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Benefactors (play)
''Benefactors'' is a 1984 play by Michael Frayn. It is set in the 1960s and concerns an idealistic architect David and his wife Jane and their relationship with the cynical Colin and his wife Sheila. David is attempting to build some new homes to replace the slum housing of Basuto Road and is gradually forced by circumstances into building skyscrapers despite his initial aversion to these. This is set against the backdrop of 1960s new housing projects. Sheila becomes his secretary but it is unclear if she is helping him or the other way around. As the title of the play suggests it is about helping people and explores some of the difficulties inherent in this or in being helped. Awards and nominations ;Awards * 1984 Evening Standard Award for Best Play * 1984 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play * 1984 Plays and Players London Theatre Critics Award for Best Play * 1986 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Foreign Play ;Nominations * 1986 Drama Desk Award for Best Play ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Frayn
Michael Frayn, FRSL (; born 8 September 1933) is an English playwright and novelist. He is best known as the author of the farce ''Noises Off'' and the dramas ''Copenhagen'' and ''Democracy''. His novels, such as '' Towards the End of the Morning'', '' Headlong'' and ''Spies'', have also been critical and commercial successes, making him one of the handful of writers in the English language to succeed in both drama and prose fiction. He has also written philosophical works, such as ''The Human Touch: Our Part in the Creation of the Universe'' (2006). Early life Frayn was born at Mill Hill (then in Middlesex) to Thomas Allen Frayn, an asbestos salesman from a working-class family of blacksmiths, locksmiths and servants, in which deafness was hereditary, and his wife Violet Alice (née Lawson). Violet was the daughter of a failed palliasse merchant; having studied as a violinist at the Royal Academy of Music, she worked as a shop assistant and occasional clothes model at Harr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vaudeville Theatre
The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on the Strand in the City of Westminster. As the name suggests, the theatre held mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. It opened in 1870 and was rebuilt twice, although each new building retained elements of the previous structure. The current building opened in 1926, and the capacity is now 690 seats. Rare ''thunder drum'' and ''lightning sheets'', together with other early stage mechanisms, survive in the theatre. History Origins The theatre was designed by prolific architect C. J. Phipps, and decorated in a Romanesque style by George Gordon. It opened on 16 April 1870 with Andrew Halliday's comedy, ''For Love Or Money'' and a burlesque, ''Don Carlos or the Infante in Arms''. A notable innovation was the concealed footlights, which would shut off if the glass in front of them was broken. The owner, William Wybrow Robertson, had run a failing billiard hall on the site but saw more opportunity in theatre. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Slum
A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily inhabited by impoverished people.What are slums and why do they exist? UN-Habitat, Kenya (April 2007) Although slums are usually located in s, in some countries they can be located in suburban areas where housing quality is low and living conditions are poor. While slums differ in size and other characteristics, most lack r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evening Standard Award
The ''Evening Standard'' Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are the oldest theatrical awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. They are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre, and are organised by the ''Evening Standard'' newspaper. They are the West End's equivalent to Broadway's Drama Desk Awards. Trophies The trophies take the form of a modelled statuette, a figure representing Drama, designed by Frank Dobson RA, a former Professor of Sculpture at the Royal College of Art. Categories Three of the awards are given in the names of former ''Evening Standard'' notables: *Arts editor Sydney Edwards (who conceived the awards, and died suddenly in July 1979) for the Best Director category. *Editor Charles Wintour (who as deputy-editor in 1955, launched the awards after a nod from the proprietor, Lord Beaverbrook') for Most Promising Playwright. *Long-serving theatre critic Milton Shulman (for several years a key member of the judging panel) for the Out ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laurence Olivier Award
The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Awards, but they were renamed in honour of the British actor of the same name in 1984. The awards are given to individuals involved in West End productions and other leading non-commercial theatres based in London across a range of categories covering plays, musicals, dance, opera and affiliate theatre. A discretionary non-competitive Special Olivier Award is also given each year. The Olivier Awards are recognised internationally as the highest honour in British theatre, equivalent to the BAFTA Awards for film and television, and the BRIT Awards for music. The Olivier Awards are considered equivalent to Broadway's Tony Awards and France's Molière Award. Since inception, the awards have been held at va ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New York Drama Critics' Circle
The New York Drama Critics' Circle is made up of 22 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines and wire services based in the New York City metropolitan area. The organization is best known for its annual awards for excellence in theater.Jones, KennethPassing Strange and August: Osage County Win 2007–08 NY Drama Critics Circle Award" playbill.com, May 12, 2008. Retrieved May 26, 2018.Hetrick, Adam"NY Drama Critics' Circle Awards Matilda and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike With Top Honors"playbill.com, May 3, 2013. Retrieved May 26, 2018. The organization was founded in 1935 at the Algonquin Hotel by a group that included Brooks Atkinson, Walter Winchell, and Robert Benchley. Adam Feldman of ''Time Out New York'' has been President of the organization since 2005; Joe Dziemianowicz is currently Vice President, and Zachary Stewart of TheaterMania serves as Treasurer. Member affiliations *''amNewYork'' *''The Hollywood Reporter'' *''New York (magazine), New York'' *''New ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New York Innovative Theatre Awards
The New York Innovative Theatre Awards (also known as NYIT Awards and IT Awards) are accolades given annually by the New York Innovative Theatre Foundation, a not-for-profit arts organization founded in 2004, to honor individuals and organizations who have achieved artistic excellence in off-off-Broadway theatre. Mission statement The New York Innovative Theatre Foundation was created to bring recognition to the great work being done in New York City's Off-Off-Broadway, to honor its artistic heritage, and to provide a meeting ground for this extensive community. The organization advocates for Off-Off-Broadway and recognizes the unique and essential role it plays in contributing to American and global culture. We believe that publicly recognizing excellence in Off-Off-Broadway will expand audience awareness and appreciation of the full New York theatre experience. The IT Awards is a not-for-profit arts organization supporting the Off-Off-Broadway community by: * Celebrating an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Retro Productions
Retro Productions is a New York City based Off-Off-Broadway theater company. Their mission is to produce works of "Retro Theater," mainly straight plays that take place in the 20th century. The company is composed of twenty-two members who are actors, designers, directors, and stage managers, and is led by artistic director Heather E. Cunningham, an actress and producer. whose performance as Rose Walker in the Retro production ''An Appeal to the Woman of the House'' by Christie Perfetti Williams won her a New York Innovative Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Lead Role. History The company was formed in 2005 under the name River Heights Productions, after the hometown of Nancy Drew. Under this name the company produced two plays: ''Catholic School Girls'' by Casey Kurtti, in March 2005, at chashama and the New York City Premiere of ''Mrs. California'' by Doris Baizley, in March 2006, at the 78th Street Theatre Lab. Following the production of ''Mrs. California'', River Heights P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Off-Off Broadway
Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commercialism of the professional theatre scene and as an experimental or avant-garde movement of drama and theatre. Over time, some off-off-Broadway productions have moved away from the movement's early experimental spirit. History The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as a "complete rejection of commercial theatre". Michael Smith gives credit for the term's coinage to Jerry Tallmer in 1960. Among the first venues for what would soon be called "off-off-Broadway" theatre were coffeehouses in Greenwich Village, particularly the Caffe Cino at 31 Cornelia Street, operated by the eccentric Joe Cino, who early on took a liking to actors and playwrights and agreed to let them stage plays there without bothering to read the plays first, or to even find out much ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1984 Plays
Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). * January 10 ** The United States and the Vatican City, Vatican (Holy See) restore full diplomatic relations. ** The Victoria, Seychelles, Victoria Agreement is signed, institutionalising the Indian Ocean Commission. *January 24 – Steve Jobs launches the Macintosh 128K, Macintosh personal computer in the United States. February * February 3 ** Dr. John Buster and the research team at Harbor–UCLA Medical Center announce history's first embryo transfer from one woman to another, resulting in a live birth. ** STS-41-B: Space Shuttle Challenger, Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' is launched on the 10th Space Shuttle mission. * February 7 – Astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart make the first untethered spac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
