Monthly Archives: June 2015

Drawing: Hugo Weaving in Waiting For Godot at the Barbican

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Hugo Weaving

This is a sketch of Hugo Weaving as Vladimir in WAITING FOR GODOT. It’s one of two drawings I did last week based on the Sydney Theatre Company’s production that had a short season at the Barbican in London. The other sketch was a montage of all four cast members, including Richard Roxburgh, Philip Quast and Luke Mullins, which they all signed for me earlier in the run. Hugo had graphed ‘hugo w’, which was more personal, but I thought on this one I would like a full ‘hugo weaving’ (he likes his lower case letters). Collectors like to have exemplars of all autograph variations.

After the final performance last Saturday evening, it was way past 11 before the cast emerged intent on climbing into cars, to whisk them to the after-party. A large group of hunters and collectors… and the obligotary dealers (which I place in the former category) were waiting. Hugo was the last to appear and he signed a few LOTR books and stills, as his PA announced that he was in a hurry and couldn’t sign. This caused a panic amongst the hunters who swarmed on the target with the likelihood of me getting anything, let alone a full ‘hugo weaving’ diminishing by the milisecond. however he saw the sketch, took my pen-not my trusty sharpie, but a new Pentel fine point- which I’ve discovered is excellent for signing the drawings on the sketch paper-and signed ‘hugo w’. Since he still had my pen, signing a few items as the official  hurridly escorted him to the waiting vehicle, I tried to get the ‘eaving’ after the ‘w’, but to no avail. So I have two ‘personal’ graphed GODOT sketches…no ‘eaving’ and no Pentel fine point pen. It must be an Australian thing, I thought, walking to the tube station holding the cap.they like to collect collectors pens minus their caps. Previously I had the same experience, on more than one occasion with Aussie tennis ace Lleyton Hewitt, the subject of another blog you may care to read for reference.

Drawing: Rich Hall

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Rich Hall

A master of a absurdist irony and rapid-fire wit, American comedian and musician Rich Hall mosied into London town last week and set up his stable at the Leicester Square Theatre for a few nights with his virtuoso musical mates.

Nearing the end of a UK Tour, Rich Hall’s Hoedown was described as a, “mash up of music, comedy and gratuitous coloration”.

This coincided with his other ‘West End’ show, 3:10 to Humour, which Rich performed during the month at various venues. Time Out’s description was “a mix of music, comedy, liquor and spent dreams with Richa Hall and his talented band. Tremendous fun”.

The Sun has called him “a comedy phenomenon”. Winner of the 2000 Perrier Comedy Award at the Edinburgh Fringe in the guise of his own uncle and red neck alter ego, Otis Lee Crenshaw, a much convicted comedy music singer.

Rich is well known for his TV and radio work, in shows such as QI, Live at the Apollo and Never Mind the Buzzcocks. When not in the UK, Rich goes back to his Montana ranch to write documentaries for BBC4.

With perfect timing, I came out of Leicester Square Station, walked the short distance to the theatre and who should be coming in the other direction? Yes, the man himself. He stopped for the obligatory selfie with a couple, then looked at my sketch and said, “you drew that? Jeez!”. Guilty. I assumed he liked it because he signed it and thanked me.

Drawing: Lleyton Hewitt

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Lleyton Hewitt

Better Lleyton than never.

This could be a long one. I’ll try and be brief. It’s taken a long time to get this sketch of Aussie tennis icon Lleyton Hewitt signed… well not this sketch exactly. This is not the only one I’ve drawn, but it could be the last. Many summers, and sharpies ago he was coming off the practice court at his home Slam -The Australian Open in Melbourne. I positioned myself on the left flank of the adoring and moving masses following him back to the locker room. I kept up with the pace parallel to Lleyton, who was signing all and sundry and a high fence on the other side as we formed a triangle. Eventually we reached the apex, just before the gate; me, Lleyton and a security person. I handed Lleyton my sharpie and positioned the sketch, the security person intervened. No sig. No sharpie. Ruined sketch. Cap and drawing in bin.

A few seasons later at the Queen’s Tennis Club in London, I was amongst a smaller throng, but nevertheless with the same degree of difficulty. This time it was kids with those large tennis balls… large, fluffy tennis balls, that destroy the felt tips on sharpies. With a new sketch and renewed hope I handed him my sharpie, which he proceeded to use on all the fluffy balls first. Then an official quickly whisked him away for media commitments, still holding my pen. No sig. No sharpie. Still had sketch (which got rained on later and binned).

A couple of years ago on the hallowed grounds of Wimbledon Lleyton finished his match on Court 12 and was making  the lengthy trek back to the players’ changing rooms, followed by a gazillion big-fluffy-balled kids. I just managed to get behind him with a fresh drawing, when he passed the sharpie he had be using to me over his shoulder and accelerated. No sig. One returned, but stuffed sharpie. One unsigned sketch.

On Saturday it was practice day for the Aegon Championships at Queens. Lleyton, a four-time winner of the event was a wildcard entry, making his final appearance before retiring at next years Aussie Open.The big fluffy-balled kids were there as well, among others. Lleyton came off the court, responded to our calls, took my pen-not a sharpie, but a N805 Pentel marker, (a much more robust pen for textured surfaces) and signed all the big fluffy balls plus a few other items before finally signing my sketch… and returning my pen, with a smile. One sig on sketch. One returned pen. Better Lleyton than never.

 

 

Drawing: David Baddiel in Fame: Not the Musical

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david baddiel

Based on our celebrity-obsessed age, British comedian and writer David Baddiel’s solo show Fame: Not The Musical is a two hour show on the perks and perils of fame at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory last summer.

He charts celebrity’s daily experience in what The Guardian’s Brian Logan called the “unglamorous no man’s land between name-in-the-lights self-fulfilment and rabbit-caught-in-the-headlights self-destruction”.

After a 15 year absence from stand up David was tempted back by the absurdity of fame. The show stared life at the Soho Theatre as a ‘work-in-progress’ in March 2013, before taking it to the Edinburgh Fringe, various other venues and ending up at the Menier.

“Stand up is a frightening thing to do if you don’t do it for a long time, but the more you do it, the less you feel the fear” he said.

I met David last week when he returned to the Soho for a four date residency in the upstairs stage with some more intimate work-in-progress material. I said to him, “one of the absurdities of being famous is that people recognise you, draw you and ask you to sign it.” He laughed and said “obviously” and happily complied with my request. I’m not sure if it was a perk or a peril of the fame game.

Sketch: Waiting for Godot at The Barbican

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barbican godot

Andrew Upton’s production for the Sydney Theatre Company of Samuel Beckett’s 1953 absurdist Waiting for Godot has been running all week as part of the Barbican’s International Beckett Festival.

In her five star review for The Telegraph, Jane Shillings wrote, “you are about to spend two hours in the dark captivated, moved, and when you leave, in some way changed. This is what Upton and his cast achieve in a production of luminous intelligence and virtuoso physicality”. That cast is Hugo Weaving, Richard Roxburgh, Philip Quast and Luke Mullins.

“Weaving’s sinuous, dandified Vladimir, Roxburgh’s wounded Estragon, Philip Quast, ruined and bombastic as Pozzo and Luke Mullins’ menacingly vulnerable Lucky explore the resonances of Beckett’s text with elegant precision,” Shillings said.

Right, getting four graphs in one attempt is a mission, especially prior to a show. I arrived at the Barbican stage door before last Saturday’s matinée, where a mixture of autograph seekers had gathered waiting for the Godot cast.

They were dominated by the dealers, wanting Hugo on non-Godot material, such as The Matrix and Lord Of The Rings stills.

Philip arrived first. I had met him recently at the London Coliseum when he appeared in Sweeney Todd, and he happily signed. Luke wears a blonde wig, so I had to carefully look at eyes to recognise him and got lucky, so two down and two to go. Richard was next and he was very friendly, loved the sketch and chatted with everyone as he singed. Time ticked by, but no Hugo.

It was less than an hour to curtain up. Most thought he must have used another entrance. The dealers positioned themselves downy the street to interrupt him, realising if he did arrive he wouldn’t have a lot of time. That proved to be the case. At 1.50pm Hugo strolled past all the waiting autograph hunters, apologising that he was running late and couldn’t’ stop. I was near the stage door and as he approached I politely asked if he would sign my sketch. “Ok, I’ll sign that,” he said and graphed a “Hugo W” for me and went in. Waiting for Godot, done!

Drawing: Jonathan Pryce and Phoebe Pryce in Merchant of Venice

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merchant-the pryces

“Jonathan Pryce and his daughter Phoebe excel in Jonathan Munby’s inspired production of the Merchant of Venice at Shakespeare’s Globe in London,” wrote Kate Kellaway in her five star review for The Guardian.

“Casting Jonathan Pryce as Shylock and his daughter, Phoebe, as Jessica turns out to be no frivolous gimmick but an inspiration. It’s a family affair – a double star turn,” she concluded

The production ran in repertory from mid April to 7 June. Double Olivier and Tony Award winner Jonathan was making his first appearance on the Globe stage.

Stephen Collins of BritishTheatre.com wrote, “Jonathan Pryce is a calm, righteous and driven Shylock… (who) finds the heart and soul of the man and with scalpel like precision reveals his inner strengths and weaknesses… Pryce presents a memorable, complete and completely flawed Shylock. The look on Pryce’s face when Shylock is spat upon is seared into my memory. As Jessica, Jonathan Pryces real life daughter, Phoebe is splendid. Full of pain and grief, yet wildly, passionately in love.”

Drawing: Laura Linney in Time Stands Still

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laura linney

American actress Laura Linney featured in Time Stands Still by Pulitzer Prize Winner Donald Margulies at the Samuel Friedman Theater during its three month run on Broadway in early 2010.

She was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Play. The Manhattan Theatre Club production returned to Broadway at the Court Theatre in September that year until the following January.

Laura played Sarah, a photo journalist returned from covering the Iraq war after being injured by a roadside bomb, with her reporter boyfriend James who is overcome by guilt after leaving her alone in the war zone. Both are trying to return to living as civilians, yet the comforts of urban domesticity  – the simple pleasures and small compromises – can be a minefield of its own. She is limping with crutches and scars on her face. He wants to help, but Sarah resists.

The New York Times has called her “an actress of peerless emotional transparency, capable of conveying a multitude of conflicting feelings through minimal means.”

It was Laura’s third Tony nomination to go with three Oscar nominations, three Emmy and two Golden Globe wins. I met the lovely Laura last night at the premiere of her latest film Mr Holmes at the Odeon Kensington in London. “Oh, look at this,” she said, surprised by a sketch amongst all the Love, Actually posters and glossy 8x10s. Her graph used to have a bit more letter definition, but has been streamlined to accommodated demand I guess. However, she did take the time to dedicate it for me, “Mark with a K?” she asked. I nodded ok.

Drawing: Jim Dale

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Jim Dale

English actor, lyricist, singer and comedian James Smith, better known as Jim Dale is currently playing to packed houses in Just Jim Dale.

Known for his appearance in eleven Carry On films, the 79 year old returned to the London stage this month for his one man (and a pianist, Mark York) show that runs until 20 June. The Guardian’s Michael Billington summarises “the unfairly talented actor recalls a career that has taken him from Olivier’s National to British film comedies and Broadway in this exuberant solo show”.

Jim has received two Grammy Awards for narrating the Harry Potter audiobook series. He was the lyricist for the film theme Georgy Girl, which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1966. The song was performed by The Seekers and reached number 2 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, selling over seven million records.

On the stage he has been nominated for five Tony Awards, winning one for Barnum in 1980. He has also won four Drama Desk awards. In 1970 Sir Laurence Olivier invited Jim to join the National Theatre Company, based at the Old Vic.

The very affable entertainer met fans at The Vaudeville stage door after his matinée performance, including yours truly with this simple sketch. “All your own work?” he asked, “yes, like you,” I replied, as he wrote a very nice big siggy and dedication.

Drawing: Janine Jansen

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Janine Jensen

Dutch violist Janine Jansen is considered one of the world’s great violin players. She regularly works with the most eminent orchestras around the globe.

Janine is renowned for her success in the digital music charts, being dubbed the ‘Queen of the downloads’ in recognition of her award-winning and immensely popular recordings.

She currently plays a 1727 Baron Deurbroucq Stradivari violin, which is named after Dutch Baron Deurbroucq of the Hague who commissioned it to be made.

“I don’t own it, I have it on loan,” Janine said. “My father insisted that I had to make a choice based only on my feeling – not because of either name or appearance. So he made me wear a blindfold while choosing, I picked up one after another. After only six notes on the Baron Deurbroucq violin, I said, ‘this is it'”.

Janine signed my portrait at the Barbican in London last week where she performed Mendelssohn in the International Violin Festival with the London Symphony Orchestra.

Drawing: Beverley Knight and Killian Donnelly in Memphis

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Beverley Knight Killian Donnelly

Leads Beverley Knight and Killian Donnelly receive standing ovations after every performance of Memphis at London’s Shaftesbury Theatre. The feel good musical about fame and forbidden love is set in the racially segregated Tennessee in the fifties, where African-American R&B music is captivating a new generation of white fans, much to the disgust of their rigid parents. Beverley plays emerging singer Felicia Farrrell and Killian is her charismatic disc jokey Huey Calhoun who is determined to bring ‘fresh’ sounds to his radio audience.

“Beverley Knight’s vocal gloriousness and the charisma of her co-star Killian Donnelly make a show that’s not exactly innovative feel fabulous,” wrote Henry Hitchings in The Evening Standard.

Memphis received the most Olivier Award nominations at this year’s ceremony, including nods for both Beverley and Killian. Killian will be leaving the production next month to play Charlie in the West End transfer of the musical Kinky Boots. It was just announced that Beverley will play Grizabella when Cats returns to the London Palladium in October this year. Beverley had previously signed a drawing for me, so I gave her this one with Killian included and both signed.