Hardman and the
Playhouse have a long and fruitful history. Both sat firmly within the centre of
Liverpool’s creative heartbeat, with the
Playhouse commissioning new, exciting work with local artists, and Hardman
capturing the famous faces, moods and moments of the
theatre.
The Playhouse opened
its doors in 1911 as the Liverpool Repertory Theatre. Before then though it had
links to an earlier musical theatre, the Star Music
Hall, which was established in 1866. In 1922, the
ambitious pair of Kenneth Burrell and
Edward Chambre Hardman, returned to England after serving in the Ghurkha
Rifles. They had grand plans to establish a photographers' studio in the city,
but to do this, they needed money, talent and appropriate social
connections.
This is where
Burrell came into his own. Hardman was new to Liverpool, but Burrell had the social connections and
financial backing to gain entry to middle and upper-class clientele. This, when
combined with Hardman's talent, helped to establish a reputation for producing
prestigious works of photography.
A year later the
‘Burrell and Hardman’ photographers’ studio opened in 1923. That same year they
joined The Sandon Studio Society,
the epicentre of Liverpool artists,
photographers and architects. Unsurprisingly, portrait work for important
figures in art and society was to follow. Hardman photographed fellow members of
the society including the artist Henry Carr, Herbert Tyson Smith the sculptor of
the Liverpool Cenotaph (and lifelong friend of Hardman), as well as important
figures in the Playhouse such as Professor Charles Reilly. This led to portrait
work for members of the Playhouse, many of whom went on to become British film
stars and household names.
