I left this sketch out overnight, with a red sharpie and PRESTO. Signed, dedicated and stood on. (Blitzen’s autograph, I believe).
Compliments of the season to all my readers.
Red Lettered Day
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Author Archives: Mark Winter / Chicane
Drawing: Annabel Scholey in Passion Play
British actress Annabel Scholey played the alluring Kate in last year’s West End revival of Peter Nichol’s Passion Play at the Duke of York’s Theatre.
The 25-year-old marriage of James and Eleanor (Owen Teale and Zoe Wanamaker) is disrupted by his affair with Annabel’s femme fatale. The playwright has also created their alter egos, Jim and Nell (Oliver Cotton and Samantha Bond) which allows the lead characters to express their private thoughts and anxieties.The technical device was not given to the femme fatal Kate, who comes across as a heartless predator.
Oxford-trained Annabel has balanced her career with a bunch of Shakespearian parts-she played Queen Anne to Kevin Spacey’s Richard III at the Old Vic – and a stint as a vampire in the cult BBC series Being Human.
She signed this sketch of her as Kate at the Theatre in June 2013.
Drawing: Zoe Wanamaker and Samantha Bond (Eleanor and Nell) in Passion Play
Two of the great contemporary British actors of our time, Zoe Wanamaker and Samantha Bond combined in David Leveaux’s beautifully judged revival of Passion Play at the Duke of York’s Theatre last summer.
Peter Nichol’s searing play of a modern marriage disrupted by a ‘blast of sexual infidelity’ is technically daring with the two leading characters each portrayed by two actors for public and private thoughts.
Zoe and Samantha play the competing versions of the same innocent character, soon shattered and betrayed in a 25 year marriage she believed to be happy and strong.
Owen Teale and Oliver Cotton play the love rat husband and his alter ego.
When it opened in 1981 at London’s Aldwych Theatre critics recounted a joke about Moses coming down from Sinai with the Commandments and announcing, “First the good news – I’ve got ’em down to ten. Now the bad news – adultery’s still on.”
Samantha’s maiden name is apt – her best known screen role is in the James Bond series, playing Miss Moneypenny, secretary to M. She appeared throughout Pierce Brosnan’s tenure as 007 which began in 1994 and ended in 2002 with Golden Eye, Tomorow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough and Die Another Day.
Zoe’s extensive list of stage and screen credits includes the Harry Potter series. Fo her theatre works hs ha sheen nominate four times of the Tony and nine times for the Oliver awards, wining two. She has also received three BAFTA nominations.
Both signed this sketch for me at the theatre in Juen 2013.
Drawing: Owen Teale and Oliver Cotton (James and Jim) in Passion Play
Owen Teale and Oliver Cotton played the same character in the revival of Peter Nichol’s Passion Play at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London’s West End in the middle of 2013.
An initially happy 25 year marriage becomes strained to breaking point when the husband embarks on an affair with a woman half his age.
Owen played the husband (James) opposite Zoe Wanamaker. But each has an identically dressed alter ego, respectively played by Oliver (Jim) and Samantha Bond, who depicts the character’s interior thoughts and feelings.
Owen won the 1997 Tony Award for his performance as Torvald in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House at the Belasco Theatre. Oliver’s prolific stage career was founded on his extensive work at the National during the time Sir Laurence Olivier was its articsic director. He also writes scripts for both stage and screen. They both signed my sketch at the theatre in June 2013.
Drawing: Fagin and Nancy, Griff Rhys Jones and Jodie Prenger in Oliver!
Welsh comedian Griff Rhys Jones joined Jodie Prenger in Rupert Goold and Matthew Bourne’s 2009 revival of the Lionel Bart classic musical Oliver! at London’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane, during the Christmas of 2009.
Griff took over the role of Charles Dicken’s conniving career criminal Fagin pickin’ a pocket or two with his gang of homeless boys. He replaced Omid Djalili becoming the fourth person to portray the loveable rogue in December for six month stint.
Jodie won the BBC TV’s I’d Do Anything to find Nancy for the West End revival in 2008 – a role she played from the opening night in January 2009 until March 2010 plus a two show one off performance on 13 November 2010 filling in for Kerry Ellis.
Griff also returned to Oliver! in December 2010 for a five week start until final curtain in January the following year. I left this black biro sketch at the theatre where both Griff and Jodie signed it for me.
Drawing: Andy Murray
Here’s a doozy of a dilemma for you. When the world’s top 8 men’s tennis players are walking towards you on a chilly London night on the Greenwich peninsula, dressed to the nines, heading to the O2 pier and a ferry to take them to the opening gala for the year ending ATP World Tour Finals, who do you get? Signature wise, I mean.
I had sketched them all and some of their high profile coaches – Boris Becker, Michael Chang, Amelie Mauresmo…
Security warned the small group of us waiting that they were late and in a hurry. Nothing new there. I calculated that I only had a few minutes. There was one other ‘grapher in the group, the rest were after selfies – that could slow them down a fraction…
Because Andy Murray wasn’t at last year’s event, he was my top priority. In fact, I actually had two sketches of him, but he has a quick siggy and is always obliging. Mission accomplished and both signed – one even dedicated. This is the other one.
For the record, on that cold November evening I managed to get Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori, Boris Becker and Andy of course. Not a bad harvest in two minutes!
Drawing: Sabine Lisicki
Last year’s Wimbledon runner up Sabine Lisicki was among the stars taking part in the Mylan World Team Tennis Smash Hits event at London’s Royal Albert Hall earlier this month.
The annual charity extravaganza, now in its 22nd year, usually takes place in the US, but this year it was held during the Statoil Masters, to benefit Elton John’s AIDS Foundation UK. Sabine played for Team Billie Jean, joining former world number one Kim Clijsters, Tim Henman and Jamie Murray against Team Elton’s Andy Roddick, John McEnroe, Martina Hingis and Heather Watson.
The likeable German reached the 2013 Wimbledon final losing to Marion Bartoli and has a highest world ranking of 12, with four WTA titles.
Drawing: Vanessa Kirby in A Streetcar Named Desire
I sketched 26 year old English actress Vanessa Noola Kirby – or ‘Noo’ as she is known (“no one ever calls me Vanessa,” she says) in her role as the endearing Stella opposite Gillian Anderson‘s Blanche Dubois in Tennessee Williams’ timeless masterpiece A Streetcar Named Desire at London’s Old Vic during the late summer.
I didn’t manage to have the drawing signed at the theatre in person, so sent it to her. She autographed and returned it quicker than I’ve ever known… a matter of hours, and Royal Mail redeemed its reputation. Quick sums up Noo. Her short but stellar career has quickly launched her on the right trajectory. It was another ‘Stella’ part that introduced her to the masses, enchanting TV audiences as Estella also opposite Gillian in the BBC’s Great Expectations in 2011.
Noo now has five films coming out in almost as many months, playing characters with different names this time. She has also been nominated for a WhatsOnStage Award, which the public vote on.
Drawing: Kim Clijsters
One of the most popular players on the Women’s Tennis circuit was Kim Clijsters.
A former World Number one in both singles and doubles, the likeable Kim was in London this month to take part in the Mylan World Team Tennis Smash Hits Charity match at the Royal Albert Hall to raise funds for the Elton John AIDS Foundation. She signed and dedicated this sketch that shows off her trademark ‘splits’ which often had many a spectator wincing.
In June 2011 TIME Magazine named her one of the 30 legends of Women’s Tennis Past, Present and Future and she was also ranked 16 on its Top 100 list of the most influential people that year.
Kim retired in 2004 after reaching both the world number one rankings in singles and doubles simultaneously. Kim made comeback in 2009 after the birth of her daughter and became the first wildcard champion – wining the US Open for a second time. She repeated the feat the following year to retain the title and win her third Grand Slam. In 2011 she retained the world number one singles ranking, winning the Australian Open and retired the following year.
Drawing: Lindsay Duncan in That Face
I met Scottish actress Lindsay Duncan at the Noël Coward Theatre in London in 2012 where she was performing Noel Coward’s Hay Fever. She signed a sketch I drew of her as the lead role of Judith Bliss. I also had this sketch of her as Martha from That Face, which was initially staged at The Royal Court Theatre, before transferring to the Duke of York’s in the West End in 2007. She was nominated for a Best Actress Olivier Award, but I never got it signed at the time. She is currently on Broadway in the revival of Edward Albee’s A Delicated Balance, so I mailed it to her and she very kindly signed and returned it for me.
Since beginning her professional stage career in Dom Juan at London’s Hampstead Theatre in 1976, Lindsay has created an impressive theatrical CV on both sides of the Atlantic.
In September 1985 she created the role of the Marquise de Merteuil in Les Liaisons Dangereuses for the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford Upon Avon before transferring to The Pit in London’s Barbican Centre and then to the Ambassadors in the West End.
In 1987 the play moved to New York. For her performance Lindsay was nominated for a Tony Award and won the Olivier for Best Actress. She won her second Oliver and the Tony in 2001 for her performance as Amanda Prynne in Private Lives. She also won the Critics Circle Theatre Award and Drama Desk Award for the role.
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