Drawing: Lenny Henry, Conrad Nelson and Jessica Harris in Othello at Trafalgar Studios

Posted on October 13, 2013 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Comedian Lenny Henry made his Shakespearean debut as Othello – one of the most challenging roles in dramatic literature. After opening at the West Yorkshire Playhouse it transferred to the Trafalgar Studios in London in November 2009. Lenny received widespread critical acclaim in the title role with The Daily Telegraph saying ‘This is one of the most astonishing debuts in Shakespeare…” Conrad Nelson was equally impressive, as the vile and reptilian antagonist, Iago and Jessica Harris played the Moor’s wife Desdemona.

All three signed my sketch after I saw a matinee performance in December 2009.

My other Lenny Henry sketch is here.

Drawing: Dame Judi Dench as Elizabeth I

Posted on October 12, 2013 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Dame Judi Dench is considered to be one of the greatest actresses of the post-war period, primarily through her work in theatre, including several of Shakespeare’s plays.

However, it was a Shakespearean role in a film about the Bard that won her film’s most coveted award – the Oscar (she also won the BAFTA). Playing Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love (1999) for only a few minutes earned her the Best Supporting Actress statue. In her acceptance speech she said “I feel for eight minutes on the screen, I should only get a little bit of him.” Her understated take on the monarch does set much of the film’s plot in motion.

Dame Judi signed my sketch through the post and sent me a nice complimentary letter.

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: Christian Camargo and Juliet Rylance In As You Like It

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Husband and wife Christian Camargo and Juliet Rylance featured in The Tempest and As You Like It as part of the Old Vic’s Bridge Project, directed by Oscar winner Sam Mendes.

Performed in repertory over a two month season in 2010, Juliet played the roles of Rosalind and Miranda, while Christian performed as Orlando and Ariel.

My dreaming depicts them as Orlando and Rosalind in As You Like It. Juliet was rewarded with an Obie Award for her role. She has recently produced a modern retelling of Chekhov’s The Seagull, written and directed by Christian. Titled Days and Nights, the film features both, plus a cast including William Hurt, Ben Whishaw, Jean Reno and Katie Holmes. It will be release later this year.

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: Alan Cumming in Macbeth

Posted on August 21, 2013 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Alan Cumming has just finished performing a radical re-imagining of Macbeth, single handedly! to sell out audiences on Broadway’s Ethel Barrymore Theatre (of Theater in the American vernacular).

He won the Olivier Award, playing the maniac in Dario Fo’s Accidental Death of an Anarchist in 1996 and the Tony Award for his role as the MC in the Broadway production of Cabaret seven years later. Alan has also been nominated for two Emmys and two Screen Actor’s Guild Awards.

In this National Theatre of Scotland production the 11th Century ‘Thane of Cawdor’s’ murderous ambition and corrosive guilt is cleverly transferred to a chilly chamber of a mental institution where a CCTV camera captures the patient’s every move as he is habited in turn by each of the characters from ‘the Scottish play’. In two hours with no intermission he performs “one power grab, and 16 major roles,” as one reviewer put it. “Cumming’s delivery swiftly shifts characters with stunning clarity.”

Alan signed my sketch yesterday at a preview screening of his latest film Any Day Now at Piccadilly Vue Apollo Cinema in London

Drawing: Dustin Hoffman in The Merchant of Venice

Posted on July 9, 2013 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Known for his versatile portrayal of antiheroes and vulnerable characters, two-time Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman took on the challenging role of ‘Shylock’ in Peter Hall’s production of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice in London’s West End. After a 13 week run at the Phoenix Theatre, mixed reviews and packed houses, the production transferred to The 46th Street Theatre on Broadway in December 1989, where it played till March the following year after 19 previews and 84 performances.

Dustin continued his role as the Jewish money lender with his thirst for revenge and ‘a pound of flesh’

Dustin was nominated for both a Tony and the Drama Desk Award. He signed my sketch at the theatre in New York in February 1990.

Drawing: Richard Wilson in Twelfth Night

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Richard Wilson played Malvolio in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Twelfth Night in 2010, a role which dragged him some way out of the shadow of the nation’s favourite misanthrope Victor Meldrew in the hugely successful sitcom One Foot in the Grave. Virgin territory, playing his first Shakespearean part and donning the yellow stockings to play the puritan steward duped into erotic humiliation.

It transferred to the Duke of York’s Theatre in London’s West End and Richard signed for me in January 2010 at the stage door, well, more the public pathway on St Martin’s Lane since the stage door is inaccessible.

Drawing: Judi Dench

Posted on June 22, 2013 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Dame Judi Dench – one of the greatest stage and screen actresses of all time, is also one of the best signers. Her most recent stage performance was as Alice in Peter and Alice at the Noël Coward Theatre in London. There was huge demand for her ‘graph and she always obliged – a real trouper!

I did this quick ‘portrait study’ in March 2010 and dropped it into the Rose Theatre in Surrey, where she was playing Titania as Queen Elizabeth I in A Midsummer Night’s Dream – almost 50 years after she first played the role for the Royal Shakespeare Company.