Drawing: Kim Clijsters

Posted on December 16, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

One of the most popular players on the Women’s Tennis circuit was Kim Clijsters.

A former World Number one in both singles and doubles, the likeable Kim was in London this month to take part in the Mylan World Team Tennis Smash Hits Charity match at the Royal Albert Hall to raise funds for the Elton John AIDS Foundation. She signed and dedicated this sketch that shows off her trademark ‘splits’ which often had many a spectator wincing.

In June 2011 TIME Magazine named her one of the 30 legends of Women’s Tennis Past, Present and Future and she was also ranked 16 on its Top 100 list of the most influential people that year.

Kim retired in 2004 after reaching both the world number one rankings in singles and doubles simultaneously. Kim made comeback in 2009 after the birth of her daughter and became the first wildcard champion – wining the US Open for a second time. She repeated the feat the following year to retain the title and win her third Grand Slam. In 2011 she retained the world number one singles ranking, winning the Australian Open and retired the following year.

Drawing: Lindsay Duncan in That Face

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

I met Scottish actress Lindsay Duncan at the Noël Coward Theatre in London in 2012 where she was performing Noel Coward’s Hay Fever. She signed a sketch I drew of her as the lead role of Judith Bliss. I also had this sketch of her as Martha from That Face, which was initially staged at The Royal Court Theatre, before transferring to the Duke of York’s in the West End in 2007. She was nominated for a Best Actress Olivier Award, but I never got it signed at the time. She is currently on Broadway in the revival of Edward Albee’s A Delicated Balance, so I mailed it to her and she very kindly signed and returned it for me.

Since beginning her professional stage career in Dom Juan at London’s Hampstead Theatre in 1976, Lindsay has created an impressive theatrical CV on both sides of the Atlantic.

In September 1985 she created the role of the Marquise de Merteuil in Les Liaisons Dangereuses for the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford Upon Avon before transferring to The Pit in London’s Barbican Centre and then to the Ambassadors in the West End.

In 1987 the play moved to New York. For her performance Lindsay was nominated for a Tony Award and won the Olivier for Best Actress. She won her second Oliver and the Tony in 2001 for her performance as Amanda Prynne in Private Lives. She also won the Critics Circle Theatre Award and Drama Desk Award for the role.

Drawing: Andy Roddick

Posted on December 13, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

For more than a decade American tennis star Andy Roddick was one of the most successful and influential players in the professional game. His flair, intelligence coupled with his charisma and engaging personality enabled him to stay in the the top ten for a consecutive season, reaching world number one in 2003 after winning the US open that year.

Andy’s tenure at number one however was a short one – 13 weeks, being replaced by the emerging Roger Federer who began his ascent to become the greatest player in the history of the sport. In fact Andy lost all his other four Grand Slams finals to the Swiss maestro – three Wimbledons in 2004, 2005 and 2009 and the US Open in 2006.

But he came mighty close in their last encounter at Wimbledon, losing a fifth set tie breaker 14-16 in the longest men’s Grand Slam final in history at 77 games and the longest fifth set. The foundations for Andy’s game lay in his devastating serve – one clocked at 155mph (248.4km/h) in a 2004 Davis Cup tie – and a fluent forehand. He retired in 2012 with 32 career tittles and is currently 11th on the all time earnings list. Since then he has established the Andy Roddick Foundation to help at risk youth.

Andy signed this sketch at the Statoil Masters’ Tennis Championships at London’s Royal Albert Hall last week.

Drawing: Richard Armitage and Sam Colley in The Crucible at The Old Vic Theatre

Posted on December 12, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Arthur Miller’s harrowing 1953 witch hunt classic The Crucible played London’s Old Vic Theatre this summer and was one of 2014’s hottest tickets. Directed by the multi-award-winning South African Yaël Farber, the three and a half hour production had critics spellbound, describing it as, “absorbing”, “it is what great theatre is all about”, “unmissable”, “a production of electrifying intensity”.

Based on the 17th century witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts (which the playwright uses as an allegory for McCarthyism in the 1950s) the play’s main protagonist is bewildered John Procter, a down to earth farmer played by Richard Armitage in what has been called, “an expressive turn, full of raw power”.

Making her professional stage debut as the antagonist ringleader Abigail Williams was a memorably sinister Samantha Colley. Charismatic and manipulative, she spreads rumours of witchcraft after a brief affair with John Procter, eventually accusing his wife of being “bewitched”.

This pencil sketch is a montage of Richard and Sam’s characters in the play which they both kindly signed.

Drawing: Max Bennett and Fiona Button in Tis Pity She’s a Whore at Shakespeare’s Globe

Posted on December 11, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Giovanni and Annabella are lovers. They are also brother and sister, the protagonists in John Ford’s 400 year old play about forbidden love.

Tis Pity She’s a Whore was first performed sometime between 1629 and 1633 by Queen Henrietta’s Men at the Cockpit Theatre in London. The title was often changed to Giovanni and Annabella, The Brother and Sister or simply Tis Pity. A recent revival has just completed its season at Shakespeare’s Globe in the intimate, candlelit enclave, the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, featuring Max Bennett and Fiona Button as the doomed romantic leads on the path to tragedy.

Critics were unanimous in their praise or Michael Longhurst’s brilliant production which was not always the case with this play until well into the twentieth century. The play’s treatment of incest made it one of the most controversial works in English literature but is now regarded as a classic. Ford, the major playwright during the reign of Charles I, often dealt with conflicts between individual passion, conscience and society’s laws and morals.

In fact, Transport for London apparently banned posters showing the entwined naked torsos of the siblings, deeming them too racy for tired commuters.

The Globe’s production of this unsettling Renaissance incestuous drama was described as a no-holds-barred interpretation. One reviewer said, “it’s not just the candle flames that are naked.” The Telegraph’s Tim Walker called Max and Fiona’s portrayals, “electrifying”.

Drawing: Ronan Keating in Once at the Phoenix Theatre

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

ronan keating

Last month Irish singer and former Boyzone front man Ronan Keating took over the role of ‘Guy’ from David Hunter in the Olivier and Tony award winning musical Once at the Phoenix Theatre in London.

He is the fourth ‘Guy’ in the West End production and is scheduled to perform the role until March next year when the show will close.

Based on the much loved Oscar winning film, Once tells the story of an Irish busker and a young Czech mother who meet through a shared love of music.

Drawing: Billie Jean King

Posted on December 9, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

One of the greats of tennis, Billie Jean King won 39 Grand Slams, including a record twenty Wimbledon titles. She was world number one for five years and was responsible for establishing the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) forty years ago. She defeated all the greats – Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert and Margaret Court. However, it was the victory over a 55 year old man that she will be remembered for the most, furthering the cause of women’s struggle for equality in the 1970s.

The ‘Battle of the Sexes’ captured the imagination of the world, not just tennis enthusiasts. On 20 September 1973 in Houston, Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs, the 1939 Wimbledon Champion 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.

“I thought it would set women back 50 years if I didn’t win that match,” she said.

It was for Billie Jean’s crusading that LIFE Magazine in 1990 named her one of the ‘100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century’. She was the only female athlete on the list.

With her long-time friend, rock legend Elton John, her World Team Tennis Smash Hits event was staged at London’s Royal Albert Hall at the conclusion of the Statoil Masters’ Tennis Tournament last weekend. It raised $1million for the Elton John AIDS Foundation. I was lucky enough to meet the very personable Billie Jean as she left the event, and she signed my sketch.

Drawing: Neil Morrissey, Adrian Edmondson, Robert Webb and Miles Jupp in Neville’s Island at the Duke of York’s Theatre

Posted on December 8, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

The latest comedy to hit London’s West End is Neville’s Island, featuring the excellent comedy quartet of Neil Morrissey, Adrian Edmondson, Robert Webb and Miles Jupp. Tim Firth’s play follows four middle aged middle managers who get stranded during a team building exercise.

Neil described the set – a rain soaked island in the Lakes District – as the most uncomfortable he has ever worked on. “It’s all shale and rocks and real trees… everyone gets nicks and cuts.” All four actors have to immerse themselves in water before the play begins. Real insects even buzz around the stage and audience members in the font row are given plastic macs to protect themselves. Adrian added, “It’s Lord of the Flies meets The Office“.

The play was first staged in 1992 and this production directed by Angus Jackson ran at the Chichester Festival last year before transferring to The Duke of York’s Theatre until 3 January 2015.

Drawing: Kate Fleetwood in King Lear and Macbeth

Posted on December 6, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

British actress Kate Fleetwood will be well known to cinema audiences from her roles in films such as Harry Potter, Les Misérables and Philomena, but it’s her stage work that has won her the most plaudits.

She made her Broadway debut opposite Patrick Stewart in the critically lauded Chichester Festival Theatre production of Macbeth in 2008. Her ferocious and much younger ‘trophy wife’ portrayal of Lady Macbeth won wide acclaim and a Tony Award nomination. In 2012 Kate was also nominated for the Olivier for her performance as Julie in the musical London Road at the National Theatre in London.

Earlier this year she played the power hungry eldest daughter in Sam Mendes’ production of King Lear also at the National. Lloyd Evans in The Spectator described her, “outstanding performance” as a,”slinky, ice cold Goneril glides around like Wallis Simpson looking for a playboy to chew up and spit out”.

This montage sketch, kindly signed and dedicated, captures Kate in both roles.

Drawing: Martin Crowe

Posted on December 5, 2014 by Mark Winter / Chicane

martin crowe

Martin Crowe is considered one of New Zealand’s best batsmen, and by many to be the finest. He played for the Black Caps from 1982 – 1995 captaining both the test and one day sides in the early nineties. He was Wisden’s Cricketer of the year in 1985.

In 77 test matches for New Zealand he averaged 45.65, including 17 centuries. Martin also played 143 One Day Internationals, averaging 38.55 with four centuries!

In 1991 he shared a 467 run against Sri Lanka partnership with Andrew Jones, the highest at the time. Martin was agonisingly close to a triple century, being dismissed on 299. Until this year, when the current Kiwi captain Brendon McCullum scored 302 against India, it was the highest test score by a New Zealander.

Martin was considered to be an imaginative leader, known for many innovations, opening with spin, bowlers and using pinch hitting batsmen in the limited form of the game, and a variation called ‘Cricket Max’.

Marlk

Martin h