Drawing: Jeremy Pope in ‘The Collaboration’

Posted on December 21, 2022 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Autographed drawing of Jeremy Pope in 'The Collaboration' at London's Young Vic Theatre

It’s been a very busy and rewarding last few years, in spite of the Covid pandemic, for Florida-born actor and singer Jeremy Pope. He made his Broadway debut in 2018 as Pharus Jonathan Young in the play CHOIR BOY, followed by his portrayal of Eddie Kendricks in the jukebox musical AIN’T TOO PROUD. Both his performances were recognised the following year, becoming only the sixth person to receive Tony Award nominations in two categories for separate performances during the same year. He also earned a 2020 Grammy nomination for the latter for ‘Best Musical Theater Album.’ In 2019 he landed a lead role in the Netflix miniseries HOLLYWOOD, playing aspiring screenwriter Archie Colman, for which he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. Last week he received a Golden Globe nomination for his role as Ellis French in the drama film THE INSPECTION.

This year Jeremy returned to the theatre, crossing the Atlantic to join Paul Bettany in the world premiere of Anthony McCarten‘s THE COLLABORATION at London’s Young Vic, which opened in February. Directed by Kwawe Kwei-Armah, it looks at the unique and rich friendship between two of the world’s most interesting artists; the waning Pop Art legend Andy Warhol (Paul) and the ‘King’ of Neo Expressionism, the Haitian/Puerto Rican enfant terrible and former street kid Jean-Michel Basquait (Jeremy), who was “churning out canvases for dizzying piles of cash.”

In his four-star review for the Evening Standard, Nick Curtis writes, “Paul Bettany and Jeremy Pope match each other in brilliance in the study of art, commerce and identity.” The Broadway transfer with both reprising their roles, just completed previews and opened this week at the Samuel J. Friedman Theater. Kwame is also directing with all three collaborating for the film adaption, which is currently in post-production. Jeremy signed my sketch during the successful run at the Young Vic.

Drawing: Anthony McCarten

Posted on December 14, 2022 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Autographed drawing of writer Anthony McCarten

Continuing with my fellow Massey University alumi after my previous post with Shehan Karunatilaka, another writer with kiwi connections… well… screenwriter, novelist, playwright, journalist, film director and producer, Anthony McCarten also graced our Varsity’s hallowed halls. Born in New Plymouth on the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island, Anthony worked as a reporter for The Taranaki Herald for a couple of years before studying for an Arts Degree at both Massey and nearby Victoria. While there he attended Bill Manhire’s famous creative writing course. This was followed by a period of unemployment, a stint on the boards in a production of the Bard’s KING LEAR and writing, including two abandoned novels and some poetry, but a meeting with Stephen Sinclair in 1987 at a NZ Playwrights’ Workshop resulted in them writing LADIES NIGHT together in six days, which is now New Zealand’s most successful commercial play.

First performed at Auckland’s Mercury Theatre, it had several national sell-out tours in the UK and has been translated into sixteen languages. It continues to play worldwide. The French version at the Theatre Rive Gauche in Paris won the Moliere Award for stage comedy in 2001. Since 1984, fifteen of his plays have been performed, the latest, A BEAUTIFUL NOISE – THE NEIL DIAMOND MUSICAL opened at the Broadhurst Theatre on Broadway earlier this month, following a four-week run in June at the Emerson Colonial Theatre in Boston.

Anthony has written nine novels, translated into 14 languages, winning several accolades. His fourth, SHOW OF HANDS, was adapted into a movie directed by the author in 2008 and nominated for for Best Picture and Best Director at the New Zealand Film Awards. His 2017 work of historical non-fiction, DARKEST HOUR: HOW CHURCHILL BOUGHT US BACK FROM THE BRINK was turned into a critically acclaimed biopic with Gary Oldman in the lead role. DARKEST HOUR received 5 Academy Award nominations with Anthony given a nod for Best Picture as producer. He also collected two BAFTA noms for Best Film and Best British Film.

Since 1999 he has written nine screenplays, receiving nominations for four Oscars, eight BAFTAs and a Golden Globe. The 2014 biographical romantic drama THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING, detailing the life of theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, which Anthony adapted from Jane Hawking’s 2007 memoir, TRAVELLING TO INFINITY: MY LIFE WITH STEPHEN was nominated for six Oscars. He was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture. It also received 10 BAFTA noms with Anthony winning two for his adapted script and Best British. BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY (2018) was nominated for the BAFTA’s Outstanding British Film and the following year THE TWO POPES garnered Anthony Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations for his adapted screenplay. His latest screen project is an adaption of his 2022 play THE COLLABORATION, exploring the relationship between artists Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat, which originated at London’s Young Vic earlier this year, featuring Paul Bettany and Jeremy Pope and directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah. The Broadway transfer is currently in previews at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, opening 20 December with Paul and Jeremy reprising their roles, also directed by Kwame. All three are also involved in the film adaptation.

As you can see, Anthony is one of the busiest people on the planet, but I managed to catch up with him at The Old Vic in February during the first week of THE COLLABORATION, where we acknowledged our Massey alumni status and he signed my portrait sketch.

Drawing: Shehan Karunatilaka, Booker Prize Winner 2022

Posted on December 12, 2022 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Autographed drawing of Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka

Sri Lankan writer Shehan Karunatilaka’s second novel, THE SEVEN MOONS OF MAALI ALMEIDA was announced the winner of the 2022 Booker Prize – the most prestigious literary prize in the English-speaking world – at The Roundhouse in London on 17 October this year. Set against the backdrop of civil war, it follows the story of renegade war photographer Maali Almeida, tasked with solving his own murder.

The first draft was shortlisted for the Gratiaen Prize under the title, DEVIL DANCE. It was subsequently published as CHATS WITH THE DEAD before being revised to “make it familiar to Western readers” during the two-year delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic and released by the independent British publishing house Sort of Books this year under THE SEVEN MOONS title.The Booker judges said that the novel “fizzes with energy, imagery and ideas against a broad, surreal view of the Sri Lankan civil wars. Slyly, angrily comic.” On his website Shehan is described as “writing about forgotten cricketers, drunk old men, war photographers, chatty ghosts, self-driving cars and time travelers. His stories are absurd and mostly true. He lives in Colombo with his wife, two kids, five guitars and thirty-two unfinished stories.”

Shehan grew up in the Sri Lankan capital and was educated in New Zealand, graduating from Massey University with a degree in English Literature against his family’s wish to study business administration.

His debut novel in 2010, CHINAMAN: THE LEGEND OF PRADEEP MATHEW won the Commonwealth Book Prize, the Gratiaen Prize and the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature. It was also adjudged the second greatest cricket book of all time by Wisden in 2019. telling the story of an alcoholic sports journalist’s quest to track down a missing Sri Lankan cricketer of the 1980’s. Shehan’s first manuscript THE PAINTER was shortlisted for the 2000 Gratiaen Prize, but was never published. He has also published three children’s books with more in the pipeline and another novel “that will hopefully not take ten years to finish.”

He has said that his influences are Kurt Vonnegut, William Goldman, Salman Rushdie, Michael Ondaatje, Agatha Christie, Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Tom Robbins and “a few hundred other authors.”

Shehan also plays bass for the rock bands ‘Independent Square’, ‘Powercut Circus’ and ‘Brass Monkey Band’ and has written and spoken about his lifelong obsession with ‘The Police’.

Three days after Shehan won the Booker he appeared at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London’s Southbank Centre in AN EVENING WITH THE 2022 BOOKER PRIZE WINNER event as part of the London Literature Festival. When I met him at the aftermatch booksigning he immediately recognised my Kiwi accent so we immediately found a point of reference as fellow alumni of Massey University in Palmerston North on New Zealand’s North Island, and the city’s best student takeaway. NZ Stuff described him as a ‘Sri Lankan-Kiwi’ after his win and said that he is in the process of moving back to Aotearoa, something he mentioned to me. He then signed a copy of his book and my sketch.

Drawing: LIfe of Pi, The Tiger 7

Posted on July 25, 2022 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Autographed drawing of the Tiger Puppet from Life of Pi on West End, London

The Covid pandemic delayed the West End transfer of the spectacular stage adaptation of Yann Martel’s best-selling Booker Prize-winning novel, the LIFE OF PI from the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield to London’s Wyndham’s Theatre. It finally opened last December, winning five Olivier Awards including Best New Play…. and creating London theatrical history when the six puppeteers and voice artist of the tiger – Fred Davis (Head), Daisy Franks (Heart), Romina Hytten (Heart), Tom Larkin (Head), Habib Nasib Nader (Voice),Tom Stacy (Hind) and Scarlet Wilderink (Heart) – won Best Supporting Actor.

A sixteen-year-old Indian boy named Pi is cast adrift on a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean for 227 days with a hyena, a zebra, an orangutang and a Royal Bengal Tiger called Richard Parker. The puppet designers and movement directors, Finn Caldwell and Nick Barnes also won Oliviers. In her WhatsOnStage review, Sarah Crompton wrote,”If you want theatrical magic, LIFE OF PI is the show for you. The tiger is a magnificent creation whose every movement and sound make you believe you are in the presence of a dangerous, prowling beast.”

“It’s a landmark moment in puppetry… we’re hoping it opens the door for more puppets in central roles in the future”, said Fred after their deserved win.

I left a quick sketch of Richard Parker along with a congratulatory card at the Wyndham’s stage door, which all of the ‘Tiger 7’ kindly signed and returned for me, along with two pieces of special original artwork from Romina and Payal Misty, who plays Pi’s sister Rani. They also gave me a programme, signed by all the cast. Big thanks!

Artwork and thank you notes from Life of Pi Puppeteers

Drawing: Neil Armstrong

Posted on July 20, 2022 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Drawing of astronaut Neil Armstrong with Autograph

Fifty-three years ago today, on 20 July 1969, the commander of the Apollo 11 mission,
Neil Armstrong became the first human to walk on the moon. Appropriately, I was eleven at the time and the event consumed most of my time… yes I admit it, I had an Apollo addiction. I’m pretty sure I contributed significantly to the NZ and US postal service profits that year with all my NASA correspondence.

I was one of an estimated 650 million people back on earth, who tuned into their TV sets to watch the American astronaut’s eerie image as he placed his left foot on the lunar surface in Sea of Tranquility, uttering the now famous epigram, “That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind.” Debate still continues regarding the existence of the ‘a’ or the lack of it. The syllable may have been dropped due to static or was inaudible due to the limitations of the communication technology at the time. The man himself hoped that history would grant him some leeway. The syllable was intended even if it was not said. NASA’s official transcript continues to show the ‘a’ in parentheses. It was a statement Neil came up with himself. He had too many other things to think about during the descent so it came to him after the landing.

After studying aeronautical engineering at Purdue University, under a Naval scholarship, Neil saw action in the Korean War, flying 78 missions, decorated with four medals and two gold stars. After his military service, he returned to University to complete his degrees, before becoming an experimental research test pilot, flying the hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft X-15 seven times. Oh and yes, didn’t see this one coming; he actually co-directed two musicals while at varsity as part of an all-student revue! He joined the NASA Astronaut Corps in 1962, becoming the commander pilot of Gemini 8 in 1966 with pilot Dave Scott.

The primary objective of the Apollo 11 mission was to complete a national goal set by President John F. Kennedy on 25 May 1961, to put a man on the moon before the decade was out. Launched from Cape Kennedy on 16 July 1969 on the mighty Saturn V – a 363-foot rocket with 7.5 million pounds of thrust – Neil was joined by the Command Module (Columbia) pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module (Eagle) pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin.

Neil passed away on 25 August 2012 aged 82.

He kindly signed for me in the mid-1980’s after I wrote to him at his home, before he stopped some years later due to the huge volume of requests.

The Chicane ‘lasting impression’ toon marked the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission in 2019.

Lasting Impression First Moon Landing footprint illustration

Drawing: David McCallum

Posted on June 8, 2022 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Autographed Drawing of actor David McCallum

Television transmission began in New Zealand in the early 1960s, coinciding with my formative years, influenced by many memorable programmes, including my favourite THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E with Robert Vaughn as the suave spy Napoleon Solo and his enigmatic partner, Russian Illya Kuryakin played by the Scottish-born David McCallum.

David’s father was the lead violinist for the London Philharmonic and his mother was a cellist so everything pointed to a musical career for their son and his favourite instrument, the oboe. A short stint at the Royal Academy of Music was replaced with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, igniting a distinguished film, TV and stage career spanning over seven decades beginning with voice work for the BBC Radio in 1947.

He became a household name as the mysterious Illya Kuryakin, a character originally intended as a peripheral role but his popularity and the on-screen chemistry with Robert persuaded the producers to elevate David to co-star status. He received more fan mail than any other actor in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s history, including MGM stars Clark Gable and Ellis Presley with two Primetime Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe nod. He subsequently featured in COLDITZ (1972-74) and SAPPHIRE & STEELE (1978-1982) alongside Joanna Lumley before taking on the role of Donald ‘Ducky’ Mallard, the chief Medical Examiner in the American police procedural series NCIS since 2003. He is the only original cast member left, appearing briefly for season 19 last month.

David returned to his musical roots, recording four albums for Capitol Records in the 1960’s. In 2016 he published a crime novel ONCE A CROOKED MAN which centres on a young actor who foils a murder.

During the pandemic lockdowns I had the time to catch up on many of THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E episodes and drawing this quick portrait sketch of David, which I sent it to him at his New York home. He returned it, signed which I will treasure.

Drawing: Ang Lee

Posted on May 12, 2022 by Mark Winter / Chicane

One of the most accomplished and popular contemporary filmmakers, Taiwanese-American director Ang Lee was ranked 27th in the Guardian’s top 40 directors and 41st in a list of greatest directors of all time in a 2007 poll conducted by Total Film magazine. Ang is also one of the nicest people in the business. I have a had the privilege of meeting him on a number of occasions over the past few years.

His 15 feature films have received a truck load of accolades, including 38 Oscar nominations (four for Best Picture) with 12 wins, 49 BAFTA nominations for 24 wins and 23 Golden Globe nominations for nine wins. Personally he has received five Academy Award nominations, winning two for Best Director for LIFE OF PI in 2013 and BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN in 2006. He has won five BAFTAS, including Best Film for SENSE AND SENSIBILITY (1995) and the Fellowship in 2020 for his Outstanding Contributions to British Cinema. He has also been the recipient of a number of honours and decorations, including a Knight of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2012) and the Legion of Honor (2021) from the French Government in the same year he received the Presidential Culture Award from Taiman’s president Thai-Ing-wen.

I sent this sketch to Ang to his home in New York State last year with a signing request and received a very nice reply from his wife Jane, thanking me for my letter and informing me that Ang was working in New Zealand and due to the covid restrictions was going to be there for some time, but as soon as he returned home she would make sure he signed and returned it, which is exactly what happened.

Drawing: Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends tribute concert 3 May 2022

Posted on May 10, 2022 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Drawing of Stephen Sondheim signed by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, Maria Friedman, Dame Judy Dench, Petula Clark, Julia McKenzie, Michael Ball, Bernadette Peters, Sian Philips, Bonnie Langford, Janie Dee, Gary Wilmot, Clive Rowe, Charlie Stemp, Michael Xavier, Jon Robyns, Damien Lewis, Rob Brydon, Haydn Gwynn and Julian Ovenden, from the Stephen Sonheim Old Friends Tribute Concert, London

British producer and theatre impresario, Sir Cameron Mackintosh invited many of the late Stephen Sondheim’s old friends to join him in celebrating the great composer’s extraordinary talents and legacy at the West End theatre named after him. Considered one of the most influential figures in twentieth-century musical theatre, Stephen passed away at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut last November at the age of 91, before he was able to attend the official naming ceremony of the Shaftesbury Avenue theatre.

The tribute concert STEPHEN SONDHEIM’S OLD FRIENDS (from a number in 1981’s MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG) on 3 May, directed by Maria Friedman was also simulcast at the nearby Prince Edward Theatre, due to ticket demand. All proceeds went to the Stephen Sondheim Foundation. In his five star review for the Guardian, Mark Lawson wrote, “A glorious all-star memorial service… Stephen Sondheim was so vast a talent that London required two theatres to remember him… each of the (41) tunes a eulogy.”

While I wasn’t unable to get (or indeed fit) every artist, I did manage 19 from the glittering line-up, who respectfully signed around the pencil portrait of the great man; Sir Cameron Mackintosh, Maria Friedman, Dame Judy Dench, Petula Clark, Julia McKenzie, Michael Ball, Bernadette Peters, Sian Philips, Bonnie Langford, Janie Dee, Gary Wilmot, Clive Rowe, Charlie Stemp, Michael Xavier, Jon Robyns, Damien Lewis, Rob Brydon, Haydn Gwynn and Julian Ovenden.

Drawing: Liza Sadovy as Fraulein Schneider in CABARET

Posted on April 28, 2022 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Autographed drawing of Liza Sadovy in Cabaret at the Playhouse Theatre on London's West End

British actress Liza Sadovy won the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical for her performance as the amiable landlady Fraulein Schneider in Rebecca Frecknall’s sensational revival of CABARET at the Playhouse Theatre. The production made history, winning all four Musical acting categories with leads Eddie Redmayne and Jessie Buckley and fellow supporting actor and on-stage love interest Elliot Levey also collecting their respective awards at this month’s Royal Albert Hall ceremony.

“Sadovy is especially excellent, bringing both sweetness and steeliness to her depiction of a world- weary woman,” wrote Miriam Gibson in her LondonBoxOffice review. Liza and Elliot (as the Jewish shopkeeper Herr Schultz) are retirement-age lovers as the Nazi party is taking over the streets of Berlin in the 1930’s. They ‘swoon over a pineapple until their relationship is derailed by anti-Semitism.’ In Variety, David Benedict said, “The utter sincerity of the detailing of their relationship is so magnetic that even the pineapple song ‘It Couldn’t Please Me More’ here makes rare emotional sense,”

Liza’s career has seen her perform on both sides of the Atlantic. Her stage appearances include WICKED in the original London production as the replacement Madame Morrible, Catherine De Brie in LA BETE on both Broadway and the West End, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, OLIVER!, PYGMALION and RICHARD II to name a few. She has also appeared in Opera productions such as THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, LA TRAVIATA and DON GIOVANNI. In film and TV she lists Tim Burton’s SWEENY TODD:THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, MIDSOMER MURDERS, EASTENDERS and VERA amongst her credits.

Liza signed this sketch for me on her final day at the Playhouse, before immediately starting rehearsals for Rodger and Hammerstein’s OKLAHOMA!, where the Tony Award- winning production transfers to London’s Young Vic, after its acclaimed Broadway run and US tour. It opens this week with Liza playing the town’s fun-loving caretaker Aunt Eller.

Drawing: Elliot Levey as Herr Schultz in CABARET

Posted on April 26, 2022 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Autographed drawing of Elliot Levey in Cabaret at London's Playhouse Theatre on West End

The London revival of the Kander and Ebb classic musical CABARET at the Playhouse Theatre was nominated for 11 Olivier Awards, winning seven, including Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical for Elliot Levey for his portrayal of the kindly old Jewish fruit seller, Herr Schultz in Berlin during the Weimar-era. After reading philosophy at Oxford University, Elliot has become a popular regular on the British stage, including the National Theatre’s 2004 revival of HIS DARK MATTERS, as Brutus in CORIOLANUS with Mark Gatiss and Tom Hiddleston at the Donmar Warehouse in 2013 and in the role of Don John in MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING alongside David Tennant and Catherine Tate at Wyndham’s in 2011. His film work includes Kenneth Branagh’s remake of MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, THE LADY IN THE VAN, THE QUEEN, PHILOMENIA and on the small screen, PEAKY BLINDERS.

“Lovely work from Elliot Levey and Liza Sadovy as the landlady Fraulein Schneider… the fate of their sweet, courtly romance in the face of Nazi disapproval drives events in the story,” wrote Andrzej Lukowski in his TimeOut review. Variety critic David Benedict said, “Any scrap of sentimentality in the writing is banished by the wonderfully held tension between the two actors, who use expert comic timing to walk a tentative tightrope between hope and heartbreak.”

Elliot signed this drawing I did of him prior to a Saturday matinee at the Playhouse Theatre stage door the day before he collected his Olivier.