Drawing: Malin Bystrom in Salome

Posted on February 15, 2018 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Autographed drawing of Malin Bystrom in Salome at the Royal Opera House in London

“In Swedish soprano Malin Bystrom, we come as near to perfection as we ever will: a petulant, imperious teenager becoming drugged with lust,” wrote Michael Church in his five-star Independent review for the third revival of David McVicar’s gory and provocative production of Richard Strauss’s SALOME at the Royal Opera House. “Her voice rides easily over the hundred-piece orchestra and the porcelain purity of her tone contrasts ever more starkly with her blood-bolstered presence. Wonderful.”

After six appearances since her Covent Garden debut in 2002, Malin returned for the ROH’s 2017/1018 Autumn season, playing Helene in LES VEPRES SICILIENNES in November and the biblical femme fatale SALOME in January.

Malin signed my sketch for me after I left it at the stage door.

Drawing: Uma Thurman in The Parisian Woman

Posted on February 14, 2018 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Autographed drawing of Uma Thurman in The Parisian Woman at the Hudson Theater in New York

Uma Thurman made her Broadway stage debut late last year in Beau Willimon’s Trump-inspired THE PARISIAN WOMAN at New York’s Hudson Theatre. Known for creating the original Netflix series HOUSE OF CARDS, Beau’s fifth play, a dark humoured drama, is set in Washington DC, where powerful friends are the only kind worth knowing, especially after the 2016 election.

Uma plays Chloe, an ambitious socialite with charm and wit, coming to terms with an unknown future, where truth isn’t obvious and the stakes couldn’t be higher.

I remembered speaking to Uma at the Royal Opera House stage door during the BAFTAs a few years ago when she snuck out for a nicotine break. She was very chatty, signing siggys between ciggys, so I figured she would be nice enough to sign a sketch for me if I sent it to her at the Hudson, and, thankfully I figured right.

Drawing: The Play That Goes Wrong

Posted on February 13, 2018 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Autographed drawing of Dave Hearn, Henry Lewis, Charlie Russell, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields in The Play that Goes Wrong at the Duchess Theatre in London and the Lyceum Theatre in New York

One of the big success stories of British Theatre is the creation of the Mischief Theatre Company and their first hit production THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG. Written by LAMDA graduates Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, it follows the exploits of members of the fictitious Conley Polytechnic Drama Society and their disastrous attempt to put on a 1920’s murder mystery. The writers were joined in the original cast by Charlie Russell, David Hearn, Greg Tannahill, Nancy Wallinger and Rob Falconer, who used to work at my local pub and said he was working on an interesting theatre project.

From modest beginnings above one of London’s oldest taverns at the sixty-seater Old Red Lion Theatre in 2012, it moved to the Trafalgar Studios a year later then to the Duchess in September in 2014, where it is currently in residence and booking to later this year. It won the Olivier Award for Best New Comedy. Last year it transferred to the Lyceum Theatre on Broadway, where it won the Tony Award for Best Scenic Design. It has now gone global, with productions in over 20 countries, including a UK tour.

Last month the two Henrys, Jonathan, Charlie and David returned to the West End, as part of the ensemble for the improv MISCHIEF MOVIE NIGHTS at London’s Arts Theatre, where I met them to sign this drawing for me.

Drawing: Tom Kitchin

Posted on February 12, 2018 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Autographed drawing of chef Tom Kitchin

With the surname Kitchin, you could hardly end up working as a mechanic in a garage. And so it was, young Scottish chef Tom Kitchin stayed true to his name and made the kitchen his working domain, leaving his native Edinburgh to work in the top Michelin-starred restaurants in London, Paris and Monte Carlo.

On his culinary journey he meet his wife Michaela, who worked for the Savoy Group and together they established their own restaurant back in Tom’s hometown, on the stylish Leith waterfront in 2006. But what to call it… no brainier… The Kitchin.

Tom’s cooking style combines French techniques with seasonal Scottish ingredients, a philosophy he calls ‘from nature to the plate’ – the title of his 2010 book. After only six months in business and at the age of 29, he became the youngest recipient to be awarded a Michelin star. Tom and Michaela have since opened two more restaurants in Edinburgh, the Castle Terrace and Scran & Scallie.

I have been a fan for some time, and always enjoy his appearances on Saturday Kitchen, among other TV shows. I sent this sketch to the Kitchin for him to sign, which he did, adding a stylish rendering of his own.

Drawing: Graham Kerr, The Galloping Gourmet

Posted on February 8, 2018 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Autographed drawing of chef Graham Kerr in The Galloping Gourmet

My lifelong interest in TV cooking shows began way back in the sixties when television was, like me, in its infancy in New Zealand. The very first celebrity chef was Graham Kerr, who had moved to the Antipodes from London to take up a role as the chief catering adviser for the Royal NZ Airforce. When ‘the box’ was introduced in 1960, he first appeared on a programme called EGGS WITH FLIGHT LIEUTENANT KERR before it evolved into the popular ENTERTAINING WITH KERR, which I watched religiously, before attempting to channel Graham and his culinary creations in the family kitchen, much to my mother’s alarm, who advised me to draw instead.

Graham later moved to Australia, then Canada, where he became a global superstar with the show THE GALLOPING GOURMET, one of the most viewed cooking programmes on the planet, earning two Emmy nominations. The term ‘Galloping Gourmet’ originated from a book, co-authored with wine expert Len Evans in 1967, when they completed a 35-day trek around the world’s finest restaurants.

When I experienced another burst of appetite for celebrity chefs – in a sketching sense, not cannibalistic – earlier this year, resulting in a new batch of renderings being produced of my favourite cooking people, I just had to include Graham. Now, aged 84, he has retired and living in Washington State on America’s Pacific Northwest. I sent him this sketch, which he immediately signed and returned, much to my delight.

Drawing: Shirley Henderson in Girl From The North Country

Posted on February 7, 2018 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Autographed drawing of Shirley Henderson in Girl From The North Country at The Old Vic Theatre in London, and the Noel Coward Theatre on the West End

Irish playwright and director Conor McPherson’s new Dust Bowl drama GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY, incorporating the music of Bob Dylan, opened last Summer with a sell-out run at The Old Vic, before transferring to the Noel Coward Theatre in London’s West End. Claire Allfree, in The Telegraph headlined her review with “A magical fusion of Dylan and the Depression.”

Conor beautifully weaves the iconic songs (21 of them) of Bob Dylan into his show of hope, heartbreak and soul. It is set in a struggling guesthouse in Dylan’s hometown of Duluth, Minnesota, during the Great Depression, where poverty is rife amongst the gathering of the dispossessed and the most affected citizens… a place Ben Brantley in the New York Times describes as “a corner of the United States where it is all too easy to lose your way.”

The production and the cast has received unanimous critical acclaim, with Scottish BAFTA-winning actress Shirley Henderson portrayal of Elizabeth Laine, the wife of the inn-keeper Nick ( Ciaran Hinds) gaining special mention. In the grip of dementia and nearly feral, Shirley’s performance is nothing short of mesmerising.

“Henderson delivers a smoking version of ‘Like A Rolling Stone’,” wrote Natasha Tripney in TheStage. I met Shirley at the stage door last weekend after a matinee, where she signed my montage sketch for me.

Drawing: James Norton and Imogen Poots in Belleville

Posted on February 6, 2018 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Autographed drawing of James Norton and Imogen Poots in Belleville at the Donmar Warehouse Theatre in London

“James Norton and Imogen Poots are brilliant,” wrote Andrzej Lukowski, the theatre editor for Time Out in his review of Amy Herzog’s 2011 play BELLEVILLE, which has just completed its run at London’s Donmar Warehouse. James and Imogen play uprooted American newlyweds Zack and Abby living in Belleville, the Bohemian district of Paris in a romantic dream gone sour. The Independent’s PaulTaylor agreed, “The acting’s terrific.”

I managed to catch up with James and Imogen at the Warehouse, where they signed my sketch.

Sir Nicholas Hytner

Posted on February 5, 2018 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Autographed drawing of Sir Nicholas Hytner

Sir Nicholas Hytner insists he is a theatre director who ‘does other stuff’. He does the other stuff with equal aplomb, directing some of my favourite films, THE HISTORY BOYS, THE CRUCIBLE and THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE. His film career was born out of his working relationship with playwright Alan Bennett, nurtured at the National Theatre, after Sir Nick became Artistic Director, taking over from Trevor Nunn in April 2003.

In 1989, when Cameron MacIntosh offered him MISS SAIGON. “It just felt like a huge lark… it was gigantic at the time so I threw everything I knew at it-big, honest, brash, kind of crazy. I had no idea it would take off.” It became a huge hit on both sides of the Atlantic. He was on a percentage, so at the age of 34 he never had to worry about money again and “only needed to do what I wanted to do.” During his tenure the National produced some of London’s most successful productions, including WAR HORSE, ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS and THE HISTORY BOYS. He was knighted in 2010.

He left the National in 2015 along with Nick Starr, the former Executive Director. They set up London’s newest stage venue, The Bridge Theatre – a 900-seat auditorium overlooking the Thames near Tower Bridge, where I left this drawing for him to sign, which he did and returned last week.

Drawing: Adrianne Pieczonka in Tosca

Posted on February 2, 2018 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Autographed drawing of soprano Adrianne Pieczonka in Tosca at the Royal Opera House, London

Canadian soprano star Adrianne Pieczonka returned to London’s Covent Garden last month to play the title role in the Royal Opera’s production of Puccini’s TOSCA. This is Adrienne’s fourth appearance for the company, having debuted as Donna Anna in
Mozart’s DON GIOVANNI in 2002. She also played Floria Tosca in the 2009 film version directed by Frank Zamacona based on the San Francisco Opera production.

Adrienne was in the first of three casts for this season’s Royal Opera staging, conducted by Dan Ettinger and Placido Domingo. Describing her own vocal range as “somewhere between a lyric and a dramatic soprano,” Adrienne is able to include a wide variety of roles in her repertoire and has become internationally celebrated for her interpretations of Wagner, Strauss, Verdi and Puccini.

The German magazine ‘Der Spiegel’ wrote,” Frenetic ovations greeted Adrienne Pieczonka for her supreme performance… clear, powerful with contoured high notes and precise dramatic gestures… the star of the evening.”

I left this sketch of her at the stage door and she not only signed and returned it, but included a nice note: ‘Dear Mark – I am so impressed with your drawing! Fantastic!’… so I guess she liked it.

Drawing: Yuja Wang

Posted on January 31, 2018 by Mark Winter / Chicane

The ever popular Chinese classical pianist Yuja Wang returned to London just before Christmas to a packed, returns-only Wigmore Hall recital with violinist leoniadas Kavakos.

Starting at the age of six, Yuja rose to prominence and became an internationally recognised concert pianist by the age of 20. “For me, playing music is about transporting to another way of life, another way of being,” she said in an LA Times interview.

In 2017 she was named Musical America’s Artist of the Year. Apart from her musical skills and technique she is known for her ‘especially correct posture, elegant, nearly exemplary’ and her eye-catching attire and glamorous stage presence.

Yuja signed this drawing I left at Wigmore Hall, returning it this week.