About Mark Winter / Chicane

Cartoonist. Artist. Illustrator. Oh, and autograph hunter.

Sketch: Julianne Moore

Posted on February 23, 2015 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Prior to winning her first Oscar last night for her portrayal as a woman with dementia, Julianne Moore was in London collecting the BAFTA. A number of cunning plans were hatched in my mind to secure her sig on a sketch.

Plan A. Send a drawing to the Academy… The British Academy that is, at their HQ in Piccadilly, paying extra to have it delivered on time and signed for. That didn’t work and it came back quicker than it was sent with a large, red ‘REFUSED’ on it.

Plan B. I found out at short notice that Julianne was doing a Q+A after a screening of Still Alice on the Friday evening before Sunday’s ceremony the Curzon Chelsea, a small cinema on the King’s Road in Knightsbridge. I didn’t have the returned sketch on me, so quickly did this one in 5 minutes, hence the minimal detail, but enough to get recognition.

The usual suspects had gathered in the confined entrance to the cinema. Julianne was running late, or as the security said, she will be just on time, arriving at the end of the screening. And she did, getting out of the car on the drivers side. She didn’t even make it to the curb before she was mobbed with 8x10s and all manner of writing instruments.I was by the door… may as well been on the moon, (which incidentally was in its ‘fool’ phase above us). A quick passage was negotiated after signing as many as poss in 30 seconds as she was whisked inside.

Plan C. I went to the local pub and watched the first half of the Six Nations Rugby match between England and Wales, returning to hopefully get her exiting. Not a soul there. I went around the corner and as night follows day there they all were, lining three deep by the side door,opposite a vehicle that had its motor running. The lunacy continued, right timing, just couldn’t find a place.

Plan D. Door… or doors in this case. The building had a number of doors along this side. I noticed a security person standing at another one to the one where all and sundry were gathered. This was about 10 metres from the mob. I stood there… Moore chance I thought.

30 seconds later Julianne steps out right in front of me. Security said she was in a hurry and wouldn’t be signing, but she said, “I’ll sign this sketch, ” climbed into the car and drove off.

I returned to the second half of the rugby and was over the moon with the evening’s harvest.

Drawing: Brandon Victor Dixon in The Scottsboro Boys

Posted on February 21, 2015 by Mark Winter / Chicane

The final collaboration between legendary composing duo John Kander and Fred Ebb (Cabaret, Chicago) The Scottsboro Boys, tells the story of a group of nine black teenagers brought together by fate in a case that sparked the American Civil Rights Movement and led to two pivotal Supreme Court rulings. The show premiered off Broadway in February 2010, moving to Broadway’s Lyceum Theatre in October. The musical then opened in London’s Young Vic Theatre in 2013 where it sold out, before moving to the Garrick Theatre in the West End in October 2014.

Grammy and Tony nominee Brandon Victor Dixon made his West End debut as Haywood Patterson in The Scottsboro Boys. A Columbia University graduate, Brandon was a scholarship winner at the British Academy of Dramatic Acting at Oxford. He recently created the role of Berry Gordy in Motown, The Musical with a Drama League Award nomination.

His Tony nomination was for his role as Harpo in Broadway’s The Colour Purple and won the Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Out Critic’s Circle, Drama League and AUDLCO award for his outstanding portrayal of Haywood Patterson in the original off-Broadway production of The Socttsboro Boys.

His producing credits include Of Mice and Men (2014) and Hedwig and the Angry Inch which won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical.

In recognition of this intelligent musical about a notorious episode of American racial injustice, The Scottsboro Boys was nominated for 12 Tonys and 6 Olivier Awards, but failed to win any. It did win the London Critics’ Circle and Evening Standard Awards for Best Musical.

The West End run finishes today.

Sketch: Jenna Russell, Samantha Spiro and Tamzin Outhwaite in Di and Viv and Rose at the Vaudeville Theatre

Posted on February 21, 2015 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Amelia Bullmore’s hilarious and heartwarming comedy about life’s impact on friendship Di and Viv and Rose finally makes its West End debut at the Vaudeville Theatre for a limited season. It premiered at Hampstead Downstairs in 2011 where it was a sell out success with an in-house transfer to Hampstead’s Main Stage in 2013, also enjoying a sell out run.

Original cast member Tamzin Outhwaite (Di) is joined by Samantha Spiro (Viv) and Jenna Russell (Rose) in this story of female friendship across 27 years, following them from initial bonding as University undergraduates in 1983, through life’s changes, crises and tragedies.

Receiving an average of four stars by the London critics, Di and Viv and Rose continues at the Vaudeville until 14 March.

Sketch: Emma Hatton, Natalie Andreou and Savannah Stevenson in Wicked

Posted on February 19, 2015 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Wicked, the musical phenomenon has been seen by more than 44 million people in 13 countries. It premiered in the West End at London’s Apollo Victoria on 27 September 2006 and has been running there ever since. It was the first full production outside the US.

My wife and I received prime stall tickets to review the show from Official Theatre and Seat Plan, which coincided with Emma Hatton’s elevation to the lead Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. She joined the cast from We Will Rock You in late 2013 as the standby Elphaba, but due to a back injury sustained by lead Willemijn Verkaik, Emma performed the role more frequently. She temporarily became the lead in July 2014, performing her 100th show at the Apollo on 3 September and this month her lead role was made permanent. It’s fair to say she was familiar with the part.

The other lead, Glinda The Good was played by the sensational Savannah Stevenson who’s been living in ‘the bubble’ since July 2013, replacing lead Gina Beck in November that year. As it turned out Emma wasn’t Elphaba the night we saw it. Having drawn her, I did think she looked a bit different, but to misquote a famous muppet amphibian, “it’s not easy recognising people when they’re green.” Which witch was which?

Natalie Andreou, the standby Elphaba, also joined the show this month from the the jukebox musical Rock of Ages. It was a memorable performance, Defying Gravity especially, the big number to end the first half, was impressive, but when she belted out No Good Deed in the second, the audience responded with thunderous applause.

We waited at the stage door and Savannah came out armed with her own sharpie. In the show she’s blonde, in real life she’s not, so waiting fans had to ask who she was. “I get that all the time,” she said. She happily signed my sketch and I said, “It must take Emma a lot longer to remove the green make up”. She concurred and then told me it was Natalie doing the part. I didn’t have a sketch of Natalie. So I left the sketch of Emma and Savannah at the theatre, went home and did one of Natalie as Sherrie in Rock, and her most recent role as Snow White at the Opera House in Mancherster over the festive season and posted it. Both came back signed…. so here they are…. I got to see Wicked for free and witches three!

Drawing: Ruth Wilson and Jake Gyllenhaal in Constellations on Broadway

Posted on February 18, 2015 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Jake Gyllenhaal and Ruth Wilson both made their Broadway debuts in English playwright Nick Payne’s two-hander CONSTELLATIONS at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre last month. Playing star-crossed lovers Roland and Marianne, they received rave reviews from both critics and the audience. “Short, sweet and strangely haunting”, said Variety. It called the hour long performance a “baby bombshell”- single set, two characters, sparce scenery, killer acting!

The story of a young couple who break through the boundaries of the time/space continuum to explore the infinite possibilites of their love, CONSTELLATIONS premiered at London’s Royal Court Theatre in early 2012. As a result of strong reviews it subsequently transferred to the Duke of Yorks in the West End.

Both Jake and Ruth received Golden Globe nominations this year, with Ruth winning for her role as Alison Bailey in the new TV drama THE AFFAIR. Jake has picked up a haul of awards and nominations, including BAFTA and the Screen Actors Guild nods for his performance in the neo-noir crime thriller NIGHTCRAWLER.

Ruth has signed a couple of my drawings at West End productions so I sent this simple portrait sketch based on the plays poster to Ruth at the Theatre and both she and Jake kindly signed it for me.

Drawing: Glenn Close in A Delicate Balance on Broadway

Posted on February 17, 2015 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Acclaimed for her versatility and widely regarded as one of the finest actresses of her generation, Glenn Close returned to the Broadway Stage after a twenty year hiatus in Edward Albee’s A Delicate Balance at New York City’s John Golden Theatre.

Glenn’s last outing on the Great White Way won her third Tony for playing silent screen star Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard. In spite of an extraordinary film and television career, theatre was where she began and remains her first love.

Glenn top lines a lustrous cast with John Lithgow as the complacent heads of a family who lose their composure when faced to confront and undefined terror that has stricken their best friends. Her “meaty role” as Agnes is the “witty, self-described harridan”.

Apart from winning three Tonys, Glenn tied the record for being the actress with the most Oscar nominations never to have won. The six time nominee has, however, collected three Emmys (14 noms) two Golden Globes (14 noms) and a SAG award (8 noms). She has also been nominated three times for a Grammy and once for a BAFTA.

The limited 18 week season ends on 22 February 2015.

Drawing: Dakota Johnson in Fifty shades of a 4B pencil

Posted on February 16, 2015 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Dakota Johnson and I have one thing in common. We use pencils. That’s where the similarity ends. BDSM for me means Bad Drawing and Sketching Materials (as you’ll learn about later).

On the day of the Fifty Shades of Grey UK premiere at the Odeon in London’s Leicester Square the studio shared a new film still of Dakota’s character, writer Ana Steele, provocatively pressing a pencil to her lips. It’s a very long pencil with ‘Grey Enterprises’ printed on it. The simple, subtle, but suggestive pose is a good deal more innocent than other images they could have released.

So I took my trusty Pilot super grip clutch pencil with its 4B lead and did this quick sketch, rolled up at the premiere, standing amongst mostly female fans of the book, screaming for “Jamie, Jamie!” (The Grey guy in the film) who didn’t walk the line, signing for the throng. Dakota, however, did. I put the sketch out and she happily signed it “Good job…. nice” using a thick, blue felt pen marker.

The sketch proved too hot, however, for the two sheets of plastic corflute I sandwiched it between to protect it from damage and the weather ‘melting’ the ‘graphite content’ and leaving a lineal imprint of my lead with the corrugated lines through Dakota’s face.

Sketch: Nicole Scherzinger in Cats at the London Palladium

Posted on February 14, 2015 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Nicole Prescovia Elikolani Valieute or Nicole Scherzinger for short, made her West End debut as Grizabella last December in the revival of the musical Cats at the London Pallidium. The former Pussycat Dolls lead singer received critical acclaim for her 12 week run which ended in early February.

A recording of her rendition of the aching ballad Memory (which is available online) premiered on BBC Radio 2 this week, where Andrew Lloyd Webber said it was, “the best recording of anything of my music ever done.” He also told listeners that they are taking the show to Broadway. “I just hope and pray that she will agree to do it there as I think she’d take America by storm.”

The extended West End run sees Kerry Ellis replace Nicole as the lonely, fading glamoupuss until 25 April 2015.

Drawing: Francesca Hayward, Ballerina

Posted on February 13, 2015 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Is Francesca Hayward the next great British ballerina? At the age of 22 she is a soloist at the Royal Ballet, and she is already fast-tracked into principal roles. Her repertory includes Manon, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Swan Lake, Giselle, Don Quixote and The Nutcracker.

Judith Mackrell in the Guardian said, “the self possession and technical command of her performances have fired enormous interest among critics, bloggers and fans and ignited hopes that she may become that elusive thing, the next great British ballerina.”

Francesca began dancing at the age of three and joined the Royal Ballet School seven years later, winning Young British Dancer of the Year in 2010, along with both Silver Prizes and the Audience Choice Award at the Genée International Ballet Competition that same year.

Sketch: Jerry Hall in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Mark Winter / Chicane

On of the world’s leading models for five decades with her trademark height and long blonde hair, Jerry Hall took on the role of the Wicked Queen in Richmond Theatre’s traditional festive pantomime Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs last year.

“I hope to get a good booing then I know I’ll be doing it right,” said Jerry. Making her panto debut at 58, Jerry said she did it because of her fond memories of going to watch panto with ex-hubby Mick Jagger and their four children.

“Christmas was such a big thing, but now they’re getting older I can do it. Mick and I always had a tradition of taking the children to see the pantomime at Richmond Theatre,” she said. They had a friendly divorce in 1999 and Sir Mick spent Christmas with her and the children. Luckily she got Christmas day off!