Juliet Rylance and her father, Mark, graced the London stage boards at the same time in different theatres during 2010. Mark featured in David Hirson’s comedy La Bête at the Comedy Theatre, and Juliet was in The Bridge Project’s Shakespearean double bill, As You Like It / The Tempest over at the Old Vic.
Mark signed my sketch first on the 10th August 2010, and Juliet a week later.
My other Mark Rylance drawings can be found here, here and here.
Husband and wife Christian Camargo and Juliet Rylance featured in The Tempest and As You Like It as part of the Old Vic’s Bridge Project, directed by Oscar winner Sam Mendes.
Performed in repertory over a two month season in 2010, Juliet played the roles of Rosalind and Miranda, while Christian performed as Orlando and Ariel.
My dreaming depicts them as Orlando and Rosalind in As You Like It. Juliet was rewarded with an Obie Award for her role. She has recently produced a modern retelling of Chekhov’s The Seagull, written and directed by Christian. Titled Days and Nights, the film features both, plus a cast including William Hurt, Ben Whishaw, Jean Reno and Katie Holmes. It will be release later this year.
2010 was the second year of Sam Mendes’ transatlantic Bridge Project featuring globally touring hybrid Anglo-American cast at the Old Vic Theatre. The Shakespearean comedy As You Like It ran in repertory with The Tempest. At first sight they may not appear obvious bedfellows, but both deal with exile, sibling hostility and a touching father-daughter relationship.
BAFTA and Tony winner Stephen Dillane, currently seen in the British hit TV series Game of Thrones portrayed Prospero, The Tempest’s main character and overthrown Duke of Milan turned sourcerer. American actor Ron Cephas Jones played the enigmatic half-human, half-beast Caliban – Prospero’s slave.
Time Out described his performance, “with his vulpine aspect, ascetic frame and rich, musical baritone, earns that hackneyed critical plaudit, “riveting.”
Both Stephen and Ron signed my drawings in August 2010 at the stage door.
Friend and war historian Dr Andrew Macdonald requested this sketch depicting the Commander of the British Expeditionary Forces during World War I, Field Marshall Douglas Haig as Don Quixote. Although he was popular immediately post-war, with his funeral in 1928 becoming a national day of mourning, many subsequent war chroniclers have questioned his reputation and labelled him “Butcher Haig” in reference to the 2 million British casualties under his command.
He was an example of the class-based incompetent leadership, unable to grasp modern tactics and techniques.
Andrew has just published his latest book entitled “Passchendaele: The Anatomy of a Tragedy” (Harper Collins NZ) based on his Doctoral Thesis.
Winner of a BAFTA, a Tony and three Olivier Awards, Robert Lindsay took on the title role in Onassis at the Novello Theatre, London in 2010. He signed this drawing at the stage door and kept the original.
Sebastien Faulk’s 1993 war novel Birdsong was adapted for the stage with its World Premiere at the Comedy Theatre in London from September 2010 to January 2011. Directed by Trevor Nunn, it starred Ben Barnes as Stephen Wraysford, a soldier in France during the First World War.
Mark Rylance won both the Olivier and the Tony Awards for his performance as Johnny ‘Rooster’ Byron – the opinionated eccentric in Jez Butterworth’s Jerusalem. “Rylance raises his game even higher and shows he is one of the greats,” said The Sunday Times. Time Out stated, “Believe the hype. Rylance’s astonishing final scene is as close to real magic as you’ll find.”
Mark signed this aqua-crayon and black conté sketch at the Apollo Theatre, London in February 2011. For my black and white alternate see here.
Clybourne Park was written by Bruce Norris in 2010 and received its UK premiere at the Royal Court Theatre in London, directed by Dominic Cooke and featuring Martin Freeman and Sophie Thompson.
It explores the fault line between race and property. In the first half it’s 1959, Russ and Bev are selling their desirable two bed home at a low price. This enables the first black family to move into the neighbourhood causing ripples of discontent amongst the cosy white urbanites of Clybourne Park. In the second half it’s 2009, the same property is being bought by Lindsey and Steve, whose plan to raze the house and start again is met with a similar response.
It won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony and Oliver for Best New Play.
Martin (Russ) signed my sketch at the British Independent Film Awards at the Old Billingsgate Fish Market and Sophie signed at the Wyndham’s Theatre stage door after it transferred in 2011, without Martin and Steffan Rhodri.
Sixties icon Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg is best known as Emma Peel in the TV series The Avengers and Countess Teresa di Vicenzo in the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. She has won a BAFTA (1990), and Emmy (1997), and a Tony Award for her role in Medea on Broadway in 1994.
In 2011 she played Mrs Higgins in Pygmalion at the Garrick Theatre. She played Eliza Dolittle in the same play in 1974. I did this quick sketch of her as Mrs Higgins, which she signed at the Garrick Theatre stage door. As she was signing it, she split her first and last names so as not to “write over the beautiful drawing”
Described by The Independent as ‘the greatest stage actor of his generation,’ Simon Russell Beale is one of the most popular and critically acclaimed talents in British theatre. He performs under his full name, as there was already a Simon Beale registered when he joined Equity. Winner of three Olivier Awards (1996, 2000, 2002) and two TV BAFTAs, Simon was also nominated for a Tony in 2004 for a revival of Tom Stoppard’s Jumpers on Broadway.
In October 2011 he returned to The National in London to star as Joseph Stalin in the premiere of Collaborators for which he won Best Actor at the 2012 Evening Standard Awards. He played the title role in Timon of Athens from July to October 2012 before taking on the role of Captain Terri Dennis in Privates on Parade – the first play in Michael Gradage’s new West End season at the Noël Coward Theatre from December 2012 to March 2013.
In January next year he will play King Lear at the National, directed by Sam Mendes.
Simon signed my sketch at the stage door of the Noël Coward Theatre in early 2013.
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