Drawing: The Recruiting Officer, signed by Josie Rourke, Nicholas Burns, Nancy Carroll, Mackenzie Crook, Kathryn Drysdale, Mark Gatiss, Gawn Grainger, Tobias Menzies and Rachael Stirling

Posted on November 22, 2013 by Mark Winter / Chicane

George Farquhars 1706 Restoration comedy The Recruiting Officer was Josie Rourke’s first play as the new artistic director at the Donmar Warehouse in 2012. She assembled an impressive cast for this pacy and complicated piece in which big themes (love and war) are presented amid a riot of bed-hopping, social blockades, meddling servants and enticing legacies. Described as an unashamed celebration of love, lustiness and victory in battle and in the bedroom, it was a critical success, ensuring Josie’s tenure at the Donmar got off to a bright start.

On the 12th of April 2012, I managed to get all the cast on my sketch (Nicholas Burns, Nancy Carroll, Mackenzie Crook, Kathryn Drysdale, Mark Gatiss, Gawn Grainger, Tobias Menzies and Rachael Stirling) to sign it – not an easy feat given that there were eight of them leaving through various exits and often at the same time.

Drawing: Montserrat Lombard in Barking in Essex at Wyndham’s Theatre

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Montserrat Lombard is “an interesting name,” I said, when she signed it on my sketch. “It’s Spanish,” the English-born actress replied.

Montserrat – a Caribbean island with a once dormant volcano erupting, forcing two thirds of its population to flee; or a multi-peaked mountain near Barcelona? Probably the latter. Close. In fact, her Spanish father named her after the Barcelonian opera legend Montserrat Cabellé.

Lombad – from Lombardy, the region in Northern Italy. Her mother is Italian, so she’s half Spanish, half Italian. She’s also best known as policewoman Sharon ‘Shaz’ Granger in the BBC Drama series Ashes to Ashes, plus roles in a variety of television shows and films such as St Trinians 2 and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

In September this year, Montserrat made her professional stage debut in the World Premiere of the crime caper Barking in Essex at Wyndham’s Theatre in London. She plays Allegra Tennyson (an equally interesting name) a lawyer trying to sort out the Packer family, a dysfunctional Essex brood played by Lee Evans, Sheila Hancock and her Ashes to Ashes co-star, Keeley Hawes. The black comedy runs until 4 January 2014.

Drawings: Tuppence Middleton

Posted on October 28, 2013 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Actress Tuppence Middleton has a peculiar rare medical condition that allows her eyes to change colour of their own accord. They range from yellow to hazel, or green. She also collects stuffed animals.

Her mother was nicknamed ‘Tuppence’ as a small girl by her grandmother, so ‘Tuppence’ was christened with the moniker.

“It’s come in handy,” she said, “I haven’t met another Tuppence so far, so people remember it.” She made an impact recently in Danny Boyle‘s Trance, as the girl locked inside James McAvoy‘s past. Her first London theatre engagement was a rare revival of Graham Greene’s The Living Room at the Jermyn Street Theatre in early 2013, where she signed my sketches.

Drawing: Angela Denoke in Salomé at the Royal Opera House

Posted on October 14, 2013 by Mark Winter / Chicane

David McVicar’s revival production of Richard Strauss’ hyper-sensuous and erotic opera shocker Salome, about Herod’s stepdaughter and biblical femme fatale. It opened at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden in July 2010.

It is based on a German translation of the French play Salomé by Oscar Wilde. Famed for its ‘Dance of the Seven Veils’ and the final scene when she declares her love to – and kisses the severed head of – John the Baptist. It shocked opera audiences from its first performance in 1905, and was actually banned in London by the Lord Chamberlain’s office until 1907.

German soprano Angela Denoke played the title role. She is a regular at all the world’s major opera companies – Berlin, London, Paris, Chicago, New York, Vienna and San Francisco, being named Singer of the Year in 1999 by the magazine ‘Openweldt’.

Drawing: Robert Lindsay as Richard III

Posted on October 10, 2013 by Mark Winter / Chicane

I had the pleasure of witnessing one of the best stage renditions when I saw Robert Lindsay performing the title role in Richard III at the Savoy Theatre in 1999. I drew this sketch, but it wasn’t until Robert was appearing in Onassis at the Novello eleven years later that I actually got it signed… and a cryptic quip from the Shakespearean heavyweight.

Drawing: Mark Rylance and Juliet Rylance

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Juliet Rylance and her father, Mark, graced the London stage boards at the same time in different theatres during 2010. Mark featured in David Hirson’s comedy La Bête at the Comedy Theatre, and Juliet was in The Bridge Project’s Shakespearean double bill, As You Like It / The Tempest over at the Old Vic.

Mark signed my sketch first on the 10th August 2010, and Juliet a week later.

My other Mark Rylance drawings can be found here, here and here.

Drawing: Ron Cephas Jones and Stephen Dillane in The Tempest

Posted on October 7, 2013 by Mark Winter / Chicane

2010 was the second year of Sam Mendes’ transatlantic Bridge Project featuring globally touring hybrid Anglo-American cast at the Old Vic Theatre. The Shakespearean comedy As You Like It ran in repertory with The Tempest. At first sight they may not appear obvious bedfellows, but both deal with exile, sibling hostility and a touching father-daughter relationship.

BAFTA and Tony winner Stephen Dillane, currently seen in the British hit TV series Game of Thrones portrayed Prospero, The Tempest’s main character and overthrown Duke of Milan turned sourcerer. American actor Ron Cephas Jones played the enigmatic half-human, half-beast Caliban – Prospero’s slave.

Time Out described his performance, “with his vulpine aspect, ascetic frame and rich, musical baritone, earns that hackneyed critical plaudit, “riveting.”

Both Stephen and Ron signed my drawings in August 2010 at the stage door.

Drawing: Martin Freeman and Sophie Thompson in Clybourne Park

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Clybourne Park was written by Bruce Norris in 2010 and received its UK premiere at the Royal Court Theatre in London, directed by Dominic Cooke and featuring Martin Freeman and Sophie Thompson.

It explores the fault line between race and property. In the first half it’s 1959, Russ and Bev are selling their desirable two bed home at a low price. This enables the first black family to move into the neighbourhood causing ripples of discontent amongst the cosy white urbanites of Clybourne Park. In the second half it’s 2009, the same property is being bought by Lindsey and Steve, whose plan to raze the house and start again is met with a similar response.

It won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony and Oliver for Best New Play.

Martin (Russ) signed my sketch at the British Independent Film Awards at the Old Billingsgate Fish Market and Sophie signed at the Wyndham’s Theatre stage door after it transferred in 2011, without Martin and Steffan Rhodri.

Drawing: Diana Rigg in Pygmalion

Posted on September 29, 2013 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Sixties icon Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg is best known as Emma Peel in the TV series The Avengers and Countess Teresa di Vicenzo in the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. She has won a BAFTA (1990), and Emmy (1997), and a Tony Award for her role in Medea on Broadway in 1994.

In 2011 she played Mrs Higgins in Pygmalion at the Garrick Theatre. She played Eliza Dolittle in the same play in 1974. I did this quick sketch of her as Mrs Higgins, which she signed at the Garrick Theatre stage door. As she was signing it, she split her first and last names so as not to “write over the beautiful drawing”

Drawing: Kim Cattrall and Seth Numrich in Sweet Bird of Youth

Posted on September 22, 2013 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Kim Cattrall and Seth Numrich starred in Tennessee Williams’ revival of Sweet Bird of Youth at the Old Vic this year. Both Kim and Seth signed my sketch at the theatre in August.