Express.co.uk – 4th April, 2012

By Lizzie Cundy.

I was at the launch of the fabulous BA Flight 2012, a flight themed pop up in trendy Shoreditch. It’s all in aid of the Olympics. Champion Rower Mark Hunter and hunky young Gymnast Lewis Smith were there to celebrate the launch. Scary to think how close they are approaching. Time flies when you’re having fun (pardon the British Airways pun!)

Tracey Emin was one of the big stars of the night. She was dining out at her plane themed table on food by Heston Blumenthal. I asked Heston what inspired him for the food, after all it was far better than anything I’ve ever tasted on a plane before!

The menu consists of mackerel starter, braised beef or fish pie for your main and desserts to die for. I couldn’t possibly manage a pudding or I’d be in the gym all day the next day!

My shining star of the evening was Richard E.Grant who I, co-incidentally, shared a flight home from Barbados with this Christmas. I asked Richard why he isn’t in Downton Abbey, after all he is the English Gent! Turns out, nobody’s called him yet. So Julian Fellowes, here’s your chance…

EventMagazine.co.uk – 4th April, 2012

Cake launches British Airways pop-up with star-studded bash

Heston Blumenthal, Tracey Emin and Richard E Grant officially opened British Airways’ airline-themed pop-up venue, Flight BA 2012, in Shoreditch last night (3 April).

Created by Cake, the three-in-one art gallery, cinema and dining room will be open between 4-17 April and will celebrate the best in British talent in the run up to the London 2012 Games, showcasing the works of the BA Great Britons programme.

Mentors of the programme Grant, Emin and Blumenthal were joined by famous names from the worlds of sport, art and showbusiness, while music was provided by DJ and model Daisy Lowe.

The BA Great Britons programme was launched last year to find rising British stars in food, film and art and provide them with career defining opportunities and a global platform to showcase their work in the run up to the Games.

The gallery features artwork from artist-designer Pascal Anson from Brighton, who was mentored by Tracey Emin on his ‘Dove’ design for a range of celebratory aircraft.

In the cinema, a short film titled “Boy” written by screenwriter Prasanna Purwanarajah under the mentorship of Richard E Grant, will be screened.

Finally, guests in the airline-themed dining lounge will be able to sample Heston and Simon Hulstone’s Olympic inspired dishes.

Frank van der Post, managing director of brands and customer experience, at British Airways said: “We wanted to bring the flying experience to the public, allowing guests to preview our in-flight entertainment, celebratory aircraft livery and on-board menus in anticipation of the London 2012 Games. This is going to be an exciting year for the capital and this is just the very start of our take-off.”

— Chantelle Dietz.

Bush Fire Website – 29th March, 2012

Acclaimed actor Richard E Grant, who was born and raised in Swaziland, has come on board as the patron of the annual MTN BUSHFIRE arts festival, which takes place in the picturesque Swazi kingdom from 25 to 27 May 2012.

Born Richard Grant Esterhuysen in Mbabane, and attending Waterford boarding school before studying drama at the University of Cape Town, Grant was catapulted to international stardom in the 1980s in the cult slacker film Withnail and I.

He has subsequently achieved great success, featuring in multi-awarded films such as Robert Altman’s The Player, Gosford Park and Prêt à Porter, and recently starred in the Oscar-winning biopic The Iron Lady.

In 2005 he wrote and directed the film Wah-Wah, based on his memoir of his years growing up in pre-independence Swaziland and starring Gabriel Byrne, Emily Watson and Julie Walters. It was the first feature film to be shot in Swaziland.

Grant’s heart is still very much attached to Swaziland – he even wears two watches, one set to Swazi time! – and has given his wholehearted backing to the MTN BUSHFIRE festival and what it represents for the development of a sustainable arts sector in the country.

“By supporting this year’s Bushfire, you will be rewarded with wonderful music, as well as helping the Young Heroes Aids Orphans initiative,” he urges festival-goers. “Like that Beatles song: Help-Me-Help-You-Help-We-Help!”

We asked Richard E Grant why Swaziland and the MTN BUSHFIRE festival are so close to his heart:

Q: Do you still feel a connection to Swaziland?
A: It’s where I was born and brought up, so like a swallow, I fly back every year.

Q: Favourite thing about Swaziland?
A: My friends, Sibebe Rock [the ancient and majestic granite dome near Mbabane], swimming in the Umbeluzi and the spirit of the country.

Q: The House on Fire performance venue is…
A: … the creative heart and hearth of Swaziland. Warms your soul.

Q: Your view of the MTN BUSHFIRE festival in a nutshell?
A: Nothing lifts your spirits higher than experiencing live music together with other people.

Q: Tell us your thoughts on MTN BUSHFIRE’s social message.
A: Music and drama feed the soul and imagination like nothing else. Bushfire aims to spread the message like wildfire.

Q: What’s your interest in being a patron of MTN BUSHFIRE?
A: Hoping that I can give something back to Swaziland that has given me so much.

Q: MTN BUSHFIRE is unique because…
A: Founders Jiggs and Sholto Thorne are the sons of my late, great friend Jenny, who inspired enormous loyalty and did things her way, when many people “nay-sayed”. Her spirit of adventure and creativity are alive and well in her sons, who have created this unique venue that attracts people from far and wide.

About MTN BUSHFIRE:
MTN BUSHFIREis a singular music, culture and arts festival that takes place every year at the House on Fire performance venue in the heart of the beautiful Swazi countryside. A stellar array of Swazi, South African and international artists has already been confirmed for this year’s festival, which will be held over the Africa Day weekend of 25 to 27 May 2012.

Tickets for the MTN BUSHFIRE International Festival of the Arts are available at www.bushfire.co.sz. The website includes information on where to stay during the festival, from backpackers and campsites to chalets and hotels.

Both VIP and standard tickets are available, as are one-day tickets. Pre-sale single-day tickets cost R150 to R200, or R200 to R250 at the door. A full three-day festival pass costs R400 pre-sale or R450 at the door.

Golden Lounge VIP tickets (including access to comfortable seating and a bar and waiter service) range from R350 for a day pass to R650 for full festival admission. Children enjoy a discounted rate of R50 per day or R150 for the entire festival, with free admission for under-fives.

MTN BUSHFIRE wishes to thank the following sponsors: MTN, House on Fire, Young Heroes, Alliance Française, SNCAC, African Synergy and the Kingdom of Swaziland.

Daily Mail Online – 26th March, 2012

Richard E. Grant was at the opening night of Beyond Ballet Russes at the London Coliseum on Thursday night, where celebrities and dance enthusiasts were treated to champagne, cocktails and decadent canopies at a stunning preshow party held in the exquisite confines at St Martin’s Lane Hotel.

REG, who is still riding high on the public’s reaction to The Iron Lady, commented on the film. “It has been a worldwide success, despite the critics annoyance that it wasn’t the film it could or should be” he told Joe Brothwell.

After appearing with the Spice Girls in their first film, Spice World: The Movie, he revealed that he has his fingers crossed for a reunion.

“I loved being in that film. And I definitely want the girls to reform. Anything to do with the Spice Girls I say, ‘yes please!’ I can’t tell you who my favourite is though. I’d have a platform boot up my backside if I told you that!” he chuckled.

Guests were then ushered to the beautiful London Coliseum to see the ballet, which was mesmerizing.

The Telegraph – 22nd March, 2012

By Tim Walker.

Richard E Grant says he struggles to be cast in working class roles.
— Photo: PA.

Richard E Grant, the actor, claims that he would win more roles if he was working class.

Despite all the talk about well-bred actors getting all the work these days, Richard E Grant feels that it is actually working-class stars like Timothy Spall who are making the real money.

“I don’t think it’s the case that ‘posh actors’ get more work than others,” he says after a screening of Spall’s short film Boy, as part of the British Airways Great Britons programme.

“Actors always think that others are getting more work than them. In my case, they usually are. Tim Spall is not a posh actor and he works a great deal more than me. If I spoke like Tim Spall, I’d probably get more parts.”

The star of Withnail and I was educated in Africa, where his father was the head of education in the British Protectorate of Swaziland. “I would love to play your common, everyday guy, but I never get cast as that,” he says. “It would be fun to play a chav and chav it up, but I can’t see it ever happening.”