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Mad, bad Grace steals the show
By Tom Teodorczuk and Robert Mendick, Evening Standard Last updated at 12:42pm on 11.08.06
Grace Jones leaves the aftershow party at Floridita in Soho
Wearing a ski hat and a top made out of what appeared to be black clingfilm, Grace Jones produced a bravura performance to overshadow Patrick Swayze's opening night in the West End.
The singer/actress was invited to the aftershow party in Soho and her act was pure Jones. One eyewitness described her look as that of a "Smurf gone wrong". Some suggested that next time the diva gets dressed she should take off the dark glasses first.
Then she performed her trademark slap - the one that decked chat show host Russell Harty - not just once, but repeatedly. This time, the target of her affectionate punching was a young photographer.
After hitting the paparazzo with her customary vim and vigour, she gave him a kiss and a cuddle. Then she pulled out a middle finger and waved it around - no doubt testing wind direction and speed - before appearing to delve into her blouse and threatening to display her left breast.
Jones was accompanied by Viscount Wimborne, to whom she has been engaged for two years. Aged 41, he is 17 years her junior and has earned the soubriquet "Edward Scissorhands" for his unkempt appearance.
He is spending £10million on restoring his family's Northamptonshire estate after inheriting £30million in 1993. Should the couple ever marry, Jones would become the Viscountess of Ashby St Ledgers.
And what did Jones make of Swayze's debut? "I thought he was fantastic," she declared while not hitting our reporter, "I love Guys And Dolls as I'm from a religious family so I can identify with it. I would like to play the part of a missionary in the show."
Swayze, 53, missed the first two weeks of his run owing to a chest infection.
He said: "It felt good to be on stage. I hear you don't often get standing ovations in London theatre but we're getting a roaring ovation every night. They're gradually filtering me in more of the show. I'm going to be doing more dancing and playing more of a part in the crap shoots. Tonight felt like I was sitting on top of a rocket which had taken off and I tried to hold on."
He added: "I love being in London and putting on a hat and glasses and going shopping. I can't do that anywhere else."
