Snowdon on Stage by Simon Callow

Snowdon (then Tony Armstrong-Jones) started taking photographs professionally when he came down from Cambridge in 1950. It was his uncle and mentor, the stage designer Oliver Messel, who encouraged him to take theatre photographs. At that time theatre photography was dominated by Angus McBean and Houston Rogers, whose work he greatly admired. However, theatrical productions were moving from the drawing rooms of the home counties to the “kitchen sink” and “angry young men”. Snowdon used a small camera, using available light, and often worked during performances. He printed huge twenty-foot enlargements outside the theatre. This fresh approach was favoured by directors like Peter Hall and Peter Brook as it took up less rehearsal time. For over 40 years Snowdon has been commissioned to photograph virtually everyone in the theatre, and this collection includes portraits of Helen Mirren, Alan Bennett, Maggie Smith, Ralph Fiennes, Lord Olivier and Harold Pinter.