Nobby Clark is an English photographer of theatre, opera, dance and live classical and contemporary music performance.

Background

Clark has worked for many UK broadsheets including

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

and

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

. He has also been commissioned by all the major English theatre, ballet and opera companies including both the

Royal Opera, London The Royal Opera is a British opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. Along with the English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Cove ...

and the

Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...

, as well as extensively by the

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

and the

Theatre Royal Haymarket The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foot ...

.Masterclass Past Masters , Nobby Clark
/ref> He has been the in house photographer for the Northern Broadsides Theatre Company since its first production of Richard III in 1992.Northern Broadsides – 20 years-photography by Nobby Clark
/ref> He has worked with directors such as Sir

Richard Eyre Sir Richard Charles Hastings Eyre (born 28 March 1943) is an English film, theatre, television and opera director. Biography Eyre was born in Barnstaple, Devon, England, the son of Richard Galfridus Hastings Giles Eyre and his wife, Minna Ma ...

, Sir

Trevor Nunn Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is a British theatre director. He has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed dramas f ...

, Sir Peter Hall,Headshot of Sir Peter Hall by Nobby Clark
/ref>

Bill Bryden William Campbell Rough Bryden (12 April 1942 – 5 January 2022) was a Scottish stage and film director and screenwriter. Early life and career He worked as a trainee with Scottish Television before becoming assistant director at the Belgrad ...

John Dexter John Dexter (2 August 1925 – 23 March 1990) was an English theatre, opera and film director. Theatre Born in Derby, Derbyshire, England, Dexter left school at the age of fourteen to serve in the British Army during the Second World War. F ...

, Sir

Alan Ayckbourn Sir Alan Ayckbourn (born 12 April 1939) is a prolific British playwright and director. He has written and produced as of 2021, more than eighty full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of ...

, and

John Schlesinger John Richard Schlesinger (; 16 February 1926 – 25 July 2003) was an English film and stage director. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for ''Midnight Cowboy'', and was nominated for the same award for two other films ('' Darling'' an ...

. He has also worked with several comedians on their live shows including Dave Allen,

Rik Mayall Richard Michael Mayall (7 March 1958 – 9 June 2014) was an English actor, stand-up comedian and writer. He formed a close partnership with Ade Edmondson while they were students at Manchester University and was a pioneer of alternative ...

Billy Connolly Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, retired comedian, artist, writer, musician, and presenter. He is sometimes known, especially in his homeland, by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his ...

,Billy Connolly live recordings , Director: Nobby Clark
/ref> and

Ben Elton Benjamin Charles Elton (born 3 May 1959) is an English comedian, actor, author, playwright, lyricist and director. He was a part of London's alternative comedy movement of the 1980s and became a writer on the sitcoms '' The Young Ones'' and ''Bla ...

and, for Noel Gay Television. In 2005 he was production photographer for the 7th series of cult UK television comedy

Red Dwarf ''Red Dwarf'' is a British science fiction comedy franchise created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, which primarily consists of a television sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999, and on Dave since 2009, gaining a cult following. T ...

.The Making of Red Dwarf – Joe Nazzaro (Author), Grant Naylor (Foreword), Nobby Clark (Photographer)
/ref>

Recent career

He worked with Sir

Peter Hall (director) Sir Peter Reginald Frederick Hall CBE (22 November 1930 11 September 2017) was an English theatre, opera and film director. His obituary in ''The Times'' declared him "the most important figure in British theatre for half a century" and on hi ...

on the 2009 season of plays at the

Theatre Royal, Bath The Theatre Royal in Bath, England, was built in 1805. A Grade II* listed building, it has been described by the Theatres Trust as "One of the most important surviving examples of Georgian theatre architecture". It has a capacity for an audien ...

having been production photographer for all previous seasons. In 2007 he presented an exhibition of black and white photographs at the

called 'London Blues' which included a book and a short black and white film of the same title, shot around London and with an original jazz score by

John Harle John Harle (born 20 September 1956) is an English saxophonist, composer, educator and record producer. He is an Ivor Novello Award winner and has been the recipient of two Royal Television Society awards. Biography Harle was born in Newcastl ...

and

Steve Lodder Steve Lodder, born Stephen John Lodder (born 10 April 1951, St. Helier, Jersey), is a British keyboardist, composer, and organist. He played piano as a child and took up organ at age 14. He studied organ at Gonville and Caius College, and after c ...

. He took this exhibition to in New York in September 2008. The same year he also showed an exhibition of his photographs of the Rolling Stones at Earls Court in 1976 at the GX Gallery in Camberwell, London. 'Starf*cker', a book of the photographs, was published by

Oberon Books Oberon Books is a London-based independent publisher of drama texts and books on theatre. The company publishes around 100 titles per year, many of them plays by new writers. In addition, the list contains a range of titles on theatre studies, act ...

in the same year. It was reprinted in 2008.You Tuibe , "Starf*cker – The Rolling Stones" Nobby Clark book printing
/ref> He continues to photograph rehearsal and backstage images for many notable theatre productions including 2009's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' starring Dame

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

as Titania, and directed by Sir Peter Hall.
Nobby Clarke's full photographic archive
is currently available exclusively through th
ArenaPAL
Performing Arts Image Library.

Exhibitions

From 1994 till 1998 'Nobby Clark's Theatre' appeared at the Victoria and Albert Theatre Museum in Covent Garden and included photographs from 'Billy Connolly's World Tour of Australia' as well as a number of images from his main body of work in theatre and newspapers including behind the scenes images of

Vanessa Redgrave Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress and activist. Throughout her career spanning over seven decades, Redgrave has garnered numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Television Award, two ...

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...

Al Pacino Alfredo James Pacino (; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he has received numerous accolades: including an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and two Primetime Emmy ...

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (born Helen Lydia Mironoff; born 26 July 1945) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, she is the only performer to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting in both the United States and the United Kingdom. ...

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

Barry Humphries John Barry Humphries (born 17 February 1934) is an Australian comedian, actor, author and satirist. He is best known for writing and playing his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He is also a film prod ...

and

Steven Berkoff Steven Berkoff (born Leslie Steven Berks; 3 August 1937) is an English actor, author, playwright, theatre practitioner and theatre director. As a theatre maker he is recognised for staging work with a heightened performance style eponymously k ...

. The exhibition also toured to the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...

in Kings Cross and the BAC Gallery.Monochrome mummers: A retrospective of the theatrical photographs of Nobby Clark has just opened in London. Marina Benjamin on the artist and his methods , The Observer, 10 June 1994
/ref> Other exhibitions include 'Photo Call', a collection of his work with the Observer newspaper, which toured the UK and then went to both Hyde Park in Sydney and the Festival of Perth in Australia. 2007 saw an exhibition of 'London Blues' – 101 photographs of London taken by Clark over a 40-year period – displayed at the National Theatre in London.
/ref> Nobby is a member of Chelsea Arts Club and an exhibition of his photographs, especially featuring his Rolling Stones photographs, was held at the Club in 2010. In 2012 the

Northern Broadsides Northern Broadsides is a theatre company formed in 1992 and based at Dean Clough Mill in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. It was founded by Barrie Rutter, who was its Artistic Director until resigning in 2018, followed by Conrad Nelson who was i ...

opened an exhibit of Nobby's work to celebrate 20 years of the theatre company, of which he was production photographer since its beginnings in 1992. 'Northern Broadsides – 20 years- photography by Nobby Clark' ran in Dean Clough's Crossley gallery from 26 May till 16 September.

Selected theatrical production photography

West End

*'On the Waterfront' starring and directed by Steven Berkoff, 2009 *'The Observer' with Anna Chancellor and directed by Richard Eyre, 2009The Observer , National Theatre
/ref> *'Epitaph for George Dillon' with Joe Fiennes and directed by Peter Gill, 2005 *'Betrayal' with Aden Gillett and directed by Sir Peter Hall, 2003Betrayal , Harold Pinter website
/ref> *'Tantalus' directed by Peter Hall, Salford, 2001 *'Lenny' with Eddie Izzard and directed by Peter Hall, 1999 *'M. Butterfly' with Anthony Hopkins, 1989 *'A View from the Bridge' with Michael Gambon and directed by Alan Ayckbourn, NT, 1987 *'Romeo and Juliet' with Ian McKellen and directed by Trevor Nunn, RSC, 1976
/ref>

Broadway

*'Cyrano de Bergerac' with Derek Jacobi, RSC, 1984Production Photographer 'Cyrano de Bergerac' , Nobby Clark
/ref>Production Photographer – various Broadway shows , Nobby Clark
/ref> *'Much Ado About Nothing' with Derek Jacobi, RSC, 1984Production Photographer 'Much Ado About Nothing' , Nobby Clark
/ref> *'All's Well that Ends Well' directed by Trevor Nunn, RSC, 1983Production Photographer 'All's Well that Ends Well' , Nobby Clark
/ref> *'American Buffalo' with Al Pacino, 1983

Other productions

*'A Midsummer Night's Dream' with Judi Dench and directed by Peter Hall, Kingston London, 2010A Midsummer Night's Dream , The Rose Theatre
/ref> *'The Stripper' The Queens Theatre, Hornchurch, UK 2009 *'Bouncers' The Queens theatre, Hornchurch, UK 2006
/ref> *'John Harle's Berlin Nights' concert with Albert Finney, Kate Westbrook, Phil Minton and the London Symphony Orchestra, 1989
/ref> He has also worked on many musicals including '

Cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...

' and '

Starlight Express ''Starlight Express'' is a 1984 British musical, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. It tells the story of a young but obsolete steam engine, Rusty, who races in a championship against modern engines in the hope of ...

' by

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

, 'Thoroughly Modern Millie', the Cameron Mackintosh production of '

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a coming-of-age stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before op ...

' and '

Rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

' on Broadway.

TV and film stills photography

*'Red Dwarf' with Craig Charles, 2005 *'Oliver Twist' adapted by Diplomat Films, 1999Oliver Twist , Diplomat Films
/ref> *'Jake's Progress' with Julie Walters and Robert Lindsay, adapted by Alan Bleasdale, 1995Jake’s Progress , Diplomat Films
/ref> *'The Chain' with Nigel Hawthorne and Anna Massey, 1984The Chain , Camera and Electrical Department
/ref>

The Director

His directing credits include a short film funded by the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

called 'Comrade Lady'Comrade Lady , Director: Nobby Clark
/ref>

principal dancer Marguerite Porter and with music by John Harle, which was shown at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

in 1987. He also directed

Billy Connolly's World Tour of Australia Billy may refer to: * Billy (name), a name (and list of people with the name) Animals * Billy (dog), a dog breed * Billy (pigeon), awarded the Dickin Medal in 1945 * Billy (pygmy hippo), a pet of U.S. President Calvin Coolidge * Billy, a youn ...

and three of the films that were records of his live performances.

References

External links

Re-Performing Performance: Shakespeare archives in teaching and learning – Warwick University
*

* Nobby Clark: Being a theatre production photographer
Nobby Clark - Image Archive
at ArenaPAL {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Nobby Living people 21st-century British photographers 20th-century British photographers Year of birth missing (living people)