March | 2023 | ChicanePictures

Autographed drawing of Rafe Spall as Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird at the Gielgud Theatre in London

The Oliviers, the UK’s most prestigious theatre awards, will be presented this Sunday at the Royal Albert Hall. Among the nominees for Best Actor is Ralf Spall for his portrayal of Alabama lawyer Atticus Finch in Aaron Sorkin’s new stage adaption of Harper Lee’s 1960 Pulitzer Prize winning novel TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. The production, which opened at the Gielgud Theatre at the end of March last year, received five nominations, including Best New Play and Best Director for Bartlett Sher.

The part was initially given to Rhys Ifans for a May 2020 opening, but was postponed due to the Covid pandemic and subsequently Ralf took over the original West End lead role. The Broadway production, also directed by Bartlett, opened at the Shubert Theatre in December 2018 with Jeff Daniels as Atticus, earning nine Tony Award nominations.

“Ralf Spall is terrific as Atticus Finch… he radiates nimble wit and easy charisma,” wrote Clare Allfree in her Metro Review.

He is named after the protagonist in Francis Beaumont’s 1607 parody THE KNIGHT OF THE BURNING PESTE, a role his father, Timothy played in the Royal Shakespeare Company production and one that Ralf himself played at the Young Vic and Barbican Theatres in 2005. He got into acting at the age of 15, joining the National Youth Theatre. Since then he has created a comprehensive screen and stage career that includes such films as A GOOD YEAR (2006), ONE DAY (2011), with Anne Hathaway, LIFE OF PI (2012), THE BIG SHORT (2015) with Brad Pitt, Christian Bale and Ryan Gosling, THE BFG (2016) and JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM (2018).

He received an International Emmy nomination for his appearance in the British TV series BLACK MIRROR in 2015, and a SAG nom as a member of THE BIG SHORT cast in 2016. His stage credits feature roles in Nick Payne’s CONSTELLATIONS (2012) at the Royal Court, Henrik Ibsen’s JOHN GABRIEL BORKMAN (2007) at the Donmar Warehouse, DEATH OF ENGLAND (2020) at the National and Harold Pinter’s BETRAYAL (2013) at the Ethel Barrymore Theater on Broadway.

Ralf signed my sketch for me at the stage door during the final week of previews in March 2022.

Autographed drawing of classical pianist Yuja Wang

Critical superlatives and audience ovations have continuously followed superstar Yuja Wang’s dazzling career. The Beijing-born classical pianist, celebrated for her charismatic artistry and captivating stage presence, and her “combination of technical ease, colouristic range and sheer power has always been remarkable… but these days there is an ever-greater depth to her musicianship, drawing you into the world of each composer with compelling immediacy”, raved the Financial Times.

Born into a family of artists, Yuja began playing the piano at the age of six and was quickly recognised as an exceptional talent, attending the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia at 15.

Her international breakthrough came in 2007 when she replaced Martha Argerich as soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Two years later, she signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon and has since established her place among the world’s leading artists with a succession of critically acclaimed performances and recordings with an inquisitive approach to the repertoire which ranges from Mozart to Gershwin. In 2017 she was named Musical America’s Artist of the Year.

Last April, Yuja returned to London’s Royal Festival Hall, dedicating her recital to the memory of the great Romanian pianist Radu Lupu, who died three years earlier. In his Guardian review, Andrew Clements wrote that it was a “flamboyant, brilliantly virtuosic performance, where everything was technically dazzling, every detail crisp and perfectly articulated, with chords exactly weighted and precisely placed… Wang’s play is irresistible.”

Yuja signed and dedicated my sketch after her Festival Hall concert.