The Attitudes
A dramatic portrait project drawing on my previous career as an actor and shot to benefit charity Acting for Others.
Featuring a broad span of contemporary stage & screen performers, from Olivier winners to newly-minted drama school grads. Inspired by ‘The Attitudes,’ a school of acting that held sway for centuries, whereby actors learned specific postures to communicate emotions like fear, despair, joy, or love. There are nearly 100 in ‘Lessons in Acting’ (1870). Some seem deeply melodramatic or laugh-out-loud funny to a modern eye, others still ring true today.
Using one light and a textured background, shooting for no more than 30 minutes with each actor, we remade a classic pose or found its modern incarnation, trying to find the truth in each posture and feeling. About the project
The project was later exhibited at The Globe Theatre.
'Lessons in Acting' (1870), including 100 + 'Attitudes'
An Attitude from 'The Attitudes'
The Attitudes Logo
The Attitudes - Book Cover
Page from the project book
'Hatred in Horror' David Gant
Stealth
'Stealth' David Rintoul
Terry Huggett, 'Stealth', Access All Areas
Threatening
Modern 'Threat' Nicholas Pinnock
Joy
'Joy' Monica Dolan
Fright
'Fright' Emilio Dorgasingh
'Fright', Gina Beck
Horror
'Horror' Malcolm Sinclair
'Horror' David Fielder
Rage
'Rage' Tony Pitts
Despair
'Despair' Victoria Rigby
Courage
'Courage' Charity Wakefield
Silence
'Silence' Gemma Arterton
Contemplation
'Contemplation' Mark Springer
Mental Pain
'Mental Pain' Chizzy Akudolu
Anguish
'Anguish' Olivia Poulet
Hatred
DJ Hassan, Hatred, Access All Areas
'Hatred', Sam Swainsbury
Fear
'Fear', Gemma Arterton
'Fear', Gemma Arterton
Shouting
'Modern Shouting' Femi Oyeniran
Hopelessness
'Hopelessness' Chris Logan
Attention
'Attention' Susie Trayling
Rejection
'Rejection' Wil Johnson
Beseeching
Faith
'Faith' Lisa Kerr
Love
'Love' Fraser Ayres
Daydreaming
'Daydreaming' Malcolm Sinclair
Drunkenness
'Drunkenness' Thomas Coombes
Arrogance
'Arrogance' Martin Delaney
Jealousy
'Jealousy' Ben Addis
Enlightenment
'Enlightenment' Jackie Clune
Discouragement
'Discouragement' David Newman
Unpleasant Sounds
'Unpleasant Sounds' Zoe Zak
Disguise
'Disguise' Greg Haiste
Shame
'Shame' Matthew Durkan
Brown Study
'Brown Study' Matt Connor
Disconsolation
Kirsty Adams, 'Disconsolation', Access All Areas
Looking
Pondering
'Pondering' Beth Mullen
The Attitudes exhibit at The Globe Theatre
The Attitudes exhibit at The Globe Theatre