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A Taste Of Honey
''A Taste of Honey'' is the first play by the British dramatist Shelagh Delaney, written when she was 19. It was intended as a novel, but she turned it into a play because she hoped to revitalise British theatre and address social issues that she thought were not being presented. The play was produced by Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop and premiered at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, a socialist fringe theatre in London, on 27 May 1958. The production then transferred to Wyndham's Theatre in the West End on 10 February 1959. The play was adapted into an award winning film of the same title in 1961 with an entirely different cast except for Murray Melvin as Geoff. ''A Taste of Honey'' is set in Salford in North West England in the 1950s. It tells the story of Jo, a seventeen-year-old working class girl, and her mother, Helen, who is presented as crude and sexually indiscriminate. Helen leaves Jo alone in their new flat after she begins a relationship with Peter, a rich ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theatre Workshop
Theatre Workshop is a theatre group whose long-serving director was Joan Littlewood. Many actors of the 1950s and 1960s received their training and first exposure with the company, many of its productions were transferred to theatres in the West End, and some, such as ''Oh, What a Lovely War!'' and '' A Taste of Honey'', were made into films. Formation Joan Littlewood and Ewan MacColl met and married in 1934, while both were working with the Theatre of Action. They started their own collaboration developing radio plays for the BBC, taking scripts and cast from local workers. However, both MI5 and the Special Branch maintained a watch on the couple because of their support for the Communist Party of Great Britain. Littlewood was precluded from working for the BBC as a children's programme presenter and some of MacColl's work was banned from broadcast. In the late 1930s Littlewood and MacColl formed an acting troupe called the Theatre Union. This was dissolved in 1940, but in 1945 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nigel Davenport
Arthur Nigel Davenport (23 May 1928 – 25 October 2013) was an English stage, television and film actor, best known as the Duke of Norfolk and Lord Birkenhead in the Academy Award-winning films '' A Man for All Seasons'' and ''Chariots of Fire'', respectively. Early life and education Davenport was born in Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire, son of Arthur Henry Davenport and Katherine Lucy (née Meiklejohn). His father was an engineer, educated at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge before being employed as an engineer for the Midland Railway, and was later a lecturer in engineering, a Fellow, and the bursar at his alma mater, Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge; he had served for four years in the Royal Engineers during World War I, and was awarded a Military Cross. Nigel's great-uncle, Major Matthew Fontaine Maury Meiklejohn, was awarded a Victoria Cross during the Second Boer War. He grew up in an academic family and was educated at St Peter's School, Seaford, Cheltenham College ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samantha Giles
Samantha Elizabeth Giles (born 2 July 1971) is an English actress and author. She is known for portraying the role of Bernice Blackstock in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. She had also portrayed Sally Boothe in the ITV drama series '' Where the Heart Is'' and Valerie Holden in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks Coronation Street as Kirsty .''She departed from ''Emmerdale'' in 2019 to focus on other creative projects, such as writing her debut novel, ''Rosemary and the Witches of Pendle Hill'', released in August 2020. In April 2021, it was confirmed that she would be returning to ''Emmerdale''. In October 2021 she had a sequel to her first book published called "Rosemary and the Book of the Dead". Giles describes her beliefs as Wiccan. Career From 1998 to 2002, and again in 2004, Giles portrayed the role of Bernice Blackstock in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. For her role as Bernice, she won the ''TV Quick'' Award for Best Actress. Giles' other television credits include ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patrick Baladi
Patrick Bashir Baladi (born 25 December 1971) is an English actor and musician. He is best known for playing Neil Godwin in the BBC sitcom ''The Office'', Michael Jackson in the Sky 1 drama '' Stella'' and Stephen Holmes in the ITV thriller ''Marcella''. Early life and education Baladi was born in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands. His father was a Syrian gynaecologist and obstetrician, and his mother a midwife.Jones, Alison (2009"Patrick Baladi goes from The Office to Hollywood" ''Birmingham Post'', 3 June 2009. Retrieved 29 January 2011. Baladi grew up with his siblings, Sara, Charlotte, Sophie and Nicholas. He was educated at Stonyhurst College, where he was the first student to win the Charles Laughton Prize for his roles in ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' (as Pharaoh) and ''Amadeus'' (as Mozart). After school he went on to train as an actor at the Central School of Speech and Drama. Career Baladi is known for his portrayal of David Brent's nemesis, Neil Godwi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kaye Wragg
Kaye Michelle Wragg (born 15 December 1972) is an English actress best known for her television roles as Sergeant Diane Noble in ''The Bill'', Kate Oakley in ''No Angels'', Essie Harrison (now known as Essie di Lucca) in ''Holby City'' from 2014 to 2020 and Lucy Archer in '' The Lakes''. She studied at the University of Salford. Career Born in Stockport, Cheshire, Wragg played one of Nick Harper's girlfriends, a police officer, in the BBC One situation comedy ''My Family''. She played nurse Essie di Lucca in ''Holby City'' whose first appearance was on 6 May 2014, she made her final appearance as Essie Di Lucca in Episode 1033, broadcast on 11 August 2020, as a conclusion of the character's terminal cancer storyline. She also played Gina in ITV's ''Panto!'' for the one Christmas special episode. In 2014 she guest starred in the first two episodes of series 17 of ''Silent Witness''. Wragg was also a main role in the Channel 4 hospital comedy No Angels In 2015 Wragg appeared as I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gemma Craven
Rita Gemma Craven (''née'' Gabriel; born 1 June 1950) is an Irish actress. She is best known for her role as Joan Parker, the frigid wife of Arthur (Bob Hoskins), in the BBC TV drama '' Pennies From Heaven'' (1978). Biography Craven's family moved from Dublin to Britain in 1960, and she attended the same school as Helen Mirren, St Bernard's Convent High School for Girls in Westcliff-on-Sea in Essex. She appeared as Cinderella in the film '' The Slipper and the Rose'' (1976) opposite Richard Chamberlain. She was cast as an unknown, having been spotted by one of the producers while performing at the Bristol Old Vic in a production of ''The Threepenny Opera''. The local press touted the event as her own "Cinderella" story. In London's West End, she starred opposite Tom Conti in the musical '' They're Playing Our Song'' for which she won a Laurence Olivier Award for her performance, the lead role in ''South Pacific'', and in Noël Coward's '' Private Lives'' opposite Marc Si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keith Reddin
Keith Reddin (born July 7, 1956) is an American actor and playwright. He received his B.S. in 1978 from Northwestern University and then went on to attend Yale School of Drama until he received his M.A. in 1981. Reddin grew up in Englewood, New Jersey and attended Dwight Morrow High School. His plays ''Life and Limb'', ''Rum and Coke'', ''Highest Standard of Living'' and ''But Not for Me'' all received their world premieres at South Coast Repertory. SCR also produced his adaptation of Alexander Buravsky’s ''The Russian Teacher''. Other plays include ''Nebraska'', ''Life During Wartime'', ''Brutality of Fact'', ''All the Rage'', ''The Prophets of Nature'' and ''Frame 312''. Adaptations include: Bulgakov's ''Black Snow'', Shatrov's ''Maybe'', Molière's '' The Imaginary Invalid'', Anouilh's ''Antigone'' and Thornton Wilder’s ''Heaven’s My Destination''. Film and television include, ''Big Time'' (American Playhouse), ''The Heart of Justice'' (TNT Trinitrotoluene (), mor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amanda Plummer
Amanda Michael Plummer (born March 23, 1957) is an American actress. She is known for her work on stage and for her roles in such films as '' Joe Versus the Volcano'' (1990), ''The Fisher King'' (1991), ''Pulp Fiction'' (1994), and '' The Hunger Games: Catching Fire'' (2013). Plummer won a Tony Award in 1982 for her performance in '' Agnes of God''. Early life Plummer was born on March 23, 1957, in New York City, the only child of American actress Tammy Grimes and Canadian actor Christopher Plummer. Her father said that they named their daughter Amanda Michael after Amanda Prynne, a character from the play ''Private Lives'', and the actress Michael Learned. She attended the elite Trinity School before graduating from the United Nations International School (UNIS). She attended Middlebury College for two and a half years and, as a young adult, studied acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City. Career Plummer has received critical acclaim for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valerie French (actress)
Valerie French (born Valerie Harrison; 11 March 1928 r 1932– 3 November 1990) was an English film and stage actress whose career began in 1954, with much occurring in 1956. Career French was born in London and spent her early childhood in Spain. She returned to Britain to become a student at Malvern Girls' College. After graduating, she joined the BBC drama department, working in television production before deciding to become an actress and joining the Theatre Royal Repertory Company. She considered her "real start in the theatre" to have been at the Theatre Royal, Windsor in Berkshire, England. She moved into film acting in her early twenties. Her first film appearance was in a minor role in the 1954 Italian film '' Maddalena''. After a role in the British film ''The Constant Husband'' (1955), she moved to Hollywood. Her best-remembered roles during this period were in western films such as '' Jubal'' in 1956 opposite Glenn Ford and ''Decision at Sundown'' opposite Ra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrew Ray
Andrew Ray (31 May 193920 August 2003) was an English actor who was best known as a child star. Biography He was born Andrew Olden (Ray was his father's stage name) in Southgate, Middlesex, the son of the radio comic Ted Ray and his wife, showgirl Dorothy Sybil (née Stevens). Ray's life was transformed at the age of 10 when he was cast in the title part of ''The Mudlark'', a 20th Century Fox film starring Alec Guinness and Irene Dunne. He played a street urchin who ends up meeting Queen Victoria. The film was chosen as the Royal Command Performance in 1950. He was featured in numerous films during the next few years, including '' The Yellow Balloon'' (1953), '' Escapade'' (1955), ''Woman in a Dressing Gown'' (1957), ''The Young and the Guilty'' (1958), ''Serious Charge'' (1959) with Cliff Richard, ''Twice Round the Daffodils'' (1962), and '' The System'' (1964). He also portrayed Herbert Pocket in the ITC remake of Charles Dickens's '' Great Expectations'' (1974) opposite M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billy Dee Williams
William December Williams Jr. (born April 6, 1937) is an American actor. He appeared as Lando Calrissian in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, first in the early 1980s for ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) and ''Return of the Jedi'' (1983), and thirty-six years later in ''The Rise of Skywalker'' (2019), marking one of the longest intervals between onscreen portrayals of a character by the same actor in American film history. Williams was born in New York City, and raised with his twin sister Loretta in Harlem. In 1945, he made his Broadway theatre debut at age seven in ''The Firebrand of Florence''. He later graduated from The High School of Music & Art, then won a painting scholarship to the National Academy of Fine Arts and Design, where he won a Hallgarten Prize for painting in the mid-1950s. To fund his art supplies he returned to acting, including stage, films, and television. He continued painting; his work has since been shown in galleries and collections worldwide. Williamsâ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joan Plowright
Joan Ann Olivier, Baroness Olivier, (née Plowright; born 28 October 1929), professionally known as Dame Joan Plowright, is an English retired actress whose career has spanned over seven decades. She has won two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award and has been nominated for an Academy Award, an Emmy and two BAFTA Awards. She was the second of only four actresses (as of 2020) to have won two Golden Globes in the same year. She won the Laurence Olivier Award for Actress of the Year in a New Play in 1978 for Filumena. Early life Plowright was born on 28 October 1929 in Brigg, Lincolnshire, the daughter of Daisy Margaret ( née Burton) and William Ernest Plowright, who was a journalist and newspaper editor. She attended Scunthorpe Grammar School [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
