Tag Archives: Signature

Drawing: Julie Christie in Old Times

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Julie Christie

Thirty-three years after her first film, British actress Julie Christie made her West End debut at the age of 54, as Kate in a revival of Harold Pinter’s OLD TIMES in the summer of 1995.

Described as a ‘pop icon’ of swinging London during the 1960’s, Life Magazine hailed 1965 as ‘The Year of Julie Christie’ when she won the Best Actress Oscar and BAFTA for her role as amoral model Diana Scott in John Schlesinger’s DARLIING. It was also the year of her most famous role, Lara Antipova in David Lean’s international hit DR ZHIVAGO.

Fellow West End debutant Harriet Walter and Leigh Lawson completed the OLD TIMES cast which ran at the Wyndham’s Theatre for two months after transferring from the Theatre Clwyd in Wales.

“The actress’s warm, seductive presence is ideally suited to Kate. First glimpsed sprawled on a sofa, face beaming with almost unnerving serenity. Christie has a sphinx like allure, crucial to the evening,” wrote Matt Wolf in Variety.

There was no dramas getting Julie to sign my portrait of her as Kate. I simply popped it in the post and she returned it.

Drawing: Kris Kristofferson at the Union Chapel

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Kris Kristofferson

I was really pleased to get this drawing back I drew of the absolute legend, Kris Kristofferson – singer, songwriter, musician, actor, Rhodes Scholar, army vet and all round good guy. Winner of the numerous Grammys, a Golden Globe, BAFTA and Oscar nominated, the seventy-nine year old played his only London gig on his early 2016 tour at the Union Chapel in Islington last Thursday evening. I did hover about, mid-afternoon with the hope of getting it signed in person, but time was against me so left it with a nice lady in the office who said she would make sure Kris got it. The Union Chapel working church  and an award-winning venue they call ‘the amazing space’. It was in good hands.

Back in 1991 when Kris was part of the country music supergroup, ‘The Highwaymen‘ along with Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash they performed in New Zealand’s capital Wellington. I happened to ‘stumble’ upon Johnny and Kris in a cafe… and I just so happened to have a caricature of the group on my personage, which they were both happy to sign and take back to their nearby hotel to get Willie and Waylon to do the same… as the legend goes.

His 90 minute acoustic set at the Chapel covered 30 songs. Reviews used the words ‘magnetising’, ‘sumptuous’ and ‘timeless’. One of my all-time favourite lines is from his hit which opened the evening, ” Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose”. It’s seems to be Kris’ guiding mantra. On his tombstone he wants three lines from Leonard Cohen’s ‘Bird On The Wire’ inscribed,
“Like a bird on the wire
Like a drunk in the choir
I have tried in my way to be free.”

If you’re free and in Dublin, Kris is playing the Olympia for the next three nights.

Drawing: Simon Lipkin, Laura Cubitt and Ben Thompson in The Lorax

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The Lorax

“I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees.”

The Lorax is Dr Suess’ moustachioed and cantankerous critter (and the author’s personal favourite), whose mission is to protect the planet from the greedy, Tuffula tree-chopping, thneed-knitting businessman, the Once-Ler. THE LORAX was also a festive production directed by Max Webster at The Old Vic, which competed its successful season last weekend. Adapted by David Greig, who also did CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, currently running at Drury Lane, it’s a fable about environmental change and the damage humans can do to it. As a Christmas show it was full of the joys, but with a serious message, blending theatrical innovation, puppetry, a bunch of brand new songs and zany humour.

The Guardian’s Michael Billington called the production, “the best family show since MATILDA”.

“Stunningly brought to the stage,” as one critic wrote, as a puppet, simultaneously manipulated by three actors – Simon Lipkin, Laura Cubitt and Ben Thompson, who I missed out in my sketch, because he’s usually working closer to the floor and out of shot.  No stranger to puppet theatre, Simon, an original cast member of the London production of AVENUE Q, provided the voice for the Lorax. Together with Ben and Laura, another with a penchant for puppets, including WAR HORSE for The National, they brought the title character to life.

I left the drawing at the theatre, because on the night I was waiting at the stage door,  constant rain was dampening my enthusiasm and the artwork. It came back signed, including Ben with a kind note from Simon, explaining the additional siggy.

The Lorax Note

Drawing: Brian May

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Brian May

When I found out that virtuoso guitarist Brian May was one of the special guests at AN EVENING WITH RUSS BALLARD at the intimate Leicester Square Theatre this week, I immediately did this simple line drawing in the hope it may be graphed. The theatre is located on Leicester place, a small lane that separates Chinatown from the famous Square. With limited vehicular access, so Brian was walking. With his distinctive Einstein hairstyle, one wouldn’t need to be a rocket scientist to spot him. I positioned myself on the corner and waited.

Not only is Brian the 2nd greatest guitarist of all time according to a ‘Guitar World’ reader’s poll, but he’s also an astrophysicist, graduating with a PhD from Imperial College. Probably explains the Einstein hair. His doctorate, which was put on hold after Queen’s rise to fame in the 1970’s, was finally completed in 2007. His thesis was the study of reflected light from the interplanetary dust and the velocity of dust in the plane of the solar system. Simples!

My drawing included his unique home-built electric guitar called the ‘Red Special’ which he designed at 16. It’s made of wood from a 18th Century fireplace. The tremolo’s arm is constructed from an old bicycle saddle bag carrier, the knobs at the ends are from a knitting needle and the springs are valve springs from an old motorcycle. No expense spared for Queen’s lead guitarist and mega-hits composer.And speaking of coin, Brian does not use the use the usual plastic pic..oh no…he uses a coin, a sixpence, instead. I have different reasons for carrying coins.

The Einstein of Rock  eventually strolled to the venue late in the afternoon, only interrupted as he turned the corner by moi. Brian is always very friendly and accommodating. He also liked the drawing, which was a bonus and was happy to sign and dedicate for me.

Drawing: Michael Keaton

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Michael Keaton

‘Mr Keaton will not be signing autographs,” we were told last night at the UK Premiere of SPOTLIGHT at London’s Curzon Cinema in Mayfair. Michael and fellow cast members Mark Ruffalo and Stanley Tucci were due to arrive at six, but were held up. (It’s always a curiosity why Premieres are scheduled during rush hours – yes plural – when the traffic in Central London is gridlocked). In essence they were right. It is a physical impossibility to sign autographs when you are not physically there. SPOTLIGHT is the true story of the Boston Globes expose on the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdioceses and a leading contender for the BAFTA and Oscar Best Picture prizes.

The air temperature nudged zero and below by the time they arrived at 7.20, ten minutes before the start of the screening. The paps quickly grabbed pics as the trio raced into the cinema with only Stanley managing to sign on the run. We all hoped that, in a gesture of goodwill, since many had waited in the icy conditions for three plus hours that they might be persuaded to do some graphing on exit.

The film intro lasted five minutes and they emerged in a hurry to get to more media commitments… but stopped to accommodate the gathering, including Mr Keaton who approached the pen near the cinema entrance and attempted to sign, but the barriers began to buckle as the throng surged towards him. Security quickly ushered him towards his waiting vehicle, which, just so happened to be in front of me. The Curzon premieres are unique events when they decide not to close the street. The cast are always dodging drive-throughs in order to satisfy the fans camped on the other side. Anyway he saw this drawing I did of him in the title roles from BIRDMAN and BEETLEJUICE and said, “Oh that’s really nice,” signing and dedicating it for me. After a sporadic handful of graphs he departed.

Trivia note: I found out that his birth name was Michael Douglas, can’t think why he changed it.

Drawing: Four Austentatious Women

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Austentatious

“One of the most enjoyable 60 minutes on the fringe” is how The Guardian summarises AUSTENTATIOUS – AN IMPROVISED JANE AUSTEN NOVEL, an improvised comedy play, based on nothing more than a title from the audience. It’s ‘eloquent, irreverent and a 100% improvised take on the works of Britain’s best-loved novelists.’ Some titles from previous shows include ‘Mansfield Shark’, ‘Jurassic Mansfield Park’, Sixth Sense and Sensibility’, Darcy & Hutch’ and ‘I know What You Did Last Season.’

For one night only, January 9 to be precise, the seven dashing dames and buxom boys of AUSTENTATIOUS swapped bonnets and breeches and took to the boards of the Leicester Square Theatre in London to perform CROSSTENTATIOUS to raise money for the Pancreatic Cancer Fund.

The four damsels, Amy Cooke-Hodgson, Cariad Lloyd, Charlotte Gittens and Rachel Parris signed this sketch of them in their regular Regency attire. I had no room on the A4 sheet to fit Graham Dickson, Joseph Morpurgo and Andrew Hunter Murray who complete the troupe, but they will all be back in their London ‘home’ at the end of the month and the next month and the following month… in fact they are many happy returners, so I can collect the gentleman’s graphs and catch another show.

Drawing: Samantha Spiro and Simon Paisley Day in The Taming of the Shrew

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Samantha Spiro Simon Paisley Day The Taming of the Shrew

THE TAMING OF THE SHREW is Shakespeare’s most outrageous comedy. One of theatre’s great screwball double-acts with a couple hell-bent on confusing and out-witting each other. First performed in London in the 1590’s, it was farcical and probably hilarious to Elizabethans, but it’s message of ‘taming’ a woman  with a fiery personality and making her subservient to her husband does not always sit well with modern audiences.

Toby Frow’s  production for The Globe in the summer of 2012 featured double-Olivier Award-winning actress Samantha Spiro as Katherina and Simon Paisley Day as Petruchio. It Included  the ‘induction’ by the character, Christopher Sly who takes to the stage as Petruchio, so the ‘play-within-a-play’ is more a fantasy, wishful thinking rather than reality, tempering the misogynistic theme. The Guardian’s Michael Billington wrote as “both actors go at it hammer and tongs” throughout the entire play that this is a “…knockout Shrew that doesn’t go in for much psychological depth and presents Katherina’s final speech of submission without irony.”

Jane Shilling in The Telegraph describes Samantha’s Kath as “a compact, muscular spitfire whose gentlewoman’s education has evidently included self-defence classes”, as she drops her suitor to the ground on their first encounter.

I ‘drew the Shrew’ with this in mind, but never got it signed… until… as per chance, both actors were on the London stage over this Christmas period past But alas, not on the same stage. Samantha was in A CHRISTMAS CAROL at the Noel Coward and Simon in THE LORAX across the Thames at the Old Vic. Still that’s why there’s seven days and nights in a week and it took two of them to complete the mission.

Drawing: Anna Karina

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Anna Karina

As part of the three-month ‘Jean-Luc Godard’ season at the British Film Institute on London’s Southbank, his muse and first wife, actress, model, singer, writer and director, Anna Karina was a special guest on Saturday. Regarded as the most influential and radical of the French ‘La Nouvelle Vague’ (New Wave) Godard challenged the conventions of traditional Hollywood and French cinema in the 1960’s and 70’s. He was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2010, but did not appear in person to collect it.

At the age of 17 Hanne Karin Blarke Bayer hitch-hiked from her native Copenhagen, arriving in Paris, poor and unable to speak the local language. While sitting at the trendy ‘Les Deux Magots’, an advertising  agent approached her to do some photos. The cafe was considered the ‘hotbed of the artistic and intellectual elite of the day’, whose regulars included Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway.  She went on to model for Pierre Cardin and Coco Chanel, who helped devise her professional name Anna Karina. Godard first noticed her in the Palmolive soap ads, which depicted her in a bathtub covered in bubbles. She featured in seven of the French auteur’s films, including UNE FEMME EST UNE FEMME in 1960, for which she was awarded the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival. Anna worked with other directors, including George Cukor, Tony Richardson, Franco Brusati and Andre Delvaux. She is also an accomplished singer, with major hits.’Sous Le Soleil Exactement’ and ‘Roller Girl’, stage actress and writer with four novels published.

Anna participated in Q+A sessions for BANDE A PART (1964) and VIVRE SA VIE (1962) as well as introducing LE MEPRIS (1963) on Saturday. She also introduced SINGING IN THE RAIN’ (1952) on Sunday as part of the BFI’s Screen Epiphany series. It was a busy schedule for the 75 year old, but when she arrived she graciously took the time to sign a string of vintage memorabilia for a handful of admirers and my sketch.

Drawing: Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant

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Leo Dicaprio

After five acting Academy Award nominations, Leonardo DiCaprio is this year’s clear front-runner to collect the elusive golden gong for his portrayal of legendary frontiersman Hugh Glass in THE REVENANT. With 12 nominations, including Best Picture and already collecting three top Golden Globe Awards, the film is set to continue that success at next month’s Oscars.

Leonardo has previously signed a drawing for me, but I was giving the 4B a bit of a workout early this week and the latest Empire mag happened to be lying at my desk, open at an article I had finished reading about Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s epic western adventure. Since the UK Premiere was scheduled for the Empire Cinema in Leicester Square on Thursday with Leo attending, I thought, “why not?” and scribbled this montage.

Thursday was cold… very cold… and got colder as the talent arrivals drew near. Standing for three hours was cause to question my motivation… as I often do these days. The crowded pens did offer some consolation, a hint of body heat, but not much. By the look of the film and from what I read about Leonardo’s physical endurance during the making of it, the air temperature was probably a tad on the tropical side for him. The man himself duly arrived and as usual ‘did the line’, including my sketch with his distinctive and precise (Leo holds the sharpie very close to the tip… probably the closest of all the A-listers) graph.

Drawing: Matthew Perry in ‘The End of Longing’

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matthew-perry

Matthew Perry’s debut play as a writer, THE END OF LONGING starts its run at London’s Playhouse Theatre early next month. It marks Matthew’s first return to the West End since 2003 when he appeared in the acclaimed SEXUAL PERVERSITY IN CHICAGO, directed by Lindsay Posner, who returns to helm this production.

While that’s very good news for London theatre-goers, it’s not so good for fans of FRIENDS, ending speculation of getting all six cast members of the hit series together in person for next month’s reunion in the planned NBC tribute to veteran director James Burrows.

Matthew is joined on stage by Lloyd Owen, Christina Cole and Jennifer Mudge in this ‘hilarious dark comedy’ about four people searching for meaning as they enter their forties during one crazy night in an LA bar.

I managed to catch up with Matthew as he popped out for a ciggy break from rehearsals this week ahead of the 2 February opening and my siggy break to get this sketch signed.