Noises Off | ChicanePictures

Janie Dee is the charming and versatile multi-award winning British actress, singer and musical theatre star. She won the three most prestigious awards in British Theatre, the Olivier, the Evening Standard and the Critic’s Circle Award for Best Actress in a Play. In addition, she has also collected the Obie and Theatre World Best Newcomer Award in New York for her legendary performance as Jacie Triplethree in Alan Ayckbourn’s Comic Potential, which was written especially for her. Janie also won the Oliver for Best Supporting Actress in a musical for her performance as Carrie Pipperidge in Nicholas Hytner’s acclaimed production of Rodger and Hammerstein’s Carousel at the National Theatre.

She signed a previous sketch I drew of the Noises Off cast at the Old Vic in late 2011. Due to popular demand it transferred to the Novello Theatre, where she signed this drawing. She remembered the previous sketch and was very complimentary, offering me free tickets to her cabaret show at the Hippodrome the following month.

Large cast, Winter weather, exposed stage door (actually there are very few covered stage doors at London theatres) was the bad news. The good news was they were all good signers if you were good enough to meet them.

I required the nine cast members of Noises Off to sign my sketch at the Old Vic in January 2012. In alphabetical order – Jonathan Coy, Janie Dee, Robert Glenister, Jamie Glover, Celia Imrie, Karl Johnson, Aisling Loftus, Amy Nuttall and Paul Ready. In signing order – completely different. I consulted a few of the ‘zombies’ to figure out the exit and entry behaviour of the said nine – who arrives early, who pops out for a ciggy (and possibly siggy) breaks, who stays back after the shows making sure the Pit Bar makes a profit that week.

A single ‘hit’ visit looked unlikely. Once again I aimed for a Saturday matinée. Hopefully a staggered entrance over an hour wold enable me to get the majority of them. Some had already beaten me – drat – but luckily Robert required some lunch and was happy, as always, to sign.

Janie was also inside, but she was having a nap in preparation for the two performances ahead. It’s a physically demanding show, so I could understand her reasons but that didn’t help my mission. An hour out from curtain and I had all but Celia (who had gone in through the front door to sort some tickets out for friends, so I was told) and Janie. The following Tuesday I collected the duo coming out on my way home from a ‘stalking’ raid in the West End. A successful ‘play’ in two acts!