A couple of years ago, two fine actors, Nancy Carroll and Christopher Villiers, found themselves playing minor roles in a movie about a male stripper, Magic Mike’s Last Dance. During the long hours of shooting in a London theatre, they discovered a shared passion for painting. Realising that their profession was filled with artists of all kinds, they set about organising an exhibition, Mama (Many Actors Make Art), which which was first mounted in 2023 in the basement of a building in Brixton, south London, called the Department Store. The second edition is now on and it is a real eye-opener.
Firstly, the scale is remarkable: there are 259 works by 40 artists. But Carroll tells me there is no attempt to curate “Actors,” she says, “are so used to rejection that Chris and I decided that nothing should be turned down. But we also wanted the show to be of some use so, while the actors are free to sell their work, a 10% commission goes to the Theatre Artists Fund set up by Sam Mendes and Netflix to provide help for hard-pressed freelancers. There is also a lucky dip, which means that, for a £20 donation, you get an unmarked envelope containing a surprise work.” I put down my money and am now the proud owner of a colourful portrait by James Fleet called Film Festival Sketchbook.
