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Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (play)
''Every Good Boy Deserves Favour'' is a stage play by Tom Stoppard with music by André Previn. It was first performed in 1977. The play criticises the Soviet practice of treating political dissidence as a form of mental illness. Its title derives from the popular mnemonic used by music students to remember the notes on the lines of the treble clef. The cast comprises six actors, but also a full orchestra, which not only provides music throughout the play but also forms an essential part of the action. A chamber-orchestra version also exists. The play is dedicated to Viktor Fainberg and Vladimir Bukovsky, two Soviet dissidents expelled to the West. Plot The play concerns a dissident, Alexander Ivanov, who is imprisoned in a Soviet mental hospital, from which he will not be released until he admits that his statements against the government were caused by a (non-existent) mental disorder. In the hospital he shares a cell with a genuinely disturbed schizophrenic, also called Iv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and political freedom, often delving into the deeper philosophical thematics of society. Stoppard has been a playwright of the National Theatre and is one of the most internationally performed dramatists of his generation. Stoppard was knighted for his contribution to theatre by Queen Elizabeth II in 1997. Born in Czechoslovakia, Stoppard left as a child refugee, fleeing imminent Nazi occupation. He settled with his family in Britain after the war, in 1946, having spent the previous three years (1943–1946) in a boarding school in Darjeeling in the Indian Himalayas. After being educated at schools in Nottingham and Yorkshire, Stoppard became a journalist, a drama critic and then, in 1960, a playwright. Stoppard's most prominent plays include ''R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actors Guild Awards. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on 16 December 1996. In 2010, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to drama. In 1966, Stewart became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Stewart made his Broadway theatre debut in 1971 in a production of '' A Midsummer Night's Dream''. In 1979, he received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in '' Antony and Cleopatra'' in the West End. His first television role was in the ITV series ''Coronation Street'' in 1967. His first major screen roles were in BBC-broadcast television productions ''Fall of Eagles'' (1974), ''I, Claudius'' (1976), and ''Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'' (1979). In 2008 he played King Clau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rowena Cooper
Rosemary Rowena Cooper (born 1935) is a British actress. She began her career in 1956, joining the Radio Drama Company by winning the Carlton Hobbs Bursary. In 1959 she joined the Dundee Repertory Theatre Company and went on to have an extensive career, primarily in British television, for over 50 years. Cooper starred in The Rag Trade as Mrs Fenner. Select filmography in television Personal life She married actor Terrence Hardiman Terrence Hardiman (born 6 April 1937)Biographical detail Photo of Hardiman and Cooper in role
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Ian McDiarmid
Ian McDiarmid (; born 11 August 1944) is a Scottish actor and director of stage and screen, best known for portraying the Sith Lord Emperor Sheev Palpatine / Darth Sidious in the ''Star Wars'' multimedia franchise. Making his stage debut in ''Hamlet'' in 1972, McDiarmid joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1974, and has since starred in a number of Shakespeare's plays. He has received an Olivier Award for Best Actor and a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his stage performances. Early life McDiarmid was born in Carnoustie, Angus, Scotland, on 11 August 1944. He became a theatre aficionado when he was five years old, when his father took him to see an act named Tommy Morgan at a theatre in Dundee. In 2004, he stated, "It sort of fascinated me, and it also scared me. All those lights, all that make-up. I said to myself, 'I don't know what this is, but I want it.'" However, fearing his father's disapproval, McDiarmid attended Queen's College, Dundee (now the U ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Carlisle (actor)
John Carlisle (6 September 1935 – 7 December 2011) was an English television and stage actor. Early life Carlisle was born in London and named John Roxburgh Clark. He decided in his early teens that he wanted to become an actor. He started acting in amateur productions until he was called up for National Service. Upon his release he worked odd jobs, determined to finance an acting course at RADA. Eventually he found himself with enough money, only to discover all his hard work had been unnecessary, for he had been entitled to a council grant all along. On completion of his training at RADA, Carlisle joined Harrogate Repertory and subsequently appeared in repertory all over the country, including at Ipswich, Birmingham and Liverpool. ''Grand Theatre Wolverhampton: Relatively Speaking'', Programme April 1968. http://www.grandmemories.co.uk/Memory.aspx?MemoryId=238&FileId=2666#Images Television and film While appearing in repertory at Birmingham, Carlisle was spotted by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mermaid Theatre
The Mermaid Theatre was a theatre encompassing the site of Puddle Dock and Curriers' Alley at Blackfriars in the City of London, and the first built in the City since the time of Shakespeare. It was, importantly, also one of the first new theatres to abandon the traditional stage layout; instead a single tier of seats surrounded the stage on three sides. History The 20th-century theatre was the life's work of actor Bernard Miles with his wife, Josephine Wilson. His original Mermaid Theatre was a large barn at his house in the St. John's Wood area of London. This seated 200 people, and during 1951 and 1952 was used for concerts, plays and a celebrated opera production of ''Dido and Aeneas'' with Kirsten Flagstad, Maggie Teyte and Thomas Hemsley, conducted by Geraint Jones, which was recorded by HMV. For the third season in 1953 the Mermaid Theatre was moved to the Royal Exchange. Miles was encouraged to build a permanent theatre and, raising money from public subscriptions, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barbara Leigh Hunt
Barbara Leigh-Hunt (born 14 December 1935) is a British actress. Her numerous theatre credits include Broadway productions of ''Hamlet'' (1958) and '' Sherlock Holmes'' Justice (1973) (1974), and she won the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress for the National Theatre production of ''An Inspector Calls''. Her film appearances include ''Frenzy'' (1972), '' Henry VIII and His Six Wives'' (1972), '' Bequest to the Nation'' (1973) and ''Billy Elliot'' (2000). Early life Leigh-Hunt was born in Bath, Somerset. Career On stage, Leigh-Hunt has appeared in many productions as well those with the Bristol Old Vic, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. Her early film roles have included Catherine Parr in '' Henry VIII and His Six Wives'' (1972), '' Bequest to the Nation'' (1973) and ''Oh Heavenly Dog'' (1980). Her most famous movie role is probably in Alfred Hitchcock's penultimate film ''Frenzy'' (1972), as a woman raped and strangled by a serial ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Woodvine
John Woodvine (born 21 July 1929) is an English actor who has appeared in more than 70 theatre productions, as well as a similar number of television and film roles. Early life Woodvine was born in Tyne Dock, South Shields, Tyne & Wear, England, the son of Rose (née Kelly) and John Woodvine. He was educated at Lord Williams's School, Thame, Oxfordshire and trained for the stage at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating in 1953. Career Woodvine worked with the Old Vic company in the 1950s. In 1957, along with Russell Napier, John Carlisle and Edgar Lustgarten, Woodvine appeared in an installment of the ''Scotland Yard'' film series ("The Silent Weapon", 1961). Woodvine also had a long career with the Royal Shakespeare Company, having appeared in 1976 opposite Ian McKellen and Judi Dench as Banquo in the acclaimed Trevor Nunn production of ''Macbeth'', which was later recorded for television. He also appeared in the RSC's 1980 landmark production of ''The Life and Adve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Windsor
Frank Windsor Higgins (12 July 1928 – 30 September 2020), known professionally as Frank Windsor, was an English actor, primarily known for his roles on television, especially policeman John Watt in ''Z-Cars'' and its spin-offs. Biography Windsor attended Queen Mary's Grammar School, Walsall, and studied speech training and drama at the Central School of Speech and Drama, then based at the Royal Albert Hall, London. He played Detective Sergeant John Watt in ''Z-Cars'' from 1962 to 1965, and thereafter its spin-offs '' Softly, Softly'' (1966–1969), '' Softly, Softly: Taskforce'' (1969–1976), ''Jack the Ripper'' (1973), and ''Second Verdict'' (1976). He appeared as "Tobin" in Series 6, Episode 9 of '' The Avengers''. In 1969, he appeared in the pilot episode of ''Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'' in the episode "My Late Lamented Friend and Partner" as Sorrensen, a wealthy businessman with a murderous streak. His lighter side was demonstrated in the pilot episode of the situat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ben Kingsley
Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning five decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Grammy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. Kingsley was appointed Knight Bachelor in 2002 for services to the British film industry. In 2010, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2013, he received the Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Filmed Entertainment. Born to an English mother and an Indian Gujarati father with roots in Jamnagar, Kingsley began his career in theatre, joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1967 and spending the next 15 years appearing mainly on stage. His starring roles included productions of ''As You Like It'' (his West End debut for the company at the Aldwych Theatre in 1967), ''Much Ado About Nothing'', ''Richard III'', '' The Tempest'', ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (including Peter Brook's 1970 RSC ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wembley Conference Centre
Wembley Conference Centre was a conference centre in Wembley Park, London, England, that existed from 1977 to 2006, located next to Wembley Arena. History In the later 1970s, modern multi-purpose halls began opening in British towns and cities. The first was Wembley Conference Centre on Empire Way in Wembley Park, designed for the British Electric Traction Company by R. Seifert and Partners. Construction began in May 1973 and it was officially opened by the Duke of Kent on 31 January 1977. Its main auditorium (called the Grand Hall) could seat 2,500 people. The Conference Centre was part of a larger development. Next to it were the Greenwich Rooms and Elvin House, a futuristic triangular office block, as well as the Wembley Exhibition Centre. Like the Conference Centre, the Exhibition Centre was part of a national trend for such venues. The addition of the Conference Centre and exhibition hall to the list of visitor attractions at Wembley Park led to Wembley Hill station bei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trevor Nunn
Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is a British theatre director. He has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed dramas for the stage, like ''Macbeth'', as well as opera and musicals, such as '' Cats'' (1981) and ''Les Misérables'' (1985). Nunn has been nominated for the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical, the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play, the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director, and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical, winning Tonys for ''Cats'', ''Les Misérables'', and ''Nicholas Nickleby'' and the Olivier Awards for productions of ''Summerfolk'', ''The Merchant of Venice'', ''Troilus and Cressida'', and ''Nicholas Nickleby''. In 2008 ''The Telegraph'' named him among the most influential people in British culture. He has also directed works for film and television. Early years Nunn was born in Ipswich, E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
