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Edward Knight (British Actor)
Edward Knight (1774–1826) was an English actor, commonly known as "Little Knight". Early life He was born in Birmingham. While working as a sign-painter or artist, he saw a performance of a provincial company. He appeared onstage at Newcastle, Staffordshire, as Hob in ''Hob in the Well'' (Colley Cibber), but suffered stage-fright and ran off the stage. A year later at Raither in North Wales he got through the same part. Playing Frank Oatland in ''A Cure for the Heartache'' ( Thomas Morton) he was seen and engaged by Nunns, the manager of the Stafford Theatre; and he worked in Stafford for some years. Tate Wilkinson, to whom he introduced himself, engaged him for the York circuit around 1803. His reception was favourable. Knight was the author of a musical farce in two acts, entitled ''The Sailor and Soldier, or Fashionable Amusement''. It was produced for his benefit in Kingston upon Hull in 1805. In London Engaged by Richard Wroughton, on a report from John Bannister, fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Knight Waldeck
Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Saxon England, but the rule of the Norman and Plantagenet dynasties had effectively ended its use amongst the upper classes. The popularity of the name was revived when Henry III named his firstborn son, the future Edward I, as part of his efforts to promote a cult around Edward the Confessor, for whom Henry had a deep admiration. Variant forms The name has been adopted in the Iberian peninsula since the 15th century, due to Edward, King of Portugal, whose mother was English. The Spanish/Portuguese forms of the name are Eduardo and Duarte. Other variant forms include French Édouard, Italian Edoardo and Odoardo, German, Dutch, Czech and Romanian Eduard and Scandinavian Edvard. Short forms include Ed, Eddy, Eddie, Ted, Teddy and Ned. Peop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Beaux' Stratagem
''The Beaux' Stratagem'' is a comedy by George Farquhar, first produced at the Theatre Royal, now the site of Her Majesty's Theatre, in the Haymarket, London, on March 8, 1707. In the play, Archer and Aimwell, two young gentlemen who have fallen on hard times, plan to travel through small towns, entrap young heiresses, steal their money and move on. In the first town, Lichfield, they set their sights on Dorinda. Aimwell falls truly in love, and comedy ensues. Foigard, a priest and chaplain to the French officer, is actually an Irish priest called MacShane (a sombre version of the stage-Irish stereotype). Characters *Archer, a beau, posing as servant to Aimwell *Aimwell, another beau *Count Bellair, a French count *Boniface, a Landlord of an inn *Cherry, his daughter *Lady Bountiful, country woman, specialises in herbal medicine *Dorinda, her daughter *A countrywoman *Squire Sullen, a country block-head, Lady Bountiful's son *Scrub, his servant *Mrs (Kate) Sullen, his unhappy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Love In A Camp
''Patrick in Prussia, or Love in a Camp'' is a 1786 comic opera with music by William Shield and a libretto by John O'Keeffe. An afterpiece, it was a sequel to the 1783 hit ''The Poor Soldier'' with the characters now serving in the Prussian army. The work in two acts was first performed on 17 February 1786 at the Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ... opera house, London.White (1983), p. 50. References Bibliography * Shaffer, Jason: ''Performing Patriotism: National Identity in the Colonial and Revolutionary American Theater'' (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007) * White, Eric Walter: ''A Register of First Performances of English Operas'' (London: Society for Theatre Research, 1983) 1786 operas English comic operas Operas set in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John O'Keeffe (Irish Writer)
John O'Keeffe (24 June 1747 – 4 February 1833) was an Irish actor and dramatist. He wrote a number of farces, amusing dramatic pieces and librettos for pasticcio operas, many of which had great success. Among these are '' Tony Lumpkin in Town'' (1778), ''Love in a Camp'' (1786), and ''Omai'' (1785), an account of the voyages of the Tahitian explorer Omai, and '' Wild Oats'' (1791). Early life O'Keeffe was born in Abbey Street, Dublin in 1747 to Roman Catholic parents and was educated by the Jesuits. His father was from King's County and his mother (née O'Connor) from County Wexford. After showing a talent for drawing he studied art at an academy in Dublin, but grew increasingly more interested in the theatre. After a two-year period in London, where he became an admirer of David Garrick, he settled on a career as an actor and playwright. O'Keeffe wrote his first play ''The She Gallant'' when he was twenty, and it was performed in Dublin at the Smock Alley Theatre. In Cork, in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas John Dibdin
Thomas John Dibdin (21 March 1771 – 16 September 1841) was an English dramatist and songwriter. Life Dibdin was the son of Charles Dibdin, a songwriter and theatre manager, and of "Mrs Davenet", an actress whose real name was Harriett Pitt. He was introduced to the stage at five years old, in his godfather David Garrick’s pageant of ‘’Jubilee of Shakespeare’’. Mrs Siddons was The Venus and the Young Tom Cupid. He was apprenticed to his maternal uncle, a London upholsterer, and later to William Rawlins, afterwards sheriff of London. He summoned his second master unsuccessfully for rough treatment; and after a few years of service he ran away to join a company of country players. From 1789 to 1795 he played all sorts of parts; he worked as a scene painter at Liverpool in 1791; and during this period he composed more than 1,000 songs. His first work as a dramatist was ''Something New'', followed by ''The Mad Guardian'' in 1795. He returned to London in 1795, having m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Twelfth Night
''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola and Sebastian, who are separated in a shipwreck. Viola (who is disguised as Cesario) falls in love with the Duke Orsino, who in turn is in love with Countess Olivia. Upon meeting Viola, Countess Olivia falls in love with her thinking she is a man. The play expanded on the musical interludes and riotous disorder expected of the occasion, with plot elements drawn from the short story "Of Apollonius and Silla" by Barnabe Rich, based on a story by Matteo Bandello. The first recorded public performance was on 2 February 1602, at Candlemas, the formal end of Christmastide in the year's calendar. The play was not published until its inclusion in the 1623 First Folio. Characters * Viola – a shipwrecked young woman who disguises herself a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merry Wives Of Windsor
''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' or ''Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare first published in 1602, though believed to have been written in or before 1597. The Windsor of the play's title is a reference to the town of Windsor, also the location of Windsor Castle, in Berkshire, England. Though nominally set in the reign of Henry IV or early in the reign of Henry V, the play makes no pretence to exist outside contemporary Elizabethan-era English middle-class life. It features the character Sir John Falstaff, the fat knight who had previously been featured in ''Henry IV, Part 1'' and '' Part 2''. It has been adapted for the opera at least ten times. The play is one of Shakespeare's lesser-regarded works among literary critics. Tradition has it that ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' was written at the request of Queen Elizabeth I. After watching ''Henry IV Part I'', she asked Shakespeare to write a play depicting Falstaff in love. Char ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Spanish Curate
''The Spanish Curate'' is a late Jacobean era stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger. It premiered on the stage in 1622, and was first published in 1647. Date and source The play was licensed for production by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels, on 24 October 1622. The dramatists' source for their plot, the Spanish novel ''Gerardo, the Unfortunate Spaniard'' by Gonzalo de Céspedes y Meneses, was first published in English, in a translation by Leonard Digges, earlier in the same year. Performance and publication ''The Spanish Curate'' was acted by the King's Men, and was performed by that troupe at Court on St. Stephen's Day, 26 December 1622. The partial cast list of the premiere production, published in the second Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1679, includes Joseph Taylor, William Ecclestone, John Lowin, Thomas Pollard, Nicholas Tooley, and Robert Benfield. The play received its initial publication in the first Beaumont and Fletc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Vanbrugh
Sir John Vanbrugh (; 24 January 1664 (baptised) – 26 March 1726) was an English architect, dramatist and herald, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restoration comedies, ''The Relapse'' (1696) and ''The Provoked Wife'' (1697), which have become enduring stage favourites but originally occasioned much controversy. He was knighted in 1714.Robert Chambers, Book of Days Vanbrugh was in many senses a radical throughout his life. As a young man and a committed Whig, he was part of the scheme to overthrow James II and put William III on the throne. He was imprisoned by the French as a political prisoner. In his career as a playwright, he offended many sections of Restoration and 18th century society, not only by the sexual explicitness of his plays, but also by their messages in defence of women's rights in marriage. He was attacked on both counts, and was one of the prime targets of Jeremy Col ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Confederacy (play)
''The Confederacy'' is a 1705 comedy play by the English writer John Vanbrugh.Bevis p.139 It is also known as ''The City Wives' Confederacy''. The plot was inspired by a 1692 farce by the French writer Florent Carton Dancourt. Two years before Vanbrugh's work, another writer, Richard Estcourt had produced another play, '' The Fair Example'' based on Dancourt's original. It premiered at the Queen's Theatre, Haymarket with a cast that included Thomas Dogget as Moneytrap, Barton Booth as Dick, George Pack as Brass, Francis Leigh as Gripe, Elizabeth Barry as Clarissa, Mary Porter as Araminta, Anne Bracegirdle Anne Bracegirdle (possibly 167112 September 1748) was an English actress. Biography Bracegirdle was born to Justinian and Martha (born Furniss) Bracegirdle in Northamptonshire. She was baptised in Northampton on 15 November 1671, although her to ... as Flippanta, Elizabeth Willis as Mrs Amlet and Katherine Baker as Mrs Cloggit. Vanbrugh's play has been revived numerous ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Kenney (dramatist)
James Kenney (1780 – 25 July 1849), an English dramatist, was the son of James Kenney, a founder of Boodles' Club in London. He produced more than 40 plays and opera libretti. Career His first play, a farce called ''Raising the Wind'' (1803), gained success through the popularity of the character of " Jeremy Diddler". Kenney produced more than 40 plays and opera libretti between 1803 and 1845. Many, in which Mrs Siddons, Madame Vestris, Foote, Lewis, Liston and other leading players appeared from time to time, enjoyed a considerable vogue. Kenney's most popular play was ''Sweethearts and Wives'', produced at the Haymarket Theatre in 1823 and revived several times. Among his other successful works were ''False Alarms'' (1807), a comic opera with music by Braham, ''Love, Law and Physic'' (1812), ''Spring and Autumn'' (1827), ''The Illustrious Stranger, or Married and Buried'' (1827), ''Masaniello'' (1829) and ''The Sicilian Vespers'', a tragedy (1840). Kenney numbered ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Holcroft
Thomas Holcroft (10 December 174523 March 1809) was an English dramatist, miscellanist, poet and translator. He was sympathetic to the early ideas of the French Revolution and helped Thomas Paine to publish the first part of ''The Rights of Man''. Early life Holcroft was born in Orange Court, Leicester Fields, London. His father had a shoemaker's shop and kept riding horses for hire, but he fell into difficulties and was reduced to hawking as a pedlar. The son accompanied his parents on their travels. He obtained work as a stable boy at Newmarket, at the stables of Hon. Richard Vernon, where he spent his evenings chiefly on miscellaneous reading and the study of music. He gradually obtained a knowledge of French, German and Italian. When Holcroft's job at the stables came to an end, he returned to assist his father, who had resumed his trade of shoemaker in London. Around 1765, he became a teacher in a small school in Liverpool. However, he failed in an attempt to set up a pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_-_Scene_from_'Twelfth_Night'_('Malvolio_and_the_Countess')_-_N00423_-_National_Gallery.jpg "Click for more on -> Twelfth Night")
