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A Miracle
''A Miracle'' by Molly Davies was her first professionally staged play and was staged first at the upstairs Jerwood Theatre at Royal Court Theatre in London in 2009 as part of the theatre's Young Writers Festival. It starred Russell Tovey, Kate O'Flynn, Sorcha Cusack and Gerard Horan. Overview The plot follows the struggle of a teenage single mother, Amy Aston, to bond with her unwanted baby daughter Cara in rural Norfolk. Amy works at a chicken factory whilst her grandmother, Val, looks after the child. The young mother begins a tumultuous relationship with Gary Trudgill, a violent and traumatised soldier on sick leave from the Army. Gary's outbursts, in part a response to the treatment he receives from his own father, Rob, threaten to harm the child. The play ends on a potentially helpful note, with baby Cara's survival being the miracle of the play's title. Cast * Amy Aston: Kate O'Flynn * Gary Trudgill: Russell Tovey * Val, Amy's grandmother: Sorcha Cusack * Rob, Gary' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Molly Davies
Molly Davies is a British playwright originally from Norfolk but now living in London. A graduate of the University of Kent at Canterbury, she is currently writing and works part-time as a teacher. Davies is a product of the Royal Court Theatre's programme for young playwrights, and her debut play ''A Miracle'' was staged at the Court from 27 February to 21 March 2009. The play met with instant acclaim from critics. Evelyn Curlet wrote in The Stage, "Davies writes with punch and panache and has made a spare, powerful debut", Charles Spencer wrote in the Telegraph that "this proves a shattering full-length debut" and Dominic Maxwell awarded a 4 star review, saying Davies was "another striking success from the Court's new writers season". ''A Miracle'' received strong reviews in several other UK newspapers and Davies was longlisted for the award for Most Promising Playwright in the 2009 Evening Standard Awards. In 2014 Davies's play ''God Bless the Child'' was staged at the Ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gerard Horan
Gerard James Pertwee Horan (born 11 November 1962) is an British actor. He is known for playing Firefighter Leslie "Charisma" Appleby in '' London's Burning'' from 1986 to 1989 and again in 1994. Partial filmography * ''My Beautiful Laundrette'' (1985) as Telephone Man * ''The Singing Detective'' (1986, TV Mini-Series) as Reginald Dibbs * '' London's Burning: The Movie'' (1986, TV Pilot Film) as Leslie 'Charisma' Appleby * '' Hidden City'' (1987) as Young Man in Tunnel * ''Sammy and Rosie Get Laid'' (1987) as Restaurant Manager * '' London's Burning'' (1988-1989, 1994, TV Series) as Leslie 'Charisma' Appleby * '' Tank Malling'' (1989) as Car Park Attendant * ''Chicago Joe and the Showgirl'' (1990) as John Wilkins * ''Lovejoy'' (1992, TV Series) as Toni * ''The Ruth Rendell Mysteries'' (1991, TV Series) as John Hood * ''Much Ado About Nothing'' (1993) as Borachio * ''A Touch of Frost'' (1994, TV Series) as Ray Butler * '' Mary Shelley's Frankenstein'' (1994) as Claude * ''Immorta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicholas De Jongh
Nicholas de Jongh is a British writer, theatre critic and playwright. He served as the senior drama critic of the ''Evening Standard'' from 1991 to 2009. Prior to that, he had worked for ''The Guardian'' for almost 20 years. In 2008, de Jongh successfully made the transition from critic to playwright when his play ''Plague Over England'' was staged at the Finborough Theatre in Earl's Court. Set in 1950s England, the play takes a look back at the arrest of the actor John Gielgud for homosexual soliciting at the height of his fame. The play was an instant hit and sold out for its run at the Finborough. In 2009, the play transferred to the West End. Following the success of his first play, he resigned from his post at the ''Evening Standard'' to pursue a full-time writing career. He has also written two books: ''Not in Front of the Audience'' (1992), a study of the depiction of homosexuality in English drama, and ''Politics, Pruderies and Perversions'' (2000), a history of Briti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evening Standard
The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after being purchased by Russian businessman Alexander Lebedev, the paper ended a 180-year history of paid circulation and became a free newspaper, doubling its circulation as part of a change in its business plan. Emily Sheffield became editor in July 2020 but resigned in October 2021. History From 1827 to 2009 The newspaper was founded by barrister Stanley Lees Giffard on 21 May 1827 as ''The Standard''. The early owner of the paper was Charles Baldwin. Under the ownership of James Johnstone, ''The Standard'' became a morning paper from 29 June 1857. ''The Evening Standard'' was published from 11 June 1859. ''The Standard'' gained eminence for its detailed foreign news, notably its reporting of events of the American Civil War (1861–1865 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Billington (critic)
Michael Keith Billington OBE (born 16 November 1939) is a British author and arts critic. He writes for ''The Guardian'', and was the paper's chief drama critic from 1971 to 2019. Billington is "Britain's longest-serving theatre critic" and the author of biographical and critical studies relating to British theatre and the arts. He is the authorised biographer of the playwright Harold Pinter (1930–2008). Early life and education Billington was born on 16 November 1939, in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England, and attended Warwick School, an independent boys' school in Warwick. He attended St Catherine's College, Oxford, from 1958 to 1961, where he studied English and was appointed theatre critic of '' Cherwell''. He graduated with a BA degree. As a member of Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS), in 1959, Billington played the Priest in '' The Birds'', by Aristophanes, his only appearance as an actor, and, in 1960, he directed a production of Eugène Ionesco's ''The Ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saved (play)
''Saved'' is a play by Edward Bond which premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in November 1965. The play itself is set in London during the 1960s. Its subject is the cultural poverty and frustration of a generation of young people on the dole and living on council estates. In response to the censorship of the play, Laurence Olivier wrote a letter to ''The Observer'', saying that: "''Saved'' is not a play for children but it is for grown-ups, and the grown-ups of this country should have the courage to look at it." U.S. novelist Mary McCarthy praised its "remarkable delicacy". ''Saved'' was originally refused a licence without severe cuts by the Lord Chamberlain. When it was performed to large private audiences, the Lord Chamberlain decided to prosecute those who were involved in the production of the play. Although the defendants pleaded guilty and were fined, the case reflected badly on the censorship office and was pivotal in the abolition of theatre censorship a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was founded by Arthur B. Sleigh in 1855 as ''The Daily Telegraph & Courier''. Considered a newspaper of record over ''The Times'' in the UK in the years up to 1997, ''The Telegraph'' generally has a reputation for high-quality journalism, and has been described as being "one of the world's great titles". The paper's motto, "Was, is, and will be", appears in the editorial pages and has featured in every edition of the newspaper since 19 April 1858. The paper had a circulation of 363,183 in December 2018, descending further until it withdrew from newspaper circulation audits in 2019, having declined almost 80%, from 1.4 million in 1980.United Newspapers PLC and Fleet Holdings PLC', Monopolies and Mergers Commission (1985), pp. 5–16. Its si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Guardian Media Group, owned by the Scott Trust. The trust was created in 1936 to "secure the financial and editorial independence of ''The Guardian'' in perpetuity and to safeguard the journalistic freedom and liberal values of ''The Guardian'' free from commercial or political interference". The trust was converted into a limited company in 2008, with a constitution written so as to maintain for ''The Guardian'' the same protections as were built into the structure of the Scott Trust by its creators. Profits are reinvested in journalism rather than distributed to owners or shareholders. It is considered a newspaper of record in the UK. The editor-in-chief Katharine Viner succeeded Alan Rusbridger in 2015. Since 2018, the paper's main news ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sorcha Cusack
Sorcha Cusack (; born 9 April 1949) is an Irish television and stage actress. Her numerous television credits include playing the title role in ''Jane Eyre'' (1973), ''Casualty'' (1994–1997), ''Coronation Street'' (2008) and ''Father Brown'' (2013–present). Early and personal life Cusack was born on 9 April 1949 in Dublin, Ireland. She is the second daughter of the actors Cyril Cusack (1910–1993) and Maureen Cusack (1920–1977), her elder sister is actress Sinéad Cusack, and her younger sister is actress Niamh Cusack. She is a half-sister to Catherine Cusack. Through her sister Sinéad, she is the sister-in-law of actor Jeremy Irons and the aunt of actor Max Irons and his brother, former child actor Samuel Irons. She is married to actor Nigel Cooke with whom she has two children. Career Cusack has made many film and television appearances including ''Inspector Morse'' (“Cherubim and Seraphim“, S6:E5, 1992) as Joyce, ''The Bill'', ''Casualty'' (as Staff Nurse / Wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England. In 1956 it was acquired by and remains the home of the English Stage Company, which is known for its contributions to contemporary theatre and won the Europe Prize Theatrical Realities in 1999. History The first theatre The first theatre on Lower George Street, off Sloane Square, was the converted Nonconformist Ranelagh Chapel, opened as a theatre in 1870 under the name The New Chelsea Theatre. Marie Litton became its manager in 1871, hiring Walter Emden to remodel the interior, and it was renamed the Court Theatre. Several of W. S. Gilbert's early plays were staged here, including ''Randall's Thumb'', ''Creatures of Impulse'' (with music by Alberto Randegger), ''Great Expectations'' (adapted from the Dickens novel), and ''On Gu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kate O'Flynn
Kate O'Flynn is a British actress. She is known for her performance in Royal National Theatre, National Theatre's production of ''Port'' for which she received a Critics' Circle Theatre Award in 2013, as well as starring roles in plays ''A Taste of Honey'' in 2014, and ''The Glass Menagerie'' for which she was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in 2017. On screen, she has appearances in the films ''Up There'' (2011) and ''Mr. Turner'' (2014), and television series Landscapers (miniseries), ''Landscapers'' (2021) and Death in Paradise (TV series), ''Death in Paradise'' (2022). Education and training O'Flynn attended Manchester's Royal Exchange, Manchester#Theatre, Royal Exchange youth theatre as a teenager, before training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). Career O'Flynn's first professional role was in Mike Leigh's 2008 film ''Happy-Go-Lucky (2008 film), Happy-Go-Lucky''. Later that year, her performance in ''The Children's Hour (play), The Ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Russell Tovey
Russell George Tovey (born 14 November 1981) is an English actor. He is best known for playing the role of werewolf George Sands in the BBC's supernatural comedy-drama '' Being Human'', Rudge in both the stage and film versions of ''The History Boys'', Steve in the BBC Three sitcom '' Him & Her'', Kevin Matheson in the HBO original series ''Looking'' and its subsequent series finale television film '' Looking: The Movie''. Early life Tovey was born on 14 November 1981 in Billericay, Essex.Randall, Lee.Actor Russell Tovey graduated to Dickens, Doctor Who and Gavin & Stacey. Now starring as a modern-day werewolf in a new TV sitcom, he's headed for the top of the class" ''The Scotsman.'' 1 February 2009. Retrieved 25 December 2013. He is the younger of two sons of Carole (''née'' Webb) and George Tovey, who ran a Romford-based coach service taking passengers from Essex to Gatwick Airport. Tovey has an older brother, Daniel. He attended Harold Court School in Harold Wood and She ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
