Drawing: Ronnie Corbett

Posted on May 26, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Ronald Balfour Corbett is a beekeeper who keeps hives at his second home in East Lothian, Scotland. He’s also known as Ronnie Corbett, the comic legend and a half of The Two Ronnies with the late, great Ronnie Barker.

He’s best remembered for his unique monologues, sitting on a large chair (any normal chair with 4’11” Ronnie on it would look large) delivering rambling jokes that went off in divergent directions only to finally arrive at the original punchline that had long been forgotten. He’s been the biz for a long time. If fact, long enough to be awarded a CBE at Buckingham Palace in 2012. He recalls the Queen said “you’ve been doing this a long time, haven’t you?” and Ronnie replied, “over 50 years, but not as long as you.”

I like this quote I found, attributed to him: “We live in the same world, Bercow (speaker of the House of Commons since 2009) and me: not big enough to play James Bond; not small enough to be adopted by Madonna.”

I’ve met Ronnie on a few occasions in London at various premieres and press nights, but I can’t remember when he signed this sketch. I mailed it to him sometime in the 1980s when he performed in New Zealand, so it was either Auckland or Christchurch.

Drawing: Katherine Ryan in Glam Role Model at the Soho Theatre

Posted on May 3, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

London based Canadian comic, writer and actress katherine Ryan was the 2008 winner of the Nivea Funny Women Awards.

She is fast becoming a recognisable face on British TV with appearances on Live at the Apollo, Mock The Week, QI and Never Mind the Buzzcocks.

The Scotsman wrote of Katherine: “Warped wit… striking presence… killer lines.”

Today (Saturday 3 May 2014) is her final performance of Katherine Ryan: Glam Role Model, after a sold out run at London’s Soho Theatre. It’s part of Katherine’s second UK stand up tour, and tackles everything from celebrity obsession to sex and single motherhood. Her 60 minute repertoire includes gems such as:
“We keep better track of celebrities than aircraft” and “twerking… is not a dance, it’s a cry for help” and a booty-shaking Beyonce tribute.

Katherine signed this sketch after Thursday’s evening performance. Her first reaction was “oh you’ve included my dog… wow”. I’m pleased I did…

Drawing: Gemma Whelan in Dark Vanilla Jungle at the Soho Theatre

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Actress and comedian Gemma Whelan took time out from Game of Thrones to return to the stage. She has just completed a run of Dark Vanilla Jungle at the Soho Theatre as part of the Soho Solo Season. It’s a breathtaking drama about one girl’s craving for family and home and the lengths she will go to to achieve them, by award winning writer Philip Ridley.

“On a Fringe full of powerful monologues, there’s none more shattering in its impact than this blazing new solo drama.”

“A masterpiece… An absolute must-see”

“Riveting… the extraordinary performance of Gemma Whelan… vivid and audacious”.

“Grabs you but he throat and takes you to some nasty places… the sheer velocity is astounding.”

I met Gemma after her final performance at the Soho, where she signed my sketch, which she was obviously happy with.

Drawing: Meera Syal in Shirley Valentine at Trafalgar Studios

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

British actress,comedian,writer,singer and producer Meera Syal transformed herself into SHIRLEY VALENTINE at London’s Trafalgar Studios in July 2010. Written by Willy Russell,it follows the monologue of a middle aged Liverpool housewife who finds herself talking to walls as she prepares her husband’s egg’n chips,wondering where her life has gone. Critic Peter Brown said her performance was ” totally absorbing..keeping the entire audience rivited throughout.” Meera signed my sketch on 29.7.10 at the stage door.

Drawing: Dudley Moore, The Sex Thimble

Posted on January 7, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Dudley Moore was one of Britain’s best loved comedians, actors and musicians.

He became a household name in the 1960s for his partnership with the late Peter Cook, creating the classic comic characters Dud and Pete, becoming comic icons on both sides of the Atlantic. He was also an accomplished jazz pianist winning a scholarship to Oxford’s Magdalen College. He was nicknamed ‘The Sex Thimble” because of his 5’2″ stature.

Dud went on to a successful Hollywood career, starring in a number of hit screen comedies, including the Blake Edward’s film 10 (1979) with Bo Derek and Arthur (1981) with Liza Minnelli and Sir John Gielgud. In the latter he played Arthur Bach, a drunken New York millionaire collecting an Oscar nomination and winning the Golden Globe Award.

In the 1990’s he suffered from a rare, incurable brain condition, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. Music became his main comfort… “But it’s difficult to know that all the keys are there to be played and I can’t play them. People started saying I was drunk on stage… it was dreadful,” he said. He played 2 concerts at the Aotea Centre in Auckland, New Zealand in November 1996 before he went public with his condition. He kindly signed my sketch at the venue. He sadly passed away in March 2002, aged 66.

Drawing: Jo Brand as the Genie in Aladdin at the New Wimbledon Theatre

Posted on January 4, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Josephine Grace ‘Jo’ Brand is one of the UK’s best comics. The Observer listed her as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. She made her panto debut last month in the New Wimbledon’s production of Aladdin as the Genie of the Ring.

Jo won a BAFTA award for her role as Kim Wilde in the BBC sitcom Getting On, set in a hospital’s geriatric ward, inspired by her earlier career as a psychiatric nurse. Jo also wrote with other core cast members Joanna Scanlan and Vicki Pepperdire winning the Writer’s Guild Award for Best Comedy in 2010.

She describes her genie appearance as “Julian Clary on steroids.”

Drawing: Mark Rylance, Joanna Lumley and David Hyde Pierce in La Bête

Posted on December 30, 2013 by Mark Winter / Chicane

American playwright David Hirson’s rollicking 1991 play La Bête is a comic tour de force involving Elomire (David Hyde Pierce), a hight-minded classical dramatist who loves only theatre, and Valere (Mark Rylance) a low-born street clown who loves only himself. When the fickle princess (Joanna Lumley) decides she’s grown weary of Elomire’s Royal Theatre troupe, he and Valere are left fighting for survival as art squares off with ego in a literary showdown.

La Bête completed its West End Season from June to August 2010 at the Comedy Theatre (now Harold Pinter) before transferring to the Music Box Theatre for a limited two month run on Broadway in September/October that year.

All three stars signed my sketches at the Comedy Theatre in London.

Drawing: Barry Humphries in Eat, Pray, Laugh

Posted on December 14, 2013 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Australian comedian, satirist, artist, author and icon Barry Humphries is on his ‘Farewell Tour’ with Eat, Pray, Laugh, marking his retirement form live entertainment after more than fifty years in the business. Barry’s forte is always his one-man satirical revues in which he appears as a number of his character creations.

My sketch of Barry and his alter egos – acid-tongued gigastar housewife Dame Edna Everage, the inebriated cultural attaché Sir Les Patterson and the gentle ‘returned gentleman’ Sandy Stone. Barry signed it for me at the London Palladium where Eat, Pray, Laugh opened in the UK in November. Prior to a national provincial tour.

Drawings: Tom Conti and Natalie Walter in Smash; and Nina Conti in Talk To The Hand

Posted on October 15, 2013 by Mark Winter / Chicane

I have had the great pleasure of seeing both Tom and his daughter Nina on stage at various times and venues in London. More known for his contemporary rather than classical theatre, Tom is one of the West End’s most enduring and popular actors over the past four decades.

He received the Tony and Olivier Awards for this role as a paralysed sculptor in the right-to-die play Whose Life Is It Anyway? in 1979.

In films tom won the National Board of Review Award Twice for Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence and Reuben, Reuben. In the latter he also received an Oscar and Golden Globe nomination.

Nina is a wonderful comedian, actress and ventriloquist who regularly headlines at London comedy venues, including the comedy store. In 2002 she won the BBC New Comedy Award. Her first full length solo show Complete and Utter Conti debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2007 and went on to win the Barry Award at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival the following year. Her primary on stage sidekick is a depressed monkey called Monk and she has recently added ‘Granny’, a puppet she inherited from her mentor Ken Campbell on his death.

Both Tom and Nina signed their drawings at the Menier Chocolate Factory after their respective shows in 2011.

Drawing: Lenny Henry, Conrad Nelson and Jessica Harris in Othello at Trafalgar Studios

Posted on October 13, 2013 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Comedian Lenny Henry made his Shakespearean debut as Othello – one of the most challenging roles in dramatic literature. After opening at the West Yorkshire Playhouse it transferred to the Trafalgar Studios in London in November 2009. Lenny received widespread critical acclaim in the title role with The Daily Telegraph saying ‘This is one of the most astonishing debuts in Shakespeare…” Conrad Nelson was equally impressive, as the vile and reptilian antagonist, Iago and Jessica Harris played the Moor’s wife Desdemona.

All three signed my sketch after I saw a matinee performance in December 2009.

My other Lenny Henry sketch is here.