Category Archives: Celebrity

Sketch: American Buffalo

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American Buffalo

A top drawer cast of Damian Lewis, Tom Sturridge and, making his West End debut, John Goodman, star in the revival of David Mamet’s 1975 breakthrough play American Buffalo, which had its opening last night at London’s Wyndham’s Theatre.

It was last seen in the West End more than 30 years ago when Al Pacino lead the cast at the Duke of York’s Theatre.

At the centre of this modern masterpiece is an old American five-cent nickel, a “buffalo”, which John’s character; Don, the owner of a Chicago junk store where the action is set; has undersold. Convinced he has been ripped off, Don plans to track down the customer  and plans a heist to get it back, with his less than useless ‘associates’ – mouthy no hoper “Teach” (Damian) and nervy young gopher Bob (Tom).

The Telegraph’s Dominic Cavendish had a nice line in his review, “an expletive-laden law and music unto itself, the loose-change of inarticulate conversation spun into glinting gems of urban poetry – the true, harsh sound of American capitalism”.

The Guardian gave it four stars, with Michael Billington saying, “Daniel Evans’ production is meticulous in its psychological and physical detail and there are fine performances from Damian Lewis, John Goodman and Tom Sturridge”.

I managed to get all three to sign my drawing after the first preview performance a couple of weeks ago. Tom has now shaven his head, but I couldn’t find my eraser to do the ‘shave’ on the the sketch, so I’ll just have to draw another one.

Sketch: Rory Kinnear and Clare Higgins in Hamlet

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Hamlet Clare Higgins Rory Kinnear

Rory Kinnear’s portrayal of Hamlet in the 2010 production at The National Theatre is considered by many of the theatrical great and good to be a generation defining portrayal of the Great Dane. It was the National’s former artistic director Nicholas Hytner’s first time directing Shakespeare’s most famous play. His Denmark is a modern dress production set in a surveillance state.

The Independent’s David Lister called it , “a chilling production that demanded to be seen”. He said, “A great Hamlet is not only a Hamlet of this time, it can be a Hamlet that defines his time”.

“Kinnear shows a Hamlet whose depression can be seen in fits of unwarranted aggression, withdrawal, manic high pitched laughter, intense unhappiness or simply desperate attempts to make sense of anything “. He won the 2010 Evening Standard Sward for his portrayal. He was praised for a his, “bold reinvention of the Dane”.

Lister makes special mention of Clare Higgins, “revelatory Gertrude… predicatably, the marvellous actress redefines the role. Gone is the weak, lovestruck pliable and guilt ridden mother and wife. This is more realistically a woman who will have a drink when it suits her, is more than capable of barking out orders herself and knows exactly what she wants out of life”.

Not always an easy place to catch cast members, given the many exits available at the National Theatre, I was very fortunate to catch both Rory and Clare who loved the sketch and were more than happy to ‘graph it for me.

Sketch: Uncle Vanya with Anna Friel and Ken Stott

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uncle vanya

Lindsay Posner’s wonderful revival of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya played London’s Vaudeville Theatre during the winter of 2012/2013.

My favourite critic, The Telegraph’s Tim Walker, gave it five stars in what he called, “a joyfully depressing revival… If you are into depressing plays, this production is, paradoxically, an unalloyed joy.”

The prolific Russian playwright’s classic tragi-comedy was adapted by Oscar winning Portuguese British writer Christoper Hampton and freatured Ken Stott and Anna Friel in the lead roles admirably supported by Samuel West, Laura Carmichael and Paul Freeman.

The date was the twelfth of December 2012, or in numerical formation 12/12/12 . One would have to do something special to mark the occasion, so one decided to try and get 12 theatre sketches signed on that auspicious day. That plan was quickly downsized due to the logistical barriers relating to the timing of entrances and exits at the various theatres. I ended up getting two, but they were good ones. … so thanks to Ken and Anna for marking this special day.

Nearly made my day – Clint Eastwood Sketch

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clint

In this business, from time to time you get to experience the ultimate oxymoron; ecstasy and agony almost simultaneously. And so it was when I received this sketch back from film icon Clint Eastwood.

One of the great pleasures in autograph collecting is seeing an envelope come through the mail box with your own handwriting on it, which means someone has returned something. I carefully ripped open the letter. First the ecstasy. Yes! Then the agony… it was probably a secretarial (that means one of his staff signed it). As the numerous ‘experts’ and killjoys on the numerous Clint Eastwood forums (yes, they exist) will gleefully tell you, Clint hasn’t signed TTM (Through The Mail) since 1985.

While ideally I like to get my sigs signed in person, it’s not always possible. I have been in the presence of Mr Eastwood on a few occasions, but never managed it. I decided to send this drawing to an address while he was on location with a recent film.

He is  a very good signer in person, but chooses his moments. A few years ago, while filming in London, he returned to his hotel after an evening meal to be greeted by about sixty people wanting his autograph… or ten autographs each!

Some, in fact the majority, were dealers. Clint was happy to sign one for everyone as it all started in an orderly fashion, but that quickly turned into a scrum as the aforementioned bottom feeders wanted more than a single sig each.

This is a regular ploy of this species of signature hunter, as during the resulting mayhem they can gather a harvest of ‘graphs because the celebrity is blindly signing everything that’s put in front of them. Consequently his minders called the whole thing off and ushered him into the hotel.

I have seen Clint sign in person. Obviously at 84 his autograph has been subject to a number of variations with the letter formation becoming more slanted and erratic. Authenticators say that Clint tends to reach up with the final ‘d’ while his secretarial tends to form it like a lower case ‘g’.

In frantic situations, which is normal for Clint, his rushed graph tends to be more bunched up with the customary loop of ‘o’s and the ‘d’ – in fact the ‘d’ resembles an ‘of’ but he does continue the down stroke very below the rest of the ‘graph.

Apart from all the movie stills sent to Clint for signing, the occasional drawing pops up. One person proudly posted a signed sketch to one of these forums. He had been trying to get it signed for some time, only to have the ‘experts’ quickly tell him it was a secretarial.

However, a respondent whose expertise was not recognised, but seemed to speak from experience did say that from time to time the great man will be shown a piece of art that someone has taken the time to draw and will sign it.

I did see some examples of Clint’s handwriting and his lower case ‘r’ formation is the same in my dedication… so you never know. He is after all, Clint Eastwood, so he can do what he likes.

Clint is not the only one to use secretarial, it’s part of the business and that’s life. At worst, someone who is authorised by Clint in his office obviously liked the sketch enough to sign it and in reality it still ‘made my day’.

Sketch : Ingrid Fliter

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ingrid fliter

Argentinian pianist Ingrid Fliter rose to global attention when she was awarded the 2006 Gilmore Artist Award, one of only a handful of pianists to have received the honour. The Gilmore Artist Award is presented to an exceptional pianist. Over two years, the Gilmore committee listened to artists from around the world in search of a “truly exceptional” candidate. The Award’s director Daniel Gustin said, “We were unanimously swept away by Ingrid Fliter’s astonishing prowess and her overall musicianship.”

Ingrid has established a reputation as one of the pre-eminent interpreters of Chopin. Geoffry Norris in The Independent stated “Ingrid Fliter was born to play Chopin with power and passion and is completely at one with the music’s demands of agility, vim and vigour, but also possesses the essential quality of impeccable taste to preserve the music’s poetic perspective.”

Ingrid divides her time between Europe and the US and last week she played the Royal Albert Hall in London with the Philharmonia Orchestra under conductor Juraj Valcuha, where she signed my sketch.

Sketch: Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess in Love Never Dies

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Love Never Dies

Love never dies… and rain-soaked paper always dries

LOVE NEVER DIES – the long awaited sequel to Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s mega-musical PHANTOM OF THE OPERA opened at the Adelphi Theatre in London’s West End on 9 March 2010, following previews from late February.

It featured Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess in the lead roles and is set a decade on from the original when the Phantom becomes ‘Mr Y’, the mysterious owner of a Coney Island pleasure park who lures Christine back for a well paid gig.

I positioned myself at the shelterless Adelphi stage door on the rainy night of the World Premiere with this sketch. Ramin and Sierra did sign another one later, on a drier evening, which I’ve previously posted. But this one got the liquid treatment, giving a less than desired ripple effect across its surface. However, due to the positioning of a kind patron’s sole umbrella and the ever reliable, quick-drying spirit-based Sharpie pen that didn’t run or smudge, I managed to get it signed which was a note-worthy performance in itself.

Sketch: Michael Sheen as Hamlet

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Michael Sheen

In May 2013 I posted a signed montage sketch of Michael Sheen as Hamlet, from the Young Vic winter 2011 production of the Bard’s number one play.

I had also drawn this biro portrait, which is actually one of my favourites, which Michael also signed.

Hamlet was directed by Ian Rickson and is set in the secure wing of a psychiatric hospital and features original music by PJ Harvey. The Telegraph declared Michael’s performance, “could be up there among the great Hamlets” and the Evening Standard said, “an audacious achievement that will live in the memory”.

He was really nice and took time to chat and ‘graph in The Cut Bar as he headed to the stage door for an evening performance. I was watching Stephen Frears’ The Queen the other night in which Michael stars as British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and remembered I had this other sketch.

So, here it is… after Royal decree.

Drawing: Lara Pulver in Gypsy

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Lara Pulver

Last autumn English actress Lara Pulver played Gypsy Rose Lee in the acclaimed Chichester Festival Theatre production of Gypsy which has now transferred to the Savoy Theatre in Londoon. Basd on the 1957 memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee with a score by Jule Styne and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Gypsy is considered by many to be the greatest of the Broadway musicals.

In 2008 she was nominated for a Olivier Award for her performance as Lucille Frank in Parade at London’s Donmar Warehouse. This is her first appearance on the London stage since then.

In the first act Lara plays the stage shy teenager Louise, but transforms into the famous seductive stripper as her showbiz mother from hell; the legendary Momma Rose, played by Imelda Staunton; pushes her two daughters into a series of cheesy shows in the dying days of Vaudeville.

Paul Taylor, in his five star review, said that Lara was, “stunning both as the love starved tomboy and the sleek seductress.”

Lara stopped to sign a few graphs, including my sketch, at the Savoy’s stage door on Thursday evening after the production received unanimous rave reviews at its opening the night before.

Drawing: Holly Walsh

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holly walsh

Acclaimed English comedian, comedy writer and Chortle Award winner Holly Walsh performed her new show Never Had It this week at London’s Soho Theatre after a successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe last year.

“It” in the show’s title refers to the “je ne sais quoi” – that elusive combination of charisma and insouciance possessed by people who make life look easy. Holly’s self confessed ‘lack of cool’ has, however, become an advantage, turning it into a successful comedy career which began in 2005 when she took an evening class in standup to escape being an art gallery assistant.

The rest, as they say, is ‘herstory’. Within a year she found an agent, made the final of several nationwide new act competitions and began writing for comedy shows, including Radio 4. Since then she has appeared on Mock the Week, Would I Lie to You, and Never Mind the Buzzcocks. As the blurb on the Soho Theatre site says “Some people have got ‘it’. Holly most definitely does not. But who needs ‘it’ when you’ve got a Gold Duke Of Edinburgh Award and nearly two thousand Nectar points?”

‘Graphing at the Soho requires a bit of strategic management i.e. purchase a pilsner and position oneself at the ideal interception point. At the Soho that’s usually at the table adjacent to the door between the foyer and the hospitality area. This is usually a bottleneck akin to the Northern Line at 8am. Mind the Gap.

On Thursday evening I got lucky. There was a gap between shows so the flow of pedestrians was manageable for me to identify the target… I mean talent.

The norm – and I use the term very lightly – is that the performers appear after the audience and this duly happened. This sequence can be crucial, and avoids one asking a number of look-alikes and impostors to sign your sketch before you stop the real one. I speak from experience here, they don’t have their name stamped on their foreheads.

Holy conformed to the norm and moments later appeared from the downstairs stage in clear view. I immediately recognised her distinctive big, bright eyes and smile and she recognised herself in the sketch (always a bonus) and happily signed it.

I still had time to finish my ale in a relaxed fashion and no longer looking like a stalker before assuming the position at a West End stage door later in the evening.

Sunny Afternoon Sketch

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Sunny afternoon

It turned into a great night for Sunny Afternoon at last week’s Olivier Awards, when the musical based on the early life of English rock musician Ray Davies and the formation of the band The Kinks stole the show with four gongs including Best New Musical.

Formed in Muswell Hill, London by brothers Dave and Ray Davies with Pete Quaife in 1963 The Kinks rose to fame during the mid-60s and were part of the British Invasion of the US. They are considered one of the most important and influential rock groups of that era. Throughout its 32 year run, The Kinks songs occupied top positions on the UK charts with hits including Lola, You Really Got Me, Waterloo Sunset and Sunny Afternoon.

Written by Joe Penhall with music and lyrics by Ray, Sunny Afternoon, The Musical’s title is based on the 1966 UK singles chart number one of the same name. It made its world premiere in 2014 at the Hampstead Theatre where it enjoyed critical and commercial success with a sell out limited run before transferring to the Harold Pinter Theatre in London’s West End.

At the Oliviers Ray won the Outstanding Achievement in Music Award along with John Dagleish (as Ray) for Best Actor in a Musical and George Maguire (as Dave) for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical, which was deserved but not expected.

I met both John and George on a somewhat chilly overcast afternoon yesterday, but they brightened the day singing my sketch and some very complementary comments – two of the nicest guys I’ve met in all the time I’ve stalked stage doors, I congratulated both on the their Olivier success and George said, “it was great… I guess the underdog won.”