Do it Like Damian Lewis: HELP Raise Awareness for EB on Rare Disease Day!

Today is Rare Disease Day, a day to raise awareness about rare diseases and the impact they have on patients’ lives. The primary target of the campaign is the general public; however, it is very important to raise awareness among policy makers, researchers, health professionals and anyone who has an interest in rare diseases. And we would like to take this opportunity to raise awareness as well as funds to find a cure for EB, one of about 7,000 rare diseases for which there is no cure.

Well, most of you know Damian Lewis is a proud patron of Cure EB.

Patron Damian Lewis with Cure EB founder and CEO Sharmila Collins and young EB patients on BGC Charity Day 2024

The kids that are born with Recessive Dystropic Epidermolysis Bullosa (RDEB) or EB for short lack the protein that holds their skin together. They have extremely fragile skin that they are sometimes called “butterfly children.” Lots of activities we take for granted as easy routines in our daily lives are a struggle for them. Can you imagine a day where your dressing up takes up to two hours and eating and drinking cause blisters in your mouth and throat? These kids have to deal with this kind of pain every single day. Besides, they are under extra risk to develop skin cancer later in life and their life expectancy is not very long. Continue reading “Do it Like Damian Lewis: HELP Raise Awareness for EB on Rare Disease Day!”

Damian Lewis Pretty in Pink

Today is National Pink Shirt Day (last Wednesday of February). A national movement to fight bullying, it started with two high school students in Canada buying 75 pink shirts and encouraging their classmates to wear them in solidarity with a new student at their school who was bullied for wearing a pink shirt. So we encourage everyone to wear pink shirts today as a stand against bullying, promoting kindness and inclusivity, and we give you our boy who looks very pretty in pink!

Well, when you see your favorite actor in a three-piece pink suit, you sit down and write about the man and the color.

Now, here is a simple question for you: What comes to your mind first when you think about the color pink? A little girl dressed in princess attire? Pink-wrapped chocolate on Valentine’s Day?  Cherry  blossoms or pink roses maybe if  you are into flowers or radishes and rhubarbs if you are a foodie. Continue reading “Damian Lewis Pretty in Pink”

An Intimate Performance: Damian Lewis in “Lift Me Up I am Dying”

“Severn-I–lift me up–I am dying–I shall die easy–don’t be frightened–be firm, and thank God it has come!”

John Keats

If there had been no Covid pandemic, they would have marked the 200th anniversary of John Keats’ death with a new production of the play Lift Me Up I am Dying in the house that Keats died – now the Keats-Shelley House  in Rome. But when it was clear that a live performance would not be possible, the creator Pele Cox came up with an alternative: she would have Zoom meetings with the actors who happened to be in lockdown and then let them  film themselves and bring to life a half-hour film based on the last weeks of Keats’ life. And they did.

Today marks the 204th anniversary of John Keats’ death and we re-visit the intimate virtual performance Damian gives in Lift Me Up I am Dying.

Continue reading “An Intimate Performance: Damian Lewis in “Lift Me Up I am Dying””

Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis in Sondheim’s Into The Woods

When Damian Lewis was Michael Ball’s guest on Radio 2 a year ago, the two talked about Damian’s music career, his on-going UK tour, musical theatre he has done to date and whether he wants to do it again: I am thrilled to report Damian’s answer is yes and my fingers are crossed all the way! So why don’t we revisit Damian in Sondheim’s Into The Woods today?

“Hello, little girl!”

Many viewers were surprised, as they watched the BBC Broadcast of the fabulous Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends Gala, to see Damian appear as the Wolf to Bernadette Peters’ Red Riding Hood from the musical Into the Woods – one of Sondheim’s greatest musicals

But the thing is that Damian is not a stranger to the role at all. In fact, he was the Wolf in Into the Woods  at the London revival of the musical back in 1998! So why don’t we travel back to that time and visit a 27 year old Damian on stage?

Continue reading “Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis in Sondheim’s Into The Woods”

Fan Fun Movie of The Month: Dream Horse

“It’s a heart-warming movie. Bringing people together. Bringing community together.” – Damian Lewis

As it has recently won two awards, namely Owen Teale winning for Best Actor and the film winning in the Sound category, at BAFTA Cymru, Dream Horse has deserved to be the Fan Fun Movie of the month!

Dream Horse with Damian Lewis opened in NYC movie theaters on May 21, 2021 and went into history as the first movie I saw in a movie theater after the Covid-19 pandemic started! It was a time that we struggled to adjust to “normal” life. We needed hope, strength and inspiration. And Dream Horse has definitely offered us all three and more. Yes, we are off to the races but the story is not about winning or losing. It is about a bunch of villagers solving a collective action problem when all the cards are stacked against them. Dream Horse is about courage, community and second chances. Continue reading “Fan Fun Movie of The Month: Dream Horse”