John Blakemore writes that “Theatre, the heightened reality, the intensity of language, was a continuing pleasure for me. Working for Richard Sadler I had photographed dress rehearsals at the Belgrade Theatre Coventry, experienced the posed formality of photocalls at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre at Stratford upon Avon. West Side Story presented the possibility of a different, a more intense long term involvement. An advertisement in the local paper invited young people to audition for parts in a production of West Side Story to be performed in Coventry Cathedral. I phoned the producer, was invited to photograph. Six months of intensive work followed. The nervousness of auditions. The intensity of rehearsals, the gradual emergence of rivalry between Jets and Sharks. Dark rehearsal rooms, set design, music. More rehearsals, costume design, make up. The climax of dress rehearsal in the cathedral.

And, for me, the staging of a large exhibition. The awareness of white walls waiting to be filled.” (John Blakemore, Photographs 1955-2010, Dewi Lewis Publishing, 2011 (p42))