Photographer’s Review: Through My Lens at the Dress Rehearsal of Meat by Magic Floor Productions

When I got the call to photograph the dress rehearsal for Meat, the latest production from the wonderfully unpredictable Magic Floor Productions, I thought, “Great! Another evening of lurking in the shadows, dodging stage lights, and trying not to fall off the back of the Guildhall’s raise seating.” Standard stuff for a theatre photographer, right?

Wrong.

What unfolded in front of my lens was something far beyond the usual “local theatre does good” story. Meat is a three-person powerhouse of a play — all the more impressive because those three actors (regulars from Magic Floor) seemed to channel about 200 years of history between them, all while I was desperately trying to photograph them without my shutter sounding like a small explosion during the quiet bits.

Set in Thetford’s Guildhall — which, by the way, is eerily linked to the real-life events the play portrays — Meat dives headfirst into a grim, gripping, and disturbingly true piece of history. I’d love to tell you more, but honestly, this is a show you need to arrive at knowing as little as possible. What I can say is that it’s the kind of story that leaves you grateful to live in the 21st century, and quietly horrified at what once passed for justice.

From behind my camera, I was constantly torn between framing the perfect shot and just getting lost in the performances. The actors didn’t just act — they inhabited these characters, filling every inch of the historic space with tension, fear, and flickers of unexpected humanity. At one point, I was so transfixed I forgot to press the shutter, which, considering I was there to photograph the thing, is both a professional failing and a glowing endorsement.

Magic Floor has always had a knack for pulling off big ideas in small spaces, but Meat takes this to another level. It’s proof that you don’t need a West End budget to deliver gut-punching theatre — just fearless creativity, a script by the brilliant James McDermott, and a few actors willing to emotionally eviscerate themselves in front of a camera-wielding photographer trying to blend into the curtains.

If you’ve got tickets, you’re in for something special. If you haven’t… well, start plotting how to sneak into the next performance (I’m not condoning it, just saying it’s worth considering).

Hats off to the whole Magic Floor team. My camera and I had a front-row seat to something unforgettable — and for once, I think the photos might only capture half the magic.

Tickets available here and other production worth a look can be book here

More pictures to follow once opening night has been completed.