A young performer in a red sweatshirt stands alone in a spotlight, holding up a phone as a large projected social media-style screen glows behind them.

The Marlowe Studio, Canterbury2023

Stories Of Us

The Production

Stories Of Us was a devised Marlowe Youth Company senior production presented at The Marlowe Studio in March 2023. Created with young people and professional theatre-makers, it explored the pressures of the youth mental-health crisis.

42 photographs in the curated edit

Commissioned by: The Marlowe Youth Company
Director: Callum Donnelly
Director: Isabelle Defaut
Set & Costume Design: Tara Usher
Assistant Director: Danai Paraskevopoulou
Lighting Design: Joe Warner-Povis
Sound Design: Nicholas Jarvest
Movement Director: Vicky Wright
Photography: Steve Gregson

A performer stands centre stage in silhouette facing a wooden tiered set, with two others seated on a side platform under warm theatre lights.

Three seated performers onstage, with one leaning over the back of a red chair and clutching their head in distress while the others turn toward them.

Several performers move among mismatched chairs on two low platforms, lit by hanging lamps and warm orange stage lighting.

Three performers sit closely beneath hanging lamps, one in a red sweatshirt gesturing expressively while the others listen.

Performers lie or slump across the wooden tiers and stage floor, creating a still, scattered tableau under dim warm lighting.

A performer in a pale blue hoodie holds one hand upright and the other flat beneath it, as if making a careful stopping gesture.

A large ensemble stands in a wide circle onstage with raised arms, framed by wooden set panels and overhead lights.

Two performers sit on a wooden platform, one speaking with open hands while the other raises an arm and points upward.

A performer stands alone in a central spotlight with head bowed, while other performers gather and move in shadow around the edges of the stage.

Three performers sit on a wooden tiered set under red lighting, with one speaking at the front while two behind handle papers or booklets.

A row of performers sits on chairs beneath individual hanging lamps, facing forward in a stark black stage space.

A smiling performer in a light blue hoodie holds up a small packet while standing before a wooden set and black stage lamps.

A group of performers crowd together at the front of the wooden stage, reacting with anxious and excited expressions while another stands apart behind them.

Two performers sit quietly beneath black lamps against a wooden wall, one reading from an open book beside an empty chair.

Under intense red lighting, performers move forward from a wooden tiered set, with two leaning toward the audience in the foreground.

A performer in a red striped top stands alone at the front of the stage, with others seated behind on the wooden steps.

A large ensemble fills the stage under blue lighting, with several performers lying across the floor, one holding a yellow question-mark cube, and others posed on the wooden tiers.

A performer in a red striped top stands still at centre stage while groups behind appear to whisper and react, and another performer in a blue hoodie covers their face in the foreground.

Two performers stand close together on the wooden set, one in denim overalls resting a hand on the other's shoulder as they look at each other.

A lone performer in a blue vest, red tie, pink trousers, cap and sunglasses stands in a bright spotlight on a dark stage with wooden seating and chairs at the sides.

Seven performers cluster closely around a seated performer in overalls, framed by warm stage lighting on the wooden tiered set.

Two performers sit under hanging lamps against a wooden wall, one holding an open book while the other looks ahead with a serious expression.

An ensemble spreads across the stage in a choreographed pose under vivid pink and blue lighting, with a central performer raising one arm.

A seated performer in a turquoise sweater and plaid skirt looks sideways against the geometric wooden railing of the set.

Seven performers are spaced across a stepped wooden set, standing and sitting at different levels in a still, tense arrangement.

A performer in a green sweatshirt gestures while holding a paperback book, with two others seated blurred behind on the wooden steps.

Two performers stand in a tight spotlight against darkness, one resting their head on the other's shoulder while the other looks upward.

Three performers sit in low light, with a performer in a purple sweater foregrounded and another at left watching with arms crossed.

A performer lies on the stage floor beside an overturned chair as others sit and watch from the wooden steps and side platform.

Three performers stand close together on a wooden stage, arms linked, with contrasting expressions from grimacing to uncertain to smiling.

A performer in denim overalls and a yellow T-shirt gestures as if speaking, with other performers blurred behind on the wooden set.

A wide stage view shows an ensemble in motion across wooden platforms and side seating, with one performer kneeling in front and reaching outward.

Two performers sit on wooden steps, one cross-legged and smiling in front while another in a teal jumper sits higher behind with a serious expression.

An ensemble performs energetic choreography under bright stage lights, with a central performer giving two thumbs up as others move around them.

A performer in a cap, waistcoat and red tie stands with open hands, while seated performers watch from the wooden steps behind.

A lone performer sits on a chair on a side platform beneath hanging lamps, surrounded by spare chairs and wooden panels in dim light.

A performer in denim overalls stands centre stage addressing the audience, with other performers seated on raised side platforms under lamps.

A group of performers stands on wooden steps, with one in front gesturing upward, another looking down, and others absorbed in phones or covering their ears.

In near darkness, a side-lit performer looks down at a glowing phone, creating an intimate, tense moment.

On a dimly lit stage, a young performer in a purple jumper points closely at another in a blue T-shirt, while a seated performer in the background also points toward them.

A youth ensemble stands spread across a black stage with wooden set pieces, as a performer in sunglasses, cap, blue waistcoat and red tie stands formally at the front.

Continue exploring

The Dance Show

Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation Theatre2023

Explore production photography