Drawing: Bec Hill

Posted on June 23, 2016 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Bec Hill

“I used to think an ocean of soda existed, but it was just a Fanta sea.” Just one of Bec Hill’s zillion one-liners in her show ELLIPSIS, which was a sell-out at the Edinburgh Fringe and at London’s Soho Theatre last year.

The pint-sized Australian born, London based dynamo founded the PUN-RUN with her writing partner Gavin J. Innes, the UK’s only pun-based comedy night. It’s an evening of good old fashioned wordplay that takes place bi-monthly at The Phoenix in London’s Cavendish Square.

“My brother and his friends spend all their time floating out to sea. Well, boys will be buoys.” Another one-liner.

The Scotsman called her “exuberant, daft and inventive.” She calls herself “Comedian. Presenter. Dork.” on her website.

Bec’s cult following in Oz, UK and Ireland is due to her award-winning solo shows, Twitter presence and YouTube videos, including delightful low tech animation. She also hosts Sky’s DC FANCAST and is seen on CBBC’s MY DOG ATE MY HOMEWORK. Bec won a golden toilet seat for the nation’s favourite toilet joke.” For Christmas last year I got given Sudoku toilet paper. It’s useless. You can only fill it with number ones and number twos.”

She returned to the Soho this month with her latest show CAUGHT ON TAPE and signed my sketch, incorporating a toon from her DINOSAUR vid. She decided to sign with a black sharpie, although obviously she had a few colours to choose from.

Drawing: John Hinton and Jo Eagle in Albert Einstein: Relativitively Speaking at the Southwark Theatre

Posted on January 1, 2015 by Mark Winter / Chicane

The independent Tangram Theatre Company has taken up residency at the Southwark Playhouse over the Festive Season with two must see productions, both directed by Daniel Goldman.

The first offering is the award-winning Albert Einstein Relativitively Speaking, the part history lesson, part musical comedy, written and performed by John Hinton and accompanied by Jo Eagle.

The Times simply called it, “something close to brilliance”.

Albert Einstein, the eccentric theoretical physicist with “the übercoolest moustache in science” delivers a lecture that includes a couple of wives, his mum, two theories of relativity, two world wars, quantum leaps and two very big bombs.

One of the highlights is a hip hop number by guest rapper MC Squared – wunderbar! It runs until 3 January 2015.

Drawings: Pat Shortt and June Watson in The Cripple of Inishmaan

Posted on February 28, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Irish actor, comedian and musician Pat Shortt plays the garrulous gossip Johnny Pateenmike who peddles rumours and applies himself to finishing off his 90 year old mother – played by the wonderful June Watson – with alcohol in Michael Grandage’s dark, politically incorrect 1997 comedy The Cripple of Inishmaan at the Noel Coward Theatre.

Better known as the crazy Tom in Father Ted, who was always wearing a tshirt with the slogan “I shot JR”, he also appears on a postage stamp as Josie, from the award-winning film Garage.

Both Pat & June signed my sketch in July 2013 and will join the rest of the cast in the Broadway transfer this April.

Drawing: Estelle Parsons

Posted on February 2, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Oscar winner Estelle Parsons made her West End debut at the age of 82, playing the comical Dutch psychic Helga ten Dorp in the revival of Ira Levin’s Deathtrap at the Noël Coward Theatre in August 2010, following two years in Tracy Letts’ August: Osage County on Broadway and a US tour.

Estelle had worked on the London stage almost thirty years before when she bought her acclaimed off-Broadway Miss Margarida’s Way to the Hampstead Theatre in North London. She has received four Tony nominations, including one for her one woman show Margaridas.

Estelle signed both my biro line sketches – one as Miss Margarida – at the Music Box Theatre in New York in August 2008 during Osage County’s run.