Criterion Theatre (Coventry)
The Criterion Theatre is situated in Earlsdon, Coventry, England. It puts on about seven shows a year. The company has won the Godiva Award for best theatre in the region several times. The current patrons are Pete Waterman, music producer and railway preservationist, born in Coventry and Ron Cook, stage and screen actor of '' Thunderbirds'' and ''Doctor Who'' fame, who first acted as an amateur at the Criterion. The Coventry born actor, Sir Nigel Hawthorne (1929–2001), was a former patron. Theatre building The building was built in the 1880s and served as the Earlsdon Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ... until 1923, when it was replaced by a new church on the corner of Albany Road and Earlsdon Avenue South. It was then used as a Sunday school an ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed by Coventry City Council. Historic counties of England, Formerly part of Warwickshire until 1451, Coventry had a population of 345,328 at the 2021 census, making it the tenth largest city in England and the 12th largest in the United Kingdom. It is the second largest city in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, after Birmingham, from which it is separated by an area of Green belt (United Kingdom), green belt known as the Meriden Gap, and the third largest in the wider Midlands after Birmingham and Leicester. The city is part of a larger conurbation known as the Coventry and Bedworth Urban Area, which in 2021 had a population of 389,603. Coventry is east-south-east of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
West Midlands (county)
West Midlands is a metropolitan county in the West Midlands Region, England, with a 2021 population of 2,919,600, making it the second most populous county in England after Greater London. It was created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The county is a NUTS 2 region within the wider NUTS 1 region of the same name. It embraces seven metropolitan boroughs: the cities of Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton, and the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Walsall. The county is overseen by the West Midlands Combined Authority, which covers all seven boroughs and other non-constituent councils, on economy, transport and housing. Status The metropolitan county exists in law, as a geographical frame of reference, and as a ceremonial county. As such it has a Lord Lieutenant. and a High Sheriff. Between 1974 and 1986, the West Midlands County Council was the administrative body covering the county; t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south. The country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain, which lies in the North Atlantic, and includes over 100 smaller islands, such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight. The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Paleolithic period, but takes its name from the Angles, a Germanic tribe deriving its name from the Anglia peninsula, who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in the 10th century and has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century. The English language, the Anglican Church, and Engli ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Earlsdon
Earlsdon is a residential suburb and electoral ward of Coventry, England. It lies approximately one mile to the southwest of Coventry City Centre. It is the birthplace of aviation pioneer Frank Whittle. Amenities Most shops and restaurants are laid out on Earlsdon Street, the suburban high street. Earlsdon Library is one of the largest of the local-authority libraries outside of the city centre. In major sports, Earlsdon has its own rugby, golf and tennis clubs. Recreation grounds for football also are in Earlsdon. History In the mid-19th century, Earlsdon was a hub of activity for the rising watch-making trade. Even as the industry began to decline, Earlsdon continued to grow and was incorporated into the city of Coventry in 1890. The watch-making trade is represented by the clock on the roundabout at the bottom of the high street, where Earlsdon Avenue North and South join. In 1897, the opening of Albany Road, named after Princess Helena, Duchess of Albany, who visited Co ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Pete Waterman
Peter Alan Waterman, (born 15 January 1947) is an English record producer, songwriter, radio and club DJ, television presenter, president of Coventry Bears rugby league club and a keen railway enthusiast. As a member of the Stock Aitken Waterman songwriting team, he wrote and produced many hit singles. He is the owner of significant collections of both historic and commercial railway locomotives and rolling stock. Early life Peter Alan Waterman was born in Stoke Heath, Coventry, Warwickshire. He was educated at Whitley Abbey Comprehensive School until he left in 1962 to work for British Railways. He became a steam locomotive fireman based at Wolverhampton (Stafford Road) depot. In 2002 he said of his time working for British Railways, "I loved every minute of it. The squalor was unreal, but the camaraderie was phenomenal." After closure of the depot in 1963, Waterman chose to follow a career in music, being inspired by The Beatles. To supplement his income as a DJ, he beca ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Ron Cook
Ronald G. Cook (born 1948) is an English actor. He has been active in film, television and theatre since the 1970s. Early and personal life Cook was born in 1948 in South Shields, County Durham, England, the son of a school cook and a car worker. When he was six his family moved to Coventry; he went to Wyken Croft Junior School and then Caludon Castle School and is a graduate of Rose Bruford College. Career On stage, he appeared in the original 1988 production of Timberlake Wertenbaker's play ''Our Country's Good''. He was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award in the category of Best Supporting Actor in 2000 for his role in '' Juno and the Paycock'' at the Donmar Warehouse. He also appeared in a new play by Conor McPherson, '' The Seafarer'', at the Royal National Theatre. In 2008–2009, he took part in the Donmar's West End season at Wyndham's Theatre, playing Sir Toby Belch in ''Twelfth Night'' and Polonius in ''Hamlet''. In 2011, he played The Fool in ''King Lear'' st ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Thunderbirds (TV Series)
''Thunderbirds'' is a British science fiction television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, filmed by their production company AP Films (APF) and distributed by ITC Entertainment. It was made between 1964 and 1966 using a form of electronic marionette puppetry (dubbed " Supermarionation") combined with scale model special effects sequences. Two series, totalling thirty-two 50-minute episodes, were filmed; production ended with the completion of the sixth episode of the second series after Lew Grade, the Andersons' financial backer, failed in his bid to sell the programme to American network television. Set in the 2060s, ''Thunderbirds'' is a follow-up to the earlier Supermarionation productions ''Four Feather Falls'', ''Supercar'', ''Fireball XL5'' and '' Stingray''. It follows the exploits of International Rescue, a life-saving organisation equipped with technologically-advanced land, sea, air and space rescue craft; these are headed by a fleet of five vehicles nam ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the universe in a time-travelling space ship called the TARDIS. The TARDIS exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. With various companions, the Doctor combats foes, works to save civilisations, and helps people in need. Beginning with William Hartnell, thirteen actors have headlined the series as the Doctor; in 2017, Jodie Whittaker became the first woman to officially play the role on television. The transition from one actor to another is written into the plot of the series with the concept of regeneration into a new incarnation, a plot device in which a Time Lord "transforms" into a new body when the current one is too badly harmed to heal normally. Each acto ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Nigel Hawthorne
Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne (5 April 1929 – 26 December 2001) was an English actor. He is most known for his stage acting and his portrayal of Sir Humphrey Appleby, the permanent secretary in the 1980s sitcom '' Yes Minister'' and the Cabinet Secretary in its sequel, ''Yes, Prime Minister''. For this role, he won four BAFTA TV Awards for Best Light Entertainment Performance. He won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for portraying King George III in '' The Madness of King George'' (1994). He later won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor, for the 1996 series '' The Fragile Heart''. He was also an Olivier Award and Tony Award winner for his work in theatre. Early life Hawthorne was born in Coventry, Warwickshire, England, the second of four children of Agnes Rosemary (née Rice) and Charles Barnard Hawthorne, a physician. When Nigel was three years old, the family moved to Cape Town, South Africa, where hi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Methodism
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother Charles Wesley were also significant early leaders in the movement. They were named ''Methodists'' for "the methodical way in which they carried out their Christian faith". Methodism originated as a revival movement within the 18th-century Church of England and became a separate denomination after Wesley's death. The movement spread throughout the British Empire, the United States, and beyond because of vigorous missionary work, today claiming approximately 80 million adherents worldwide. Wesleyan theology, which is upheld by the Methodist churches, focuses on sanctification and the transforming effect of faith on the character of a Christian. Distinguishing doctrines include the new birth, assurance, imparted righteousness, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |