Bitter & Twisted
Twickenham, TW1 3DY
From £450
Bitter & Twisted is a husband and wife caricaturist duo — Simon (Twisted) and Sheba (Bitter) Cassini — based on Eel Pie Island, London, with over 30 years of full-time professional experience. They provide live caricature entertainment at parties, weddings, corporate events, trade shows and bar mitzvahs, working in both traditional pen-and-paper and digital iPad styles. A signature offering is their mini caricature badges, magnets and mirrors. For weddings they can draw all guests — up to 120 people — on a single large group board, a service described as rare in the UK. They also accept studio commissions for illustrations, personalised caricature portraits and merchandise.
Packages
- Party Cartooning Session — £450
Questions and answers
- How many people can you draw per hour?
- Usually, if we can draw without interruptions such as speeches or award giving, we say approximately 12–15 people per hour, each.
- Have you ever drawn anyone famous??
- Well a few of them are so famous we are supposed to be sworn to secrecy! But between us we have drawn, at parties (not from photos); Hugh Grant, Chris Evans, Sue Lawley (showing my age now!), David Furnish, Lorraine Chase, Jim Davidson, Jeremy Clarkson, The Marquis of Bath (apparently it is hung alongside the rest of the great portraits at Longleat!), Tony Blair (actually at no 10!), Willy Rushton, Gerald Scarfe, Rolf Harris, Phil Tuffnell, The Hamiltons, The cheeky Girls (we really mix in high places!), JK Rowling and her daughter, Harry Potter’s ginger friend and Hermoine, Anton Mossimon, Marco Pierre White, “Baby Bird” (a 90’s EMI one hit wonder with ‘You are gorgeous.’) Most of the Jordanian Royal family, oh, and nearly forgot, HRH The Queen! Caricatures which have been commissioned for famous people include: 2 ceramic plates for Joan Collins, a plate for Jon Madejski, a Group cartoon of the crew (inc Johnny Depp) for Sweeny Todd, a thankyou card for Peter O’Toole, Kian from Westlife and his girlfriend.
- How far do we travel?
- Anywhere! We have been across the globe caricaturing as far flung places as Dubai, Jordon, Antigua, New York, San Francisco, all over Europe, The Channel Islands...even Birmingham, Harrogate, Carlisle and Edinburgh to name a few. Generally we are based in London but we are more than happy to go anywhere.
- Do you mind Dressing Up?
- No we don’t mind. A quick glance at the web site should prove we love dressing up. "I was a bit taken aback one time however, when working at the film premiere for Superbad, they showed me my outfit. It was nothing more than a dark blue leotard with police badge accessories and a police cap. Luckily I only had to hold my stomach in for an hour!" (Sheba)
- Do you see everyone in caricature?
- Yes, that’s why we had to marry each other. Every partner we had went off us as soon as we drew them.
- Has anyone got really offended?
- In general we try to make the caricatures as entertaining as possible. We’re not out to upset anyone, just make you laugh! It’s not our fault if people have funny faces!