Drawing: Neil Morrissey, Adrian Edmondson, Robert Webb and Miles Jupp in Neville’s Island at the Duke of York’s Theatre

Posted on December 8, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

The latest comedy to hit London’s West End is Neville’s Island, featuring the excellent comedy quartet of Neil Morrissey, Adrian Edmondson, Robert Webb and Miles Jupp. Tim Firth’s play follows four middle aged middle managers who get stranded during a team building exercise.

Neil described the set – a rain soaked island in the Lakes District – as the most uncomfortable he has ever worked on. “It’s all shale and rocks and real trees… everyone gets nicks and cuts.” All four actors have to immerse themselves in water before the play begins. Real insects even buzz around the stage and audience members in the font row are given plastic macs to protect themselves. Adrian added, “It’s Lord of the Flies meets The Office“.

The play was first staged in 1992 and this production directed by Angus Jackson ran at the Chichester Festival last year before transferring to The Duke of York’s Theatre until 3 January 2015.

Drawing: Kate Fleetwood in King Lear and Macbeth

Posted on December 6, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

British actress Kate Fleetwood will be well known to cinema audiences from her roles in films such as Harry Potter, Les Misérables and Philomena, but it’s her stage work that has won her the most plaudits.

She made her Broadway debut opposite Patrick Stewart in the critically lauded Chichester Festival Theatre production of Macbeth in 2008. Her ferocious and much younger ‘trophy wife’ portrayal of Lady Macbeth won wide acclaim and a Tony Award nomination. In 2012 Kate was also nominated for the Olivier for her performance as Julie in the musical London Road at the National Theatre in London.

Earlier this year she played the power hungry eldest daughter in Sam Mendes’ production of King Lear also at the National. Lloyd Evans in The Spectator described her, “outstanding performance” as a,”slinky, ice cold Goneril glides around like Wallis Simpson looking for a playboy to chew up and spit out”.

This montage sketch, kindly signed and dedicated, captures Kate in both roles.

Drawing: Martin Crowe

Posted on December 5, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

martin crowe

Martin Crowe is considered one of New Zealand’s best batsmen, and by many to be the finest. He played for the Black Caps from 1982 – 1995 captaining both the test and one day sides in the early nineties. He was Wisden’s Cricketer of the year in 1985.

In 77 test matches for New Zealand he averaged 45.65, including 17 centuries. Martin also played 143 One Day Internationals, averaging 38.55 with four centuries!

In 1991 he shared a 467 run against Sri Lanka partnership with Andrew Jones, the highest at the time. Martin was agonisingly close to a triple century, being dismissed on 299. Until this year, when the current Kiwi captain Brendon McCullum scored 302 against India, it was the highest test score by a New Zealander.

Martin was considered to be an imaginative leader, known for many innovations, opening with spin, bowlers and using pinch hitting batsmen in the limited form of the game, and a variation called ‘Cricket Max’.

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Drawing: Sir Vivian Richards, The Master Blaster

Posted on December 3, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

West Indies cricket legend Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards, popularly known as ‘Viv’ is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time. Nicknamed the ‘Master Blaster’, he was voted on of the five cricketers of the century by a 100 member panel in 2000, along with Sir Don Bradman, Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Jack Hobbs and Shane Warne.

Wisden chose Sir Viv as the greatest One Day International (ODI) batsman of all time and the third greatest test batsman, afar ‘the Don’ and Sachin Tendulkar.

Considered by many to be the best every batsman against genuine fast bowling, he played his entire 17 year career without a helmet. In 121 Test matches he scored 8,540 runs at an average of 50.23 with 24 centuries and a top score of 29.1 against England at The Oval in 1976,

Sir Viv gave “swagger” new meaning in cricket, he was the most destructive batsman of his era. Apart from having the privilege to see the Master Blaster apply his trade live on a few occasions and signing my sketch, my only other connection with the great man is that I taught his niece at a London school a couple of years ago.

Drawing: Shappi Khorsandi in Because I’m Shappi at the Soho Theatre

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Tehran-born, British comedian Shappi Khorsandi was brought up in London after her family was forced to flee Iran after the Islamic Revolution, following the publication of a satirical poem composed by her satirist father, criticising the Ayatollah.

The star of Live At The Apollo, Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Have I Got News For You and QI completed a sell out run at this year’s Edinburgh Festival. Entitled Because I’m Shappi, she performed a season let month at the Soho Theatre, where she signed my sketch after her final performance.

Drawing: Richard Schiff in Underneath the Lintel

Posted on December 1, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

American actor and director Richard Schiff has just completed a limited run in David Mamet’s Speed the Plow in the West End. Best known for his Emmy award-winning role as the White House communications director Toby Ziegler in the cult television series The West Wing.

In 2006 he returned to the stage to perform Underneath the Lintel a one act, single character existential comedy by Glen Berger at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It’s about a librarian who embarks on a quest to find out who anonymously returned a book that is 113 years overdue. It’s in the form of a 90 minute lecture to the audience. The following year he appeared in the West End production at the Duchess Theatre. Richard also performed a radio version for the BBC which aired in January 2008.

Richard kindly signed this sketch of him as ‘the librarian’ between shows on the final day of Speed the Plow at the London Playhouse Theatre on Saturday (29.11.14).