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H. A. Saintsbury
Harry Arthur Saintsbury, usually called H. A. Saintsbury (18 December 1869 – 19 June 1939), was an English actor and playwright. A leading man, he became well known for his stage interpretation of Sherlock Holmes, was an early mentor of Charlie Chaplin, and is considered an authority on the work of Sir Henry Irving. Called Arthur by his friends, professionally he used his initials.Robert W. Pohle, Douglas C. Hart, ''Sherlock Holmes on the screen: the motion picture adventures of the world's most popular detective'' (A. S. Barnes, 1977), pp. 5456 57 Most of his plays appeared under the nom-de-plume of Jay Nibb. Early life The son of Frederic Saintsbury, Esq., of the Bank of England, Saintsbury was born in Chelsea, London, on 18 December 1869, into a middle-class family. His father had married Sarah Charlotte, second daughter of Robert Lemon, FSA, of Her Majesty's State Paper Office, at St Luke's Church, Chelsea, on 13 October 1854. He was educated at St John's College, Hurstp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and logical reasoning that borders on the fantastic, which he employs when investigating cases for a wide variety of clients, including Scotland Yard. First appearing in print in 1887's ''A Study in Scarlet'', the character's popularity became widespread with the first series of short stories in ''The Strand Magazine'', beginning with " A Scandal in Bohemia" in 1891; additional tales appeared from then until 1927, eventually totalling four novels and 56 short stories. All but one are set in the Victorian or Edwardian eras, between about 1880 and 1914. Most are narrated by the character of Holmes's friend and biographer Dr. John H. Watson, who usually accompanies Holmes during his investigations and often shares quarters with him at the ad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Her Majesty's State Paper Office
The Public Record Office (abbreviated as PRO, pronounced as three letters and referred to as ''the'' PRO), Chancery Lane in the City of London, was the guardian of the national archives of the United Kingdom from 1838 until 2003, when it was merged with the Historical Manuscripts Commission to form The National Archives, based in Kew. It was under the control of the Master of the Rolls, a senior judge. The Public Record Office still exists as a legal entity, as the enabling legislation has not been modified. History 19th century The Public Record Office was established in 1838, to reform the keeping of government and court records which were being held, sometimes in poor conditions, in a variety of places. Some of these were court or departmental archives (established for several centuries) which were well-run and had good or adequate catalogues; others were little more than store-rooms. Many of the professional staff of these individual archives simply continued their existi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Green Room Club
The Green Room Club was a London-based club, primarily for actors, but also for lovers of theatre, arts and music. It was established in in a restaurant in Piccadilly Circus, and moved to premises on Adam Street in 1955, where it remained until its closure in . The club's name was not trademarked, and there have been at least two attempts to "re-found" a version of the club in new premises. History The club was set up by the Victorian actor-manager Sir Henry Irving, and Henry Somerset, 8th Duke of Beaufort, with the latter agreeing to be its first president. Its inaugural meeting was on 21 July 1877, in the Criterion restaurant, Piccadilly Circus, with those present then walking over to the club's first premises in the Caledonian Hotel at 10 Adelphi Terrace, near Strand. The club was to remain here for the next six years. When the club's lease in the Caledonian Hotel expired in 1883, new premises were bought at 20 Bedford Street (off Strand), with the club temporarily relo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Garrick (play)
''David Garrick'' is a comic play written in 1856 by Thomas William Robertson about the famous 18th-century actor and theatre manager, David Garrick. The play premiered at the Prince of Wales Theater in Birmingham, where it was successful enough to be moved to the Haymarket Theatre in London, on 30 April 1864. It was a major success for the actor Edward Askew Sothern, who played the title role, but came later to be associated with the actor Charles Wyndham. The play was designed as a star vehicle, since the principal actor has to portray David Garrick himself as an actor giving a performance. A scene from the play was painted by Edward Matthew Ward, a friend of Sothern's. The play was Robertson's first major commercial success and was frequently revived throughout the Victorian era and beyond. Several silent films were made based on ''David Garrick'', including versions in 1913 (starring Seymour Hicks and Ellaline Terriss), 1914 and 1916. A 1923 book, ''Public Speaking Today'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Costume Drama
A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swashbucklers. A period piece may be set in a vague or general era such as the Middle Ages, or a specific period such as the Roaring Twenties, or the recent past. Scholarship Films set in historical times have always been some of the most popular works. D. W. Griffith's ''The Birth of a Nation'' and Buster Keaton's '' The General'' are examples of popular early American works set during the U.S. Civil War. In different eras different subgenres have risen to popularity, such as the westerns and sword and sandal films that dominated North American cinema in the 1950s. The ''costume drama'' is often separated as a genre of historical dramas. Early critics defined them as films focusing on romance and relationships in sumptuous surroundings, cont ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexandra Theatre (Birmingham)
The Alexandra, commonly known as the Alex, is a theatre on Suffolk Queensway in Birmingham, England. History Construction of the theatre commenced in 1900 and was completed in 1901. The architects were Owen & Ward and the theatre was opened on 27 May 1901 as the ''Lyceum Theatre'' on John Bright Street. Initially it attracted few theatre goers and it was decided to bring in a star. For ten weeks from the middle of June 1901 Harry Arthur Saintsbury trod the boards as the theatre's leading man, playing in costume dramas. As a result of disappointingly low returns the new theatre was sold to Lester Collingwood for £4,000, who renamed it the ''Alexandra Theatre'' on 22 December 1902. Collingwood was killed in a road traffic accident in 1910 and was succeeded by Leon Salberg, who died in his office at the theatre in 1938. His ghost is said to inhabit the theatre. Other ghostly sightings include that by a cleaner of a woman dressed in grey in 1987. The theatre was rebuilt with a fine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West Midlands metropolitan county, and approximately 4.3 million in the wider metropolitan area. It is the largest UK metropolitan area outside of London. Birmingham is known as the second city of the United Kingdom. Located in the West Midlands region of England, approximately from London, Birmingham is considered to be the social, cultural, financial and commercial centre of the Midlands. Distinctively, Birmingham only has small rivers flowing through it, mainly the River Tame and its tributaries River Rea and River Cole – one of the closest main rivers is the Severn, approximately west of the city centre. Historically a market town in Warwickshire in the medieval period, Birmingham grew during the 18th century during the Midla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melodrama
A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or excessively sentimental, rather than action. Characters are often flat, and written to fulfill stereotypes. Melodramas are typically set in the private sphere of the home, focusing on morality and family issues, love, and marriage, often with challenges from an outside source, such as a "temptress", a scoundrel, or an aristocratic villain. A melodrama on stage, filmed, or on television is usually accompanied by dramatic and suggestive music that offers cues to the audience of the drama being presented. In scholarly and historical musical contexts, ''melodramas'' are Victorian dramas in which orchestral music or song was used to accompany the action. The term is now also applied to stage performances without incidental music, novels, films, tel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Augustus Harris
Sir Augustus Henry Glossop Harris (18 March 1852 – 22 June 1896) was a British actor, impresario, and dramatist, a dominant figure in the West End theatre of the 1880s and 1890s. Born into a theatrical family, Harris briefly pursued a commercial career before becoming an actor and subsequently a stage-manager. At the age of 27 he became the lessee of the large Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, where he mounted popular melodramas and annual pantomimes on a grand and spectacular scale. The pantomimes featured leading music hall stars such as Dan Leno, Marie Lloyd, Little Tich and Vesta Tilley. The profits from these productions subsidised his opera seasons, equally lavish, starrily cast and with an innovative repertoire. He presented the first British production of ''Die Meistersinger'' and the first production anywhere outside Germany of ''Tristan und Isolde'', and revitalised the staging of established classics. Harris remained in charge at Drury Lane for the rest of his life, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Pettitt
Henry Alfred Pettitt (7 April 1848 – 24 December 1893), was a British actor and dramatist. With Augustus Harris, he wrote the play ''Burmah'', produced on Broadway in 1896. With G. R. Sims, he created a substantial body of very successful works, including ''In the Ranks'' (1883, 457 performances at the Adelphi Theatre) and ''The Harbour Lights'' (1885, 513 performances at the Adelphi). Their Gaiety Theatre musical burlesques included ''Faust up to date'' (1888), which remained a hit for several years and coined a new meaning for the phrase "up-to-date", meaning "abreast" of the latest styles and facts. Their next hit was ''Carmen up to Data'' (1890). Both of these were composed by the Gaiety's music director, Meyer Lutz. His ''Hands Across the Sea'' (1887), starring William Elton and Isabel Morris, was a favourite in Australia, perhaps on account of its treatment of French convicts transported to New Caledonia. Pettitt died in Fulham and is buried in Brompton Cem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Taylor
Tom Taylor (19 October 1817 – 12 July 1880) was an English dramatist, critic, biographer, public servant, and editor of ''Punch'' magazine. Taylor had a brief academic career, holding the professorship of English literature and language at University College, London in the 1840s, after which he practised law and became a civil servant. At the same time he became a journalist, most prominently as a contributor to, and eventually editor of ''Punch''. In addition to these vocations, Taylor began a theatre career and became best known as a playwright, with up to 100 plays staged during his career. Many were adaptations of French plays, but these and his original works cover a range from farce to melodrama. Most fell into neglect after Taylor's death, but ''Our American Cousin'' (1858), which achieved great success in the 19th century, remains famous as the piece that was being performed in the presence of Abraham Lincoln when he was assassinated in 1865. Life and career Earl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Reade
Charles Reade (8 June 1814 – 11 April 1884) was a British novelist and dramatist, best known for '' The Cloister and the Hearth''. Life Charles Reade was born at Ipsden, Oxfordshire, to John Reade and Anne Marie Scott-Waring, and had at least four brothers. He studied at Magdalen College, Oxford, taking his B.A. in 1835, and became a fellow of his college. He was subsequently dean of arts and vice-president, taking his degree of D.C.L. in 1847. His name was entered at Lincoln's Inn in 1836; he was elected Vinerian Fellow in 1842, and was called to the bar in 1843.Edwards, P.D. "Charles Reade." ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.'' He kept his fellowship at Magdalen all his life but, after taking his degree, he spent most of his time in London. William Winwood Reade, the influential historian, was his nephew. Writings Reade began his literary career as a dramatist, and he chose to have "dramatist" stand first in the list of his occupations on his tombstone. As an auth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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