture clash love story of Hanif Kureishi’s My Beautiful Laundrette to unfold in this Creative Commentary.

“It was a significant moment in my own career to realise how I could translate my many years of choreographic practice with children, young people and communities to enhance this story on stage.”

Curve Associate Artist and leader of our Curve Young Dance Companies Mel Knott writes about the inspiration and legacy of her work as movement director on the 2015 Made at Curve and Rose Theatre Kingston co-production of Roald Dahl’sThe Witches.

“My gut instinct at the beginning of this journey was to ban gingham and try to consider what mischief Roald Dahl might be interested in.”

In this creative commentary Julia Thomas, director of our 2017 Made at Curve production of Roald Dahl’s George’s Marvellous Medicine, writes about collaborating with the team to create incredible but believable magic for families on-stage.

“As a former ballerina I love photographing movement and to register the energy of the show by capturing actors/dancers mid air.”

In this Creatives Commentary, Photographer Ellie Kurttz looks at her favourite energy-packed Made at Curve production shots.

“Memoirs of an Asian Football Casual was a gift of a show”

Our Press & Digital Manager Fiona Moore writes about sharing the real life Leicester story of Memoirs of an Asian Football Casual with audiences.