About Mark Winter / Chicane

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

Drawing: Anna Friel and Joseph Cross in Breakfast at Tiffany’s at Theatre Royal Haymarket

Posted on October 15, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

One of the most anticipated productions of 2009 was the stage version of Breakfast at Tiffany’s at London’s Theatre Royal Haymarket, featuring Anna Friel as Holly Golightly and Joseph Cross as her neighbour William Parsons. It was the role that established Audrey Hepburn as a glamour icon and arguably Capote’s most famous character.

He wanted Marilyn Monroe for the 1961 Hollywood film, and hated Hepburn in the part. In fact, he hated the whole film. He called it, “a mawkish Valentine to New York City… thin and pretty where as it should have been rich and ugly!” The stage version is considered a closer adaption of the book.

The Telegraph’s Charles Spencer gave the production four stars. “This is the sexiest performance I have seen on stage since Nicole Kidman in The Blue Room… Friel creates a thrilling frisson of eroticism.”

The production opened on the 29th of September, concluding on 9th January 2010. Both Anna and Joseph signed my quick black biro sketch in the final week.

Drawing: Reese Witherspoon

Posted on October 14, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

It’s the BFI London Film Festival time, signalling the start of the British Monsoon Season. 248 films, 17 venues, 12 days, 1 Festival, 600mm of rain!

Was I keen to attempt to get Reese Witherspoon’s ‘graph through the drops? Would it, in fact, even be possible? I umm-ed and ahhh-ed, watching the continuous rain come down. You can check out the live feed from a camera on the Radisson Hotel. The lens was covered in water so I couldn’t tell if the pens were full of people yet.

Did the sketch in a few minutes, thinking I would pull pin on the pursuit. Had a granny nap, woke up at 5 past 5, went on auto-pilot and found myself on the train and in Leicester Square at six for a 7.15pm film start. Ultra late, but in luck. A spot was available right near the drop off point.

As the rain got heavier I quickly prepared plastic protection for the sketch. Reese’s car arrived moments later and she was on the right side – brilliant timing and positioning. She popped out, came straight over, thanked us all for coming out in this weather and said, “Oh, what a lovely drawing,” and signed and dedicated it with minimal damage from the weather before moving on to do media.

Drawing: Usain Bolt

Posted on October 13, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Sprint sensation Usain St Leo Bolt is considered to be the fastest person ever. The Jamaican sporting phenomenon nicknamed ‘Lightning Bolt’ for obvious reasons, including his famed victory stance, is undoubtably track and field’s most electrifying star.

The first man to hold both the 100 and 200 metre world records since fully automatic time measurements became mandatory in 1977. Both were secured in Berlin, in August 2009, running the 100 in 9.58 seconds and the 200 in 19.19 seconds.

Add to that the “double triple” at the Olympics, winning gold in the 100, 200 and 4×100 relay at both Beijing (2008) and London (2012).

Known for his relaxed approach, Usain famously fed on chicken nuggets before winning the 100 at Beijing. He didn’t have breakfast and woke up at 11, watched some TV then had some chicken nuggets, slept for 2 more hours, then went back for more nuggets!

After winning the 100 metres in London he celebrated back in his room in the Olympic VIllage til 3am, with three members of the Swedish women’s handball team, before running the heats of the 200 later that day. Despite losing all five of their matches and finishing bottom of their group, the handballers; Gabriella Kain, Isabelle Gullden and Jamina Roberts asked for “special accreditation” to meet their idol.

A week later he was a guest on the Jonathan Ross show at the ITV studios on London’s Southbank. Hunters, including moi, lined the railings opposite the back entrance to catch a glimpse or possibly a ‘graph. While waiting for his car to arrive, he signed for us through the gaps. As you could imagine, the crowd was a huge crush, and I was left with the impression of a railing on my face for a couple of hours afterwards. But worth it.

Drawing: Paul McGann in Butley at Duchess Theatre

Posted on October 11, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Paul McGann starred alongside Dominic West in the revival of Simon Gray’s biting comedy Butley in the summer of 2011 at London’s Duchess Theatre after a gap of 40 years. Dominic took on the iconic title role of the boozing and abusing rapier-tongued uni lecturer Ben Butley, well-bent on self-destruction and Paul played Reg Nuttall, the eloquent, steely new to Yorkshire lover of Butley’s housemate Joey. The play premiered in 1971 in Harold Pinter’s award-winning production starring Alan Bates at the Criterion Theatre in London and was described as a ‘darkly comic assault on the soft underbelly of academia’.

Drawing: Anna Carteret in Shakespeare in Love

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

British stage and screen actress Anna Carteret has quite literally follow in footsteps of Dame Judi Dench playing Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love and on the same stage as the great Dame recently performed in Peter and Alice – The Noël Coward Theatre in London. She is probably best known on the small screen as Police Inspector Kate Longton in th BBC’s long-running 1980s series Juliet Bravo

Anna made her first stage appearance as a cloud and a jumping bean in the panto Jack and the Beanstalk at the Palace Theatre in Watford in December 1957.

She joined Laurence Olivier’s National Theatre Company at the Old Vic in 1967 and over many a decade her performances included Olivia in Twelfth Night, Queen Isabel in Richard II, Roxane in Cyrano, Chorus in Oedipus and Anya in The Cherry Orchard.

Anna has played a Queen Elizabeth before, in the National’s 1979 production of Richard III. She also played Queen Margaret in the same play, for the Royal Shakespeare Company 20 years later. Throughout the 1990s as a member of The Peter Hall Company she appeared on both West End and the Broadway boards.

Drawing: Charlotte Lucas, Jessica Raine and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith in The Changeling at The Young Vic Theatre

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Jessica Raine and Charlotte Lucas featured in the sell out hit The Changeling at London’s Young Vic, helmed by the Theatres’ Deputy Artistic Director Joe Hill-Gibbings in early 2012. Described as a ‘darkly comic tale of sex, love and panic’ this was a modern-dress revival of Thomas Middleton and William Rowley’s 1622 classic which was originally set in Renaissance Spain. One reviewer called it “The Changeling supercharged – urgent, sexy and messy.”

It’s focus is the doomed romance between Alsemero, a nobleman and Beatrice-Joanna’s impending marriage to another man, until she finds a solution… which has deadly consequences. Jessica described her character in three words “clever, lusty and murderous”.

Her maid, Diaphanta (Charlotte) performs the bedroom trick, and stands in for Beatrice (Jessica) in a highly lubricious and well-lubricated spectacle in which a blindfolded Kobna Holdbrook-Smith and Charlotte smear themselves with jelly!

Drawing: Hugh Grant

Posted on October 8, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Fifty four year old Hugh Grant thinks he’s getting too old to play the lead in romantic comedies. Yesterday he was at the Odeon cinema in Kensington for the premiere of his latest film, The Rewrite, and he doesn’t think it is a rom-com… or maybe just a little bit.

Not one for stardom and celebrity status, Hugh, “isn’t feeling very showbizzy at the moment”. In fact he’s more of an anti-film star. He often claims that acting isn’t a true calling, just something he fell into. But he is known for a very strong work ethic on set and will do endless takes to achieve the desired standard.

His films have earned US$2.4 billion from 25 theatrical releases worldwide, especially in the genre of romantic comedy. Although recently he played several non-comedic cameo roles, all in one film. He plays six characters in the epic drama Cloud Atlas, all of which he said are, “incredibly evil”.

He has joined the latest craze to replace the ‘ice bucket challenge’. Launched by Jemima Khan, ‘wake up call’ is where famous people take pictures of themselves after they’ve just woken up. It raises money for Unicef’s Syria Emergency Fund. Others to do it are Stephen Fry, Derren Brown, Tom Hiddleston and Nigella Lawson.

For the sake of recognition and avoiding rejection I based my sketch on a more familiar looking Hugh. I was a last minute thing. The Odeon in London’s fashionable High Street Kensington is a little way out of my normal beaten track. Hugh makes his acting appear spontaneous. He is known for his nonchalant approach with a touch of sarcasm and irony, precisely timed dialogue, delivery and facial expressions.

Hugh was generous with his time for the sizeable crowd at the small cinema, signing graphs and posing for selfies. His quick efficient sig was splashed across my drawing, and belatedly I asked for a dedication, “To Mark” in my six-years-living-in-London-antipodean-accent. “Matt?” he asked, “no, with a k,” I replied. Puzzled, he gave his famous smile and returned the drawing to me…

Drawing: Ciaran Hinds and Sinead Cusack in Juno and Paycock at The National Theatre

Posted on October 7, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Sean O’Casey’s gutting tragicomedy Juno and The Paycock is one of the most highly regarded and often performed plays in Ireland. First staged in Dublin at the Abbey Theatre in 1924 and set in that city during the Irish Civil War in the early 1920s, it is the second of the ‘Dublin Trilogy’ between The Shadow of a Gunman (1923) and The Plough and the Stars (1926).

London’s National Theatre in association with the Abbey Theatre staged the revival on the Lyttelton Stage in late 2011 with Ciarán Hinds and Sinéad Cusack in the lead roles as Captain Jack Boyle and Juno Boyle respectively.

“Searing, sobering, devastating and beautiful,” said the Sunday Independent. Both Ciarán and Sinéad signed my sketch in February 2012 at the Theatre and for a brief moment my stage door name became Martin…

Drawing: Tony Bennett

Posted on October 6, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

The eighty eight year old artist formerly known as Anthony Dominick ‘Tony’ Benedetto is the now known as the legendary Tony Bennett – one of the greatest entertainers over the past six decades. Winner of 17 Grammys and two Emmys, Frank Sinatra once said of him, “for my money, Tony Bennett is the best singer in the business.”

He’s also a successful painter under his family name ‘Benedetto’. In fact he paints or sketches every day. His work, mostly in the Impressionist style, is exhibited in numerous galleries around the world and in international art publications.

“I’ve never worked a day in my life because I love what I do,” he told ABC News. “I sing and I paint. And I do that every day.”

He made history this week by becoming the oldest artist (musical, that is) with a number one on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart, with Lady Gaga and their tandem jazz disc Cheek To Cheek. He drew a nude sketch of her for his Duets II album, which was auctioned for charity.

Tony signed my sketch with his stage name, while performing at London’s Royal Festival Hall last month.

Drawing: Billie Piper in Reasons To Be Pretty at the Almeida Theatre

Posted on October 4, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Playwright Neil LaBute is haunted the American obsession with physical beauty. His 2008 play Reasons To Be Pretty was successfully revived in London at the Almeida Theatre in late 2011 with a cast including award-winning British actress Billie Piper. It examines our perception of beauty and asks whether it is as much of a curse to be conventionally attractive as it is to be considered ugly. It’s the final intstallment of his trilogy about society’s obsession with looks, following The Shape of Things which premiered at the Almeida in 2001, and Fat Pig which was a West End hit in 2008.

Billie, expecting her second child, played pregnant supermarket security guard Carly who is worried she may be losing the affections of her partner Kent who is besotted by a ‘stunner’ working in another part of the factory. The Telegraph’s Charles Spencer said that the play “…is blessed with a heart wrenching turn from the wonderful Billie Piper.”

LaBute has written a sequel Reasons To Be Happy which premiered in June 2013 at the MCC Theatre in New York.

Billie has just completed the premiere season of Richard Bean’s latest satire Great Britain to rave reviews at the National before it transferred to the West End’s Theatre Royal Haymarket with Lucy Punch replacing Billie in the lead role.