Former Bugsy Malone actor Donald Waugh and Hackney ‘Windrush’ ladies on art mission in Margate

Former Bugsy Malone actor Donald Waugh is heading to Margate tomorrow (June 29) with a group of ‘Windrush’ women he has been working with in Hackney.

Donald, who played Snake Eyes, one of Fat Sam’s hoodlums, in the 1976 movie which starred Jodie Foster and Scott Baio,  has spent the last year creating art with members of the Hackney Caribbean Elderly organisation.

Now Donald and the ladies are planning to share their art by displaying images of it on the ‘art box’ at Newgate Gap shelter and asking residents to join them in creating a new piece from recycled rubbish.

Donald, who is making the trip at the invite of art box custodian Stretch outsider charity, said: “I have spent the last year creating artwork with them, using thrown away rubbish and recycled materials to create fashion and art.

“We recently celebrated 75 years of Windrush and we created a Windrush boat out of cardboard. I also did a makeover with four of the women, with age ranges from 80 to 90 years old.

“I will bring photographs (of the work) and display them on the cube in Newgate. If we have time, l will also encourage the community to create something abstract from any rubbish that we can find.”

Donald, who previously opened the Prison to Pavement exhibition in Margate in 2019, and the ladies will be at the art box from 1pm.

They will later take a trip to the Old Town and hope to leave work at one of the galleries.

Stretch Arts Charity took over the Newgate Gap shelter from Thanet council in an asset transfer in 2019, The council then granted permission for a temporary ‘floating’ wooden art box inside the shelter in June 2021.

Donald is the creator of the Pavement 2 Catwalk community interest company. The CIC works with those affected by homelessness, addiction, disability and mental health to create fashion and art from recycled materials.