Drawing: Richard Armitage and Sam Colley in The Crucible at The Old Vic Theatre

Posted on December 12, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Arthur Miller’s harrowing 1953 witch hunt classic The Crucible played London’s Old Vic Theatre this summer and was one of 2014’s hottest tickets. Directed by the multi-award-winning South African Yaël Farber, the three and a half hour production had critics spellbound, describing it as, “absorbing”, “it is what great theatre is all about”, “unmissable”, “a production of electrifying intensity”.

Based on the 17th century witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts (which the playwright uses as an allegory for McCarthyism in the 1950s) the play’s main protagonist is bewildered John Procter, a down to earth farmer played by Richard Armitage in what has been called, “an expressive turn, full of raw power”.

Making her professional stage debut as the antagonist ringleader Abigail Williams was a memorably sinister Samantha Colley. Charismatic and manipulative, she spreads rumours of witchcraft after a brief affair with John Procter, eventually accusing his wife of being “bewitched”.

This pencil sketch is a montage of Richard and Sam’s characters in the play which they both kindly signed.

Drawing: Max Bennett and Fiona Button in Tis Pity She’s a Whore at Shakespeare’s Globe

Posted on December 11, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Giovanni and Annabella are lovers. They are also brother and sister, the protagonists in John Ford’s 400 year old play about forbidden love.

Tis Pity She’s a Whore was first performed sometime between 1629 and 1633 by Queen Henrietta’s Men at the Cockpit Theatre in London. The title was often changed to Giovanni and Annabella, The Brother and Sister or simply Tis Pity. A recent revival has just completed its season at Shakespeare’s Globe in the intimate, candlelit enclave, the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, featuring Max Bennett and Fiona Button as the doomed romantic leads on the path to tragedy.

Critics were unanimous in their praise or Michael Longhurst’s brilliant production which was not always the case with this play until well into the twentieth century. The play’s treatment of incest made it one of the most controversial works in English literature but is now regarded as a classic. Ford, the major playwright during the reign of Charles I, often dealt with conflicts between individual passion, conscience and society’s laws and morals.

In fact, Transport for London apparently banned posters showing the entwined naked torsos of the siblings, deeming them too racy for tired commuters.

The Globe’s production of this unsettling Renaissance incestuous drama was described as a no-holds-barred interpretation. One reviewer said, “it’s not just the candle flames that are naked.” The Telegraph’s Tim Walker called Max and Fiona’s portrayals, “electrifying”.

Drawing: Ronan Keating in Once at the Phoenix Theatre

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

ronan keating

Last month Irish singer and former Boyzone front man Ronan Keating took over the role of ‘Guy’ from David Hunter in the Olivier and Tony award winning musical Once at the Phoenix Theatre in London.

He is the fourth ‘Guy’ in the West End production and is scheduled to perform the role until March next year when the show will close.

Based on the much loved Oscar winning film, Once tells the story of an Irish busker and a young Czech mother who meet through a shared love of music.

Drawing: Neil Morrissey, Adrian Edmondson, Robert Webb and Miles Jupp in Neville’s Island at the Duke of York’s Theatre

Posted on December 8, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

The latest comedy to hit London’s West End is Neville’s Island, featuring the excellent comedy quartet of Neil Morrissey, Adrian Edmondson, Robert Webb and Miles Jupp. Tim Firth’s play follows four middle aged middle managers who get stranded during a team building exercise.

Neil described the set – a rain soaked island in the Lakes District – as the most uncomfortable he has ever worked on. “It’s all shale and rocks and real trees… everyone gets nicks and cuts.” All four actors have to immerse themselves in water before the play begins. Real insects even buzz around the stage and audience members in the font row are given plastic macs to protect themselves. Adrian added, “It’s Lord of the Flies meets The Office“.

The play was first staged in 1992 and this production directed by Angus Jackson ran at the Chichester Festival last year before transferring to The Duke of York’s Theatre until 3 January 2015.

Drawing: Kate Fleetwood in King Lear and Macbeth

Posted on December 6, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

British actress Kate Fleetwood will be well known to cinema audiences from her roles in films such as Harry Potter, Les Misérables and Philomena, but it’s her stage work that has won her the most plaudits.

She made her Broadway debut opposite Patrick Stewart in the critically lauded Chichester Festival Theatre production of Macbeth in 2008. Her ferocious and much younger ‘trophy wife’ portrayal of Lady Macbeth won wide acclaim and a Tony Award nomination. In 2012 Kate was also nominated for the Olivier for her performance as Julie in the musical London Road at the National Theatre in London.

Earlier this year she played the power hungry eldest daughter in Sam Mendes’ production of King Lear also at the National. Lloyd Evans in The Spectator described her, “outstanding performance” as a,”slinky, ice cold Goneril glides around like Wallis Simpson looking for a playboy to chew up and spit out”.

This montage sketch, kindly signed and dedicated, captures Kate in both roles.

Drawing: Shappi Khorsandi in Because I’m Shappi at the Soho Theatre

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Tehran-born, British comedian Shappi Khorsandi was brought up in London after her family was forced to flee Iran after the Islamic Revolution, following the publication of a satirical poem composed by her satirist father, criticising the Ayatollah.

The star of Live At The Apollo, Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Have I Got News For You and QI completed a sell out run at this year’s Edinburgh Festival. Entitled Because I’m Shappi, she performed a season let month at the Soho Theatre, where she signed my sketch after her final performance.

Drawing: Richard Schiff in Underneath the Lintel

Posted on December 1, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

American actor and director Richard Schiff has just completed a limited run in David Mamet’s Speed the Plow in the West End. Best known for his Emmy award-winning role as the White House communications director Toby Ziegler in the cult television series The West Wing.

In 2006 he returned to the stage to perform Underneath the Lintel a one act, single character existential comedy by Glen Berger at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It’s about a librarian who embarks on a quest to find out who anonymously returned a book that is 113 years overdue. It’s in the form of a 90 minute lecture to the audience. The following year he appeared in the West End production at the Duchess Theatre. Richard also performed a radio version for the BBC which aired in January 2008.

Richard kindly signed this sketch of him as ‘the librarian’ between shows on the final day of Speed the Plow at the London Playhouse Theatre on Saturday (29.11.14).

Drawing: Andrew Rothney, Jamie Sives and James McArdle in The James Plays

Posted on November 21, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

The James Plays – James I, James II are a thrilling trilogy of history plays by award-winning Rona Munro. They previewed at this year’s Edinburgh Festival before a limited run in repertory at The National Theatre in London, finishing on the 29th October.

James McArdle (James I) Andrew Rothney (James II) and Jamie Sives (James III) play the lead roles, bringing to life three generations of Stewart Kings who ruled Scotland in the tumultuous 15th Century.

The Daily Telegraph gave the production 5 stars, calling them, “astonishing… could be the finest history plays ever penned.”

Drawing: Jenny DiNoia in Wicked

Posted on November 8, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Jennifer DiNoia has been playing the role of Elphaba the misunderstood, green, Wicked Witch of the West in the hit musical Wicked for the past eight years around the world.

She made her West End and UK debut late last month, starting a 14 week run at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre.

Jenny has now performed Elphaba in four countries and six companies, including New York on Broadway, Chicago, Seoul and Sydney.

Wicked is now the tenth longest running show in the West End, with booking recently extended to 7 November 2015, its ninth year. In July this year the musical welcomed its 6 millionth patron.

Drawing: Rupert Gould

Posted on November 7, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Rupert Goold

The old adage, ‘if you want something done, give it to a busy person,’ certainly applies to pioneering English theatre director Rupert Goold. The artistic director of London’s Almeida Theatre and associate director at the Royal Shakespeare Company had two hit shows open weeks apart on the West End. After premiering at the Almeida, Mike Bartlett’s controversial play King Charles III transferred to the Wyndham’s Theatre on Charring Cross Road. It confronts the difficult question of what will happen when the Queen dies and a possible constitutional crisis ensues.

Rupert also directs the new musical Made in Dagenham with Gemma Arterton leading a feisty feminist strike force at the Ford auto factory in the east London suburbs. It’s the stage version of the popular feel good 2010 movie and opened on Guy Fawkes night this week.

As is custom, my wife and I celebrated our wedding anniversary with a slice of theatre. The precedent is a Shakespeare play, but this year for a slight deviation we went and saw King Charles III, which pays homage to the Bard, written in a blank verse style. I did this sketch of Rupert winning his Olivier a while back. He won the 2008 award for Best Director for the acclaimed Minerva Studio staging of Macbeth with Patrick Stewart in the title role.

It just so happened I had it in my bag that night – the same evening Made in Dagenham had its press night. Another deviation as we strolled to the train station, past the Adelphi Theatre stage door, where only minutes later the said director appeared with a large grin, indicating a successful opening (the show, not his mouth). A good time to get my sketch signed, which he was more than happy to do.

I immediately congratulated him on Charles III, which in hindsight seemed an odd thing to say at the premiere of his other show. That’s what happens when you’re the busiest director in town!