Idle Motion Will Tour SHOOTING WITH LIGHT in the UK

Dynamic theatre company Idle Motion are working at Greenwich Theatre to put together a moving multi-media show about two pioneering war photographers that will tour the UK in April and return to the theatre for three nights in May.

'Shooting With Light' is about Gerda Taro, the first female photographer to die on the front line, and her partner Robert Capa, the iconic photographer who covered five wars including the Second World War across Europe.

"It's about their story and how they pioneered photo-journalism as it is known today," said Idle Motion's Grace Chapman. "We like to find stories from history that excite us but are unknown to most people. Gerda Taro was so talented but not many people know who she was.

"The show has a second story about Robert Capa's brother, Cornell, which is quite emotional as he searches for the couple's missing negatives. The two storylines run along together and hopefully tease out themes that people will find interesting and exciting."

Cornell Capa, also a photographer, found 4,500 negatives in a suitcase in Mexico in 2007. They had been smuggled out of France as the country was invaded in 1939 and taken by boat to Mexico, where they were kept in an official's wardrobe.

"Cornell knew they had been missing since his brother had been killed by a landmine in the first Indochina War in 1954," said co-director Sophie Cullen. "The negatives included a lot of Gerda's work from the Spanish Civil War, where she was killed aged 26.

"As we've been making the show we've realised that modern themes - how we are constantly documenting our own lives with pictures from our mobile phones - tie in with photography down the ages. We won't be having selfie sticks on stage but the compulsive need to take pictures is explored in the show."

The Idle Motion team works collaboratively, writing together and using a lot of improvisation. "Things will get tweaked right up to the first night," said Ellie Simpson. "We have discussions but no one is precious about their ideas and it works really well. There will be a bit of dancing from 1930s Paris, lots of gorgeous multi-media projections and significant props that reflect the themes of the show."

Julian Spooner, an artistic associate of Idle Motion, added: "It's probably best to describe our work as cinematic, which is what I think attracts people to it. Places and time zones change very quickly to grip the attention and make it exciting."

Idle Motion started in 2007, inspired by the actors' drama teacher, Paul Slater, at Cherwell secondary school in Oxford. "We loved doing school plays and A-levels together so when we left we decided to set up the company with Paul's help," said Kate Stanley. "We started going to the Edinburgh Fringe and in our second year we took Borges Nights, which got nominated for an award. It was then we decided to become a professional company and we toured Asia, mainly China. We like visual work with multi-narrative storylines.

"Greenwich have supported three of our shows and are really great with emerging companies like us. We just couldn't make new work without them. Rehearsal space is crucial and we get it every time. They're amazing."

*Shooting With Light will be at the New Diorama Theatre in London for three weeks from March 24 and start its UK tour at The Lowry in Manchester on April 22. The Greenwich Theatre nights will run from May 7-9.

For more information, please visit www.greenwichtheatre.org.uk.

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