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Born In The Gardens
''Born In The Gardens'' is a comedy play by Bristol-born playwright Peter Nichols. Nichols wrote the play in 1979, after his now famous drama ''Privates On Parade'' was rejected by the Bristol Old Vic for being too controversial. ''Born In The Gardens'' was staged in the Theatre Royal (now the Bristol Old Vic) to celebrate its 200th anniversary. The cast for the premiere included Beryl Reid, Peter Bowles, Barry Foster and Jennie Linden and the production transferred to the Globe Theatre in London where it played for nine months. Reid won the Society of West End Theatre Award for Best Comedy Performance. A television version with Constance Chapman replacing Reid was shown in 1986. The play centres on an elderly Bristolian mother and son living in a crumbling Victorian manor house. The title comes from a sign in the Polar Bear enclosure in Bristol Zoological gardens and referred to a polar bear called Misha. A touring version starring Colin Baker, Sandra Dickinson, Brian Cant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Nichols (playwright)
Peter Richard Nichols (31 July 1927 – 7 September 2019) was an English playwright, screenwriter, director and journalist. Life and career Born in Bristol, England, he was educated at Bristol Grammar School, and served his compulsory National Service as a clerk in Calcutta and later in the British Army's Combined Services Entertainment Unit in Singapore where he entertained the troops alongside John Schlesinger, Stanley Baxter, Peter Vaughan and Kenneth Williams, before going on to study acting at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He later claimed to have studied acting because there were no dedicated courses for playwrights. While working as a teacher, he began to write television plays that achieved notice. His first play for the stage was ''The Hooded Terror'', part of a season of new plays at the Little Theatre in Bristol. He later wrote ''A Day in the Death of Joe Egg'' for the stage. ''A Day in the Death of Joe Egg'' is a one-set drama in music hall style. '' The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colin Baker
Colin Baker (born 8 June 1943) is an English actor who played Paul Merroney in the BBC drama series '' The Brothers'' from 1974 to 1976 and the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'' from 1984 to 1986. Baker's tenure as the Doctor proved to be a controversial era for the series, which included a hiatus in production and his subsequent replacement on the orders of BBC executive Michael Grade. Early life Colin Baker was born in Waterloo, London, England. He moved north to Rochdale with his family when he was three years old. He was educated at St Bede's College, Manchester, where he passed A' Levels in French, Latin and Greek. Particularly strong in Latin and Greek, Baker achieved 2 A grades. He studied law at a London college and subsequently trained to become a solicitor. At the age of 23, Baker enrolled at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). Career Early work in television Baker's numer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allan Corduner
Allan Corduner (; born 2 April 1950) is a British actor. Born in Stockholm to a German mother and a Russo-Finnish father, Corduner grew up in a secular Jewish home in London. After earning a BA (Hons) in English and Drama at Bristol University he trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He has worked extensively on stage, TV, and film, both in the UK and in the United States. His voice is familiar from many BBC radio plays, audio books and TV documentaries. Corduner made his feature film debut in '' Yentl'', with Barbra Streisand and Mandy Patinkin. Of his 44 films he is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Sir Arthur Sullivan in Mike Leigh's ''Topsy-Turvy''. He also voiced Gehrman the first hunter in the 2015 video game ''Bloodborne''. Early life Corduner grew up in a secular Jewish home in North London with his parents and younger brother. His mother had escaped to Great Britain from Nazi Germany with her family in 1938. His father was born in Helsinki, Finland, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simon Shepherd
Simon Stephen Shepherd (born 20 August 1956) is an English actor best known to TV audiences from many appearances, including as Dr Will Preston in eight series of ITV's ''Peak Practice'' and Doctor Jonathan Barling in ''Casualty''. Shepherd was born in Bristol. He went to school at Clifton College in Bristol and was a contemporary of the director Roger Michell in Brown's House. He subsequently attended Manchester Metropolitan University and Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and was a member of the National Youth Theatre. As well as his television appearances, such as playing Patrick Simmons in the 1984 Miss Marple adaptation 'A Murder is Announced', he has had many notable stage and film roles since 1980, including as Lord Ashbrook in the 2011 Bristol Old Vic production of Helen Edmundson's ''Coram Boy''. In popular culture Simon Shepherd was regularly mentioned in the BBC comedy '' Gimme Gimme Gimme'' as Tom's crush and appeared as himself in an episode of each series. He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephanie Cole
Patricia Stephanie Cole (born 5 October 1941) is an English stage, television, radio and film actress, known for high-profile roles in shows such as '' Tenko'' (1981–1985), ''Open All Hours'' (1982–1985), ''A Bit of a Do'' (1989), '' Waiting for God'' (1990–1994), ''Keeping Mum'' (1997–1998), ''Doc Martin'' (2004–2009), ''Cabin Pressure'' (2008–2014), ''Still Open All Hours'' (2013–present), '' Man Down'' (2014–2017) and as Sylvia Goodwin in ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'' (2011–2013). She won Best TV Actress at the 1992 British Comedy Awards for her role in ''Waiting For God'' and won Best Comedy Performance at the 2012 British Soap Awards for her role in ''Coronation Street''. She was made an OBE in the 2005 Queen's Birthday Honours. Early life Cole was born in Solihull, Warwickshire, and trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School from 1958 to 1960 and went on to consolidate her acting skills in repertory theatres around the United Kingdom. Sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theatre Royal, Bath
The Theatre Royal in Bath, England, was built in 1805. A Grade II* listed building, it has been described by the Theatres Trust as "One of the most important surviving examples of Georgian theatre architecture". It has a capacity for an audience of around 900. The Theatre Royal was built to replace the Old Orchard Street Theatre, funded by a Tontine and elaborately decorated. The architect was George Dance the Younger, with John Palmer carrying out much of the work. It opened with a performance of Shakespeare's Richard III and hosted performances by many leading actors of the time including Dorothea Jordan, William Macready and Edmund Kean. A major fire in 1862 destroyed the interior of the building and was quickly followed by a rebuilding programme by Charles J. Phipps, which included the construction of the current entrance. Further redecoration was undertaken in 1892; more extensive building work, including a new staircase and the installation of electric lighting, followed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swansea Grand Theatre
Swansea Grand Theatre is a performing arts venue in the centre of Swansea, Wales. The theatre stages plays, pantomimes and touring theatrical acts visiting Swansea. Swansea Grand Theatre was the base for the UK's only Russian ballet company, the Swansea Ballet Russe. History The theatre opened in 1897. Erected on the site of the former 'Drill Hall' it was designed for proprietors H H Morell and F Mouillot by architect William Hope of Newcastle, built by D Jenkins and opened by Madame Adelina Patti - a locally resident operatic diva. In 1968, the Swansea Grand was threatened with closure but, following a campaign led by its manager and artistic director John Chilvers, the theatre was saved. The Swansea Corporation (City Council) leased the building in May 1969 and bought it outright in 1979. The theatre was then refurbished and updated between 1983 and 1987 at a cost of £6.5m. A further £1m was spent on an Arts Wing which opened in 1999 (opened by Catherine Zeta Jones). The Ci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Margery Mason
Margery Mason (27 September 1913 – 26 January 2014) was an English actress and director. She was the artistic director of the Repertory Theatre in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland in the 1960s. Career Mason played Sarah Stevens, the mother in John Hopkins' four-play cycle '' Talking to a Stranger'' (1966). A family drama with four characters, the viewpoint of Sarah Stevens was depicted in the fourth play, ''The Innocent Must Suffer''. Her film roles included ''Charlie Bubbles'' (1968), '' Clegg'' (1970), ''The Raging Moon'' (1971), ''Made'' (1972), ''Hennessy'' (1975), the bullying teacher's wife in ''Pink Floyd – The Wall'' (1982), '' Terry on the Fence'' (1986), a game show contestant in '' Victoria Wood Presents'' (1989), '' 101 Dalmatians'' (1996), ''Love Actually'' (2003), and the lady who works the sweets trolley in '' Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' (2005). She played "The Ancient Booer" in the 1987 film ''The Princess Bride''. Her television roles inc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brian Cant
Brian Cant (12 July 1933 – 19 June 2017) was an English actor of stage, television and film, television presenter, voice artist and writer. He was best known for his work in BBC television programmes for children from 1964 onward, most notably '' Play School'' and in later years '' Dappledown Farm.'' Early life and education Cant was born on 12 July 1933 in Ipswich and educated at Northgate Grammar School for Boys, a state grammar school, since renamed Northgate High School. He trained with Ipswich Town F.C.'s youth team. He worked as a printer before starting to act in the late 1950s. Television and film Cant was performing in BBC Schools drama television programmes about the Romans for the corporation when he heard that auditions were being held for a new pre-school children's programme which was to be shown on the new BBC 2 channel. This was '' Play School''. At his audition he was asked by programme creator and the series' first producer Joy Whitby to get in a cardboard ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sandra Dickinson
Sandra Dickinson (née Searles) is an American-British actress. She trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. She has often played characters who fell into the trope of a dumb blonde with a high-pitched voice. Early life Dickinson was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Maryland with her younger brother. Her father, Harold F. Searles, was a psychoanalyst. Her mother, Sulvii "Sylvia" Manninen, of Finnish descent, was a nurse. Career In 1973, at the age of 24, she made her acting debut as a waitress in the 1973 British film ''The Final Programme''. She is perhaps most well-known for her role of Trillian in the TV series of Douglas Adams's ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. She has appeared in films including ''Superman III'', ''Supergirl'', '' StagKnight'', ''Ready Player One'' and ''The Batman''. She has provided the American voice of Jemima Puddle-Duck in the British animated children's television series ''The World of Peter Rabbit and Fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constance Chapman
Constance Chapman (29 March 1912 – 10 August 2003) was an English character actor working in theatre and television. She also made occasional film appearances. She made her stage debut in 1938 in ''Hay Fever'' at the Knightstone Theatre, Weston-super-Mare. Repertory work followed until her London debut in 1969 at the Royal Court Theatre for director Lindsay Anderson. ''In Celebration'' proved to be her big break, and opened the floodgates for further acting work. Her roles include Mrs. Brown in the 1982 Granada Television adaptation of '' A Kind of Loving'' and Anne in the Children's science fiction series, ''The Georgian House'' (1976). Her many comedy roles included appearances in the John Cleese film ''Clockwise'' (1986), ''Victoria Wood As Seen On TV''. and playing Uncle Albert's girlfriend, Elsie Partridge, in an episode of Only Fools and Horses. She repeated her leading role in the Lindsay Anderson film of ''In Celebration'' (1975), having previously appeared in Anderson ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Privates On Parade
''Privates on Parade: A Play with Songs in Two Acts'' is a 1977 farce by English playwright Peter Nichols (book and lyrics), with music by Denis King. Plot The play is set around the activities and exploits of the fictional Song and Dance Unit South East Asia (SADUSEA), a British military concert party stationed in Singapore and Malaya in the late 1940s during the Malayan Emergency. The drama draws upon Nichols' own experiences in the real-life Combined Services Entertainment, the postwar successor to ENSA, Entertainments National Service Association. The play is noteworthy, inter alia, for a series of musical numbers, performed by the male lead, parodying the style of such performers as Noël Coward, Marlene Dietrich and Carmen Miranda. Productions It was premiered at Stratford by the Royal Shakespeare Company, before receiving its London première at the Aldwych Theatre on 17 February 1977, where it ran for 208 performances. This production won the 1977 Laurence Olivier ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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