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Alan Dobie
Alan Russell Dobie (born 2 June 1932) is an English stage, television and film actor and a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Early life and career Dobie was born in Wombwell, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, to George Russell and Sarah Kate (née Charlesworth) Dobie. His father was a mining engineer and his mother's family were farmers. After attending Wath Grammar School, Dobie trained at the London Old Vic Theatre School and has performed in more than 117 productions during his 50+ year acting career. Dobie made his stage debut when he played the Page to Paris, in Shakespeare's ''Romeo and Juliet'' at the Old Vic Theatre, London, in 1952. In 1963 he played both God and Jesus in the open air, mainly amateur-cast York Mystery Plays, produced at that point triennially in the Yorkshire Museum Gardens. He made his Broadway debut as Corporal Hill in ''Chips with Everything'', at the Plymouth Theatre in 1963. Later career Dobie's stage roles in London's West ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Tiger And The Horse
''The Tiger and the Horse'' is a three-act play by Robert Bolt, written in 1960. Based on Bolt's own position as a member of the Committee of 100, a British anti-nuclear group, it deals with a university professor faced with choosing to sign a petition to ban nuclear weapons or a chance at vice chancellorship. It takes its title from William Blake's ''The Marriage of Heaven and Hell'': "The tigers of wrath are wiser than the horses of instruction." The play's original run coincided with Bolt's '' A Man for All Seasons'' in 1960. It was more financially successful than ''Man'', although it received mixed critical reviews. Its original cast featured Michael Redgrave as Dean, daughter Vanessa, in one of her first major stage roles, as Stella, and Alan Dobie Alan Russell Dobie (born 2 June 1932) is an English stage, television and film actor and a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Early life and career Dobie was born in Wombwell, West Riding of Yorkshire, Eng ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry VI, Part 1
''Henry VI, Part 1'', often referred to as ''1 Henry VI'', is a Shakespearean history, history play by William Shakespeare—possibly in collaboration with Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Nashe—believed to have been written in 1591. It is set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England. Whereas ''Henry VI, Part 2'' deals with the King's inability to quell the bickering of his nobles and the inevitability of armed conflict and ''Henry VI, Part 3'' deals with the horrors of that conflict, ''Henry VI, Part 1'' deals with the Hundred Years' War#French victory: 1429–1453, loss of England's French territories and the political machinations leading up to the Wars of the Roses, as the English political system is torn apart by personal squabbles and petty jealousy. Although the ''Henry VI'' trilogy may not have been written in chronological order, the three plays are often grouped together with Richard III (play), ''Richard III'' to form a tetralogy covering the entire Wars of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard II (play)
''The Life and Death of King Richard the Second'', commonly called ''Richard II'', is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to have been written around 1595. It is based on the life of King Richard II of England (ruled 1377–1399) and chronicles his downfall and the machinations of his nobles. It is the first part of a tetralogy, referred to by some scholars as the Henriad, followed by three plays about Richard's successors: ''Henry IV, Part 1''; '' Henry IV, Part 2''; and ''Henry V''. Although the First Folio (1623) includes the play among the histories, the earlier Quarto edition of 1597 calls it ''The tragedie of King Richard the second''. Characters * King Richard II * John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster – Richard's uncle * Duke of York – Richard's uncle * Duke of Aumerle – York's son * Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk * Queen – Richard's wife (an unnamed composite of his first wife, Anne of Bohemia, and his second, Isabella of Valois, who was still a chil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
As You Like It
''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility. ''As You Like It'' follows its heroine Rosalind as she flees persecution in her uncle's court, accompanied by her cousin Celia to find safety and, eventually, love, in the Forest of Arden. In the forest, they encounter a variety of memorable characters, notably the melancholy traveller Jaques, who speaks many of Shakespeare's most famous speeches (such as "All the world's a stage", "too much of a good thing" and "A fool! A fool! I met a fool in the forest"). Jaques provides a sharp contrast to the other characters in the play, always observing and disputing the hardships of life in the country. Historically, critical response has varied, with some critics finding the play a work of great merit and some f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taming Of The Shrew
''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken tinker named Christopher Sly into believing he is actually a nobleman himself. The nobleman then has the play performed for Sly's diversion. The main plot depicts the courtship of Petruchio and Katherina, the headstrong, obdurate shrew. Initially, Katherina is an unwilling participant in the relationship; however, Petruchio "tames" her with various psychological and physical torments, such as keeping her from eating and drinking, until she becomes a desirable, compliant, and obedient bride. The subplot features a competition between the suitors of Katherina's younger sister, Bianca, who is seen as the "ideal" woman. The question of whether the play is misogynistic has become the subject of considerable controversy, particularly among mode ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Love's Labours Lost
''Love's Labour's Lost'' is one of William Shakespeare's early comedies, believed to have been written in the mid-1590s for a performance at the Inns of Court before Elizabeth I of England, Queen Elizabeth I. It follows the King of Navarre and his three companions as they attempt to swear off the company of women for three years in order to focus on study and fasting. Their subsequent infatuation with the Princess of France and her ladies makes them forsworn (break their oath). In an untraditional ending for a comedy, the play closes with the death of the Princess's father, and all weddings are delayed for a year. The play draws on themes of masculine love and desire, reckoning and rationalisation, and reality versus fantasy. Though first published in quarto in 1598, the play's title page suggests a revision of an earlier version of the play. There are no obvious sources for the play's plot. The use of apostrophes in the play's title varies in early editions, though it is most ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macbeth
''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power. Of all the plays that Shakespeare wrote during the reign of James I, ''Macbeth'' most clearly reflects his relationship with King James, patron of Shakespeare's acting company. It was first published in the Folio of 1623, possibly from a prompt book, and is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy. A brave Scottish general named Macbeth receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the Scottish throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia. Forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion, he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler. The bloodbath and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merchant Of Venice
''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is most remembered for its dramatic scenes, and it is best known for the character Shylock and his famous demand for a " pound of flesh" in retribution. The play contains two famous speeches, that of Shylock, "Hath not a Jew eyes?" on the subject of humanity, and that of Portia on " the quality of mercy". Debate exists on whether the play is anti-Semitic, with Shylock's insistence on his legal right to the pound of flesh being in opposition to Shylock's seemingly universal plea for the rights of all people suffering discrimination. Characters * Antonio – a prominent merchant of Venice in a melancholic mood. * Bassanio – Anto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry VIII (play)
''Henry VIII'' is a collaborative history play, written by William Shakespeare and John Fletcher, based on the life of Henry VIII. An alternative title, , is recorded in contemporary documents, with the title not appearing until the play's publication in the First Folio of 1623. Stylistic evidence indicates that individual scenes were written by either Shakespeare or his collaborator and successor, John Fletcher. It is also somewhat characteristic of the late romances in its structure. It is noted for having more stage directions than any of Shakespeare's other plays. During a performance of ''Henry VIII'' at the Globe Theatre in 1613, a cannon shot employed for special effects ignited the theatre's thatched roof (and the beams), burning the original Globe building to the ground. Characters * Prologue/Epilogue * Henry VIII – King of England * Cardinal Wolsey – Archbishop of York and Lord Chancellor; initially, Henry's chief adviser * Queen Katherine – later d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Murder In The Cathedral
''Murder in the Cathedral'' is a verse drama by T. S. Eliot, first performed in 1935, that portrays the assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral during the reign of Henry II in 1170. Eliot drew heavily on the writing of Edward Grim, a clerk who was an eyewitness to the event. Some material that the producer asked Eliot to remove or replace during the writing was transformed into the poem " Burnt Norton". Plot The action occurs between 2 and 29 December 1170, chronicling the days leading up to the martyrdom of Thomas Becket following his absence of seven years in France. Becket's internal struggle is a central focus of the play. The book is divided into two parts. Part one takes place in the Archbishop Thomas Becket's hall on 2 December 1170. The play begins with a Chorus singing, foreshadowing the coming violence. The Chorus is a key part of the drama, with its voice changing and developing during the play, offering comments about the action and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Julius Caesar (play)
''The Tragedy of Julius Caesar ''(First Folio title: ''The Tragedie of Ivlivs Cæsar'') is a history play and tragedy by William Shakespeare first performed in 1599. In the play, Brutus joins a conspiracy led by Cassius to assassinate Julius Caesar, to prevent him from becoming a tyrant. Caesar's right-hand man Antony stirs up hostility against the conspirators and Rome becomes embroiled in a dramatic civil war. Characters * Julius Caesar ''Triumvirs after Caesar's death'' * Octavius Caesar * Mark Antony * Lepidus ''Conspirators against Caesar'' * Marcus Brutus (Brutus) * Cassius * Casca * Decius Brutus * Cinna * Metellus Cimber * Trebonius * Caius Ligarius ''Tribunes'' * Flavius * Marullus ''Roman Senate Senators'' * Cicero * Publius * Popilius Lena ''Citizens'' * Calpurnia – Caesar's wife * Portia – Brutus' wife * Soothsayer – a person supposed to be able to foresee the future * Artemidorus – sophist from Knidos * Cinna – poet * Cobbler * C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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