British actress Harriet Thorpe has played two of the West End’s most memorable, musical, Madames – Madame Thenardier in LES MISERABLES at the Palace Theatre in 1996 and Madame Morrible in WICKED at the Apollo Victoria in 2008, 2010 and again in 2013. She was recently performing ‘Sir’s’ long-suffering wife in THE DRESSER at the Duke of York’s where she signed my ‘Madames’ drawing.
Olivier Award winner Noma Dumezweni portrays the adult Hermione Granger-Weasley, married to Ron Weasley, played by Paul Thornley in the original West End run of HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD PARTS 1 AND 2, which opened in June this year at the Palace Theatre. In the eighth instalment of JK Rowling’s HARRY POTTER phenomenon, set 19 years after THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, Hermione is now the Minister of Magic and Ron runs Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes. Their daughter Rose is about to follow in their footsteps and attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Both Noma and Paul had kindly signed a previous sketch of the plays leads. Since then I have been a periodic ‘visitor’ to the stage door with a pile of renderings including this one of them together in their respective roles, which they both happily signed.
British actor and singer Jamie Parker plays the title role in J K Rowling’s eighth instalment of the boy wizard’s adventures, HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD PARTS 1 AND 2. It’s set nineteen years after the events of HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS. Harry is no longer a boy. He’s middle-aged with a family and working for the Ministry of Magic as the stressed-out Head of Magical Law Enforcement. His son Albus follows in his footsteps at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The two-part play written by Jack Thorne and directed by John Tiffany based on an original story by them and J K Rowling, took the West End by storm this year, opening at the Palace Theatre on 30 July and smashing all box-office records.
Thirty-six year old Jamie, who performed in Alan Bennett’s THE HISTORY BOYS on Broadway and London said that POTTER was ‘a gig of a lifetime’. I caught up with him at the stage door a couple of weeks back as he was arriving for a Saturday matinee and he signed this sketch.
British actor Alex Price plays Harry Potter’s former rival and pure-blood wizard Draco Malfoy in the West End premiere of J.K.Rowing’s HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD PARTS ONE AND TWO at the Palace Theatre. The two-part play written by Jack Thorne and directed by John Tiffany is set nineteen years after the events in HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, which sees Harry, now an employee of the Ministry of Magic, sending his son to Hogwarts School of Wizards and Wizardry, where he befriends Draco’s son Scorpius.
Alex has appeared in popular television programmes such BEING HUMAN, MERLIN and DOCTOR WHO. Since 2013 he played Sid Carter, one of the the main characters in FATHER BROWN, the crime drama series inspired by the original stories by G.K Chesterton. He was also Proteus in PENNY DREADFUL. His stage credits include 3 WINTERS at the National and BIRDLAND at the Royal Court.
Alex’s transformation into the prototypical spoiled brat and bully is complete with the signature sleek blonde hair and ‘steely grey gaze’… a guise not worn at the stage door, but nevertheless I managed to recognise him anyway and he signed my Draco drawing.
Birmingham-born actress Cherrelle Skeete plays Rose Granger-Weasley in HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD, PARTS ONE AND TWO at London’s Palace Theatre. In the eighth instalment of J.K.Rowling’s Harry Potter adventures, the two-part play is set nineteen years later. Rose is the daughter of Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. She is about to embark on her first year at Hogwarts along with Harry’s son Albus. J.K.Rowling in ‘Pottermore’ said, “Rose is like her mother, but more secure, more grounded. She was born to wizards and knows her place in the world. Cherrelle plays her perfectly: bossy but deeply lovable.”
After graduating with an Honours Degree from the Central School of Speech & Drama in 2011, Cherrelle made her West End debut in THE LION KING the following year as Shenzi cover and swing. She played Sister Sally in the Olivier-nominated THE AMEN CORNER at the National in 2013, returning last year to play Katya in Patrick Marber’s THREE DAYS IN THE COUNTRY, an adaption of Ivan Turgenev’s moving comedy A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY. Cherrelle’s small screen debut was in the fourth series of the BBC period drama CALL THE MIDWIFE, then starred in the BBC1’s ORDINARY LIES.
It was a little quieter before last Saturday’s matinee, compared with the hustle and bustle of the previous week’s World Premiere gala performance when I missed Cherrelle at the stage door. This time only a handful of ‘graphers were hovering and a lot easier to have my drawing signed.
Twenty-two year-old English actor Sam Clemmett plays Harry Potter’s troubled middle son Albus Severus in the eighth and latest instalment of the Potter juggernaut, HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD, PARTS ONE AND TWO at London’s Palace Theatre. Albus is a shy, introverted, often misunderstood character, having to deal with his famous father’s past, who is propelled into a massive journey as he follows in Harry’s footsteps at Hogwarts and the wizarding world.
Sam, from a non-theatrical family, didn’t go to drama school. He joined the National Youth Theatre sometime between the ages of 16 and 17, which led to his first professional stage role in THE LORD OF THE FLIES at the Regent Open Air Theatre. His TV roles include THE MUSKETEERS, FOYLE’S WAR, DOCTORS and HOLBY CITY. Actually he doesn’t look 22. In a recent Evening Standard interview he said he looks, “Around 12. I’ll be ID’d forever,” an obvious advantage when it comes to playing the child wizard.
My recent frequent visits to the Palace Theatre stage door in Soho included the World Premiere gala performance on a whirlwind Saturday afternoon a couple of weeks ago, where I managed to catch Sam, who graphed my sketch.
HARRY POTTER’S Geneva Weasley, known as ‘Ginny’ to her family and friends is the youngest of seven Weasley children and the first girl for several generations. In the films, her ‘crush’ on Harry develops further and in the eight instalment of the Potter phenomenon, the play HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD, PARTS ONE AND TWO, which is currently taking the West End by storm, she is married to Harry, who is now a Ministry of Magic employee.
English actress Poppy Miller plays the adult Ginny Potter. Her extensive stage and screen roles include DC Carol Browning in the British detective series THE COMMANDER, several parts in the Almeida Theatre’s production of THE LAST DAYS OF JUDAS ISCARIOT, including Mary Magdalene and both Viola and her twin brother Sebastian in TWELTH NIGHT at the Tricycle in 2008.
I met Poppy at the stage door of London’s Palace Theatre after the World Premiere gala matinee performance of PART ONE last Saturday. My rendering reputation or as some might say, sketch stalking had obviously gone before me. She greeted me with “Ah, the drawing man” with a smile and signed this Ginny montage.
Little-known Belfast-born actor Anthony Boyle has become the talk of the town after the early wave of reviews flowed in for HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD, PARTS ONE AND TWO. Critics agree that J.K.Rowling’s blockbusting Potter play at the Palace Theatre is a spectacular and stunning production. They are equally unanimous that while the 42 cast members are excellent, one particular character steals the show – Scorpius Malfoy, played by Anthony in his first major role. Henry Hutchings in the Evening Standard described his portrayal as “the most layered and absorbing of all the performances”.
Potter pundits would expect that the son of Draco Malfoy must spell trouble, but the gawky, book-reading, fish out of water with brilliant comic timing, quickly befriends Albus Potter, Harry’s son at Hogwarts as they make their way in the wizarding world. The 22 year-old Anthony, not long out of the the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama has gained a small amount of stage time in his home town and a minor role in the GAME OF THRONES before his breakout star turn debut on the West End.
I managed to catch up with the amiable young actor at the extremely busy stage door as he quickly slipped out for some nourishment between the matinee PART ONE matinee and the evening’s PART TWO at the World Premiere gala performances on Saturday and he was more than happy to sign this sketch.
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