Zoë contributes to Exeunt: The Stage Door Project

31 March 2022 19:55

Zoë is among the actors and other theatre professionals who've contributed to Exeunt: The Stage Door Project, a book launched earlier this month to celebrate the magic of London's stage doors.

Magic is very much the theme of Zoë's contribution; she describes a stage door as ‘a portal into a different and secret world', where transformative experiences occur. The public isn't normally allowed to enter the stage door (though theatregoers often wait outside in the hope of meeting their favourite actors), which lends this area of a theatre an air of mystery.

Appropriately enough, Zoë's words appear alongside a photo of the stage door at the Bridge Theatre, where Two Ladies, the last play Zoë performed before the pandemic, was staged.

Exeunt is the brainchild of two up-and-coming actors, Lloyd McDonagh and Salvatore Scarpa. All of the stage door photos in the book were taken by them during the lockdowns of 2020; an unprecedented time for the theatre industry, when all UK theatres were forced to close (or go dark, as temporary closure is known in the industry) and theatre professionals were left without work. As a result, the photos have a compelling, haunting quality. Stage door areas are normally bustling places, but the book is a record of a period when they were empty and silent.

Published by Renard Press, Exeunt has a distinctive dark design, reflecting the fact that it was created when all of the theatres it features were dark. Other contributors include Judi Dench, Simon Callow, Sharon D. Clarke, Anita Dobson and many more.

You can buy the book from Renard and other retailers and support the theatre industry at the same time. That's because proceeds from the book's sales will benefit three theatre-related charities: the ActorsÂ’ Benevolent Fund, ArtsMinds and The Theatre Artists Fund.

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