A large metal cage tilts through blue fog as a strong diagonal spotlight cuts across the stage.

Racks Close, Guildford2023

Cry Baby

The Production

Guildford School of Acting’s June 2023 outdoor production of Cry Baby was staged at Racks Close, Guildford, as part of GSA’s summer season. The rockabilly musical brought John Waters’ cult 1950s-inspired comedy to an open-air student performance setting.

50 photographs in the curated edit

Director: Racky Plews
Choreographer: Simon Hardwick
Costume Design: Tara Usher
Commissioned by: Guildford School of Acting
Photography: Steve Gregson

A comic group moment shows pastel-costumed performers reacting as a man in a dark jacket gestures toward a woman in a green dress and a man in a white suit leans back.

A blonde woman in a pink checked dress laughs or sings with clenched fists in a bright close-up.

A large ensemble forms a dynamic tableau with many arms reaching outward around a seated figure at centre.

A man in a red vest sings into a microphone on a wooden pallet, with musicians visible through the set behind him.

A woman in a pink dress sits low at a microphone while four men in white suits stretch and pose around her before a red curtain.

A very wide view shows the illuminated stage set in a woodland clearing with the audience spread below.

A woman in pale trousers stands at a vintage microphone with her arms spread wide, writing visible along both arms.

Two performers sit at the front of an ivy-covered platform while dancers pose above them in cool green-blue light.

A man in a red jacket and striped shirt sings with his arms open against the blue-green stage set.

The full outdoor stage is seen beneath tall trees, with an American flag on the set and audience heads visible in the foreground.

Two women stand before a shimmering blue curtain, one in a green dress singing or addressing the audience and the other in pink beside her.

Two men in underwear dance centre stage while surrounding performers react in a brightly lit ensemble scene.

Women in blue uniforms cluster around a seated performer as a central woman stands with her arms held out.

A group of striped-costumed performers crouches with wooden crates in thick blue-purple haze.

A man in a white letterman jacket and a woman in a pink checked dress lean together smiling in blue stage light.

Striped-costumed performers are spread across a prison-bar set washed in red and blue light.

An older man in black with a cane confronts a younger man in striped trousers in smoky amber and blue light.

A line of dancers jumps in blue haze with arms lifted, creating a suspended mid-air rhythm.

A blonde woman in a red top and a woman in a gold dress stand close together with serious expressions.

A large ensemble crowds around a red-jacketed man as loose papers fly above the group.

A woman in a gold polka-dot dress sings in a vertical close-up, one hand lifted beside her face.

Performers in striped prison costumes pose around a bed beneath a sign, with one man standing high at centre.

A man in a striped shirt holds a blonde woman by the arms in an intense close exchange beside ivy-covered scenery.

A tight group of men in leather jackets, striped shirts and suspenders pose in a sharp diagonal formation.

Three performers stand behind a railing beneath an illuminated “ON AIR” sign.

A dark-coated performer poses centre stage while an ensemble bends low behind them in purple haze.

A group of women in pastel dresses huddle together smiling under saturated pink and blue light.

Dancers in striped trousers leap and run across a red-and-blue prison set filled with haze.

A young woman in a pink checked dress sings centre stage, framed by blue panels and performers in white costumes behind her.

Girls in blue school uniforms gather around a central seated performer in cool blue light.

A performer wearing a box-like placard costume stands beside a man in a black hat near the edge of the stage.

The full ensemble leans into a choreographed line across the stage beneath trees and coloured lights.

A man in a dark suit clasps hands with a woman in a gold dress carrying a flower basket.

A front line of performers, including a woman in a gold dress and a performer in red overalls, stands in saturated blue stage light.

A woman in a red dress spins or dances with a man at centre stage as the ensemble surrounds them.

Dancers burst across the stage in bright colour, with a man in a pink shirt and a woman in a floral dress leading the motion.

A man dips a woman in a red dress in a kiss while other performers look on.

A wide multilevel stage picture shows the ensemble performing beneath trees, string lights and blue haze.

A woman grips a microphone stand in a tight pool of light against a dark background.

A colourful ensemble leans and lunges across the stage as a woman in a red skirt is pulled forward.

A woman in a green dress stands alone at a railing in front of a blue, reflective curtain.

A woman in a checked dress stands elevated at centre as kneeling dancers reach their arms toward her beneath the trees.

In a close trio, a man in a pink shirt holds a woman in red while a woman in a gold dress addresses them.

A wide ensemble scene centres on a man kneeling before a woman in a red skirt while the group watches.

A crowded ensemble gathers in warm magenta light around a central singer, creating a celebratory group portrait.

A broad blue-lit stage picture places performers beneath a dramatic diagonal golden beam cutting through haze.

A woman in a cream dress spins at centre stage, flanked by performers on a multilevel set.

A large ensemble raises their arms in a high-energy finale pose, led by a man in red suspenders at the front.

A woman in a pink dress stands alone on concrete steps beside a wooden staircase and scaffold.

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