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Independent Theatre
Independent Theatre, formerly known as The Independent Theatre Ltd., was an Australian dramatic society founded in 1930 by Dame Doris Fitton in Sydney, Australia. It is also the name given to the building it occupied from 1939 (then known as the Coliseum Theatre), now owned by Wenona School, in North Sydney, New South Wales, North Sydney, cited as Sydney's oldest live theatre venue. History The society was named for London's Independent Theatre Society founded by J. T. Grein and was one of several amateur drama groups of high standard which sprang up in Sydney in the 1930s to fill the gap left by the closure of all but two professional theatres (the last spoken-word theatre to close was The Criterion Theatre (Sydney), Criterion theatre in 1936, leaving only the Tivoli, which ran vaudeville, and the Theatre Royal, Sydney, Theatre Royal, which played musicals and ballets). The range of plays essayed was impressive – from classics to avant-garde pieces, from recent West End theatr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doris Fitton
Dame Doris Alice Lucy Walkden Fitton, (3 November 18972 April 1985) was an Australian actress of stage and film and theatrical director and producer who founded and for 35 years headed The Independent Theatre Ltd. in Sydney, New South Wales. The Independent staged a diverse range of local and international dramas, many for the first time in Australia, in total during its tenure playing host to more than 400 productions including Gwen Meredith's, Shout at the Thunder, Sumner Locke Elliott's wartime comedy, '' Rusty Bugles'' and Max Afford's thriller '' Lady in Danger'' Biography Early life Fitton was born in Santa Ana, Manila, Philippines, to English-born broker Walter Albert and Janet Frazer (née Cameron) Fitton. Her father died when she was young and in 1902, aged five, she relocated to Australia settling in Victoria with her mother and elder sister, Ethel. She was educated at Loreto Convent, Ballarat and took acting classes with Gregan McMahon. Fitton had her first act ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stage Prop
A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct from the actors, scenery, costumes, and electrical equipment. Term The earliest known use of the term "properties" in English to refer to stage accessories is in the 1425 CE morality play, ''The Castle of Perseverance''. The '' Oxford English Dictionary'' finds the first usage of "props" in 1841, while the singular form of "prop" appeared in 1911. During the Renaissance in Europe, small acting troupes functioned as cooperatives, pooling resources and dividing any income. Many performers provided their own costumes, but other items such as stage weapons or furniture may have been acquired specially and considered "company property".Eric Partridge ''Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English: Second Edition''. Random Hous ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Street Scene (play)
''Street Scene'' is a 1929 American play by Elmer Rice. It opened January 10, 1929, at the Playhouse Theatre in New York City. After a total of 601 performances on Broadway, the production toured the United States and ran for six months in London. The action of the play takes place entirely on the front stoop of a New York City brownstone and in the adjacent street in the early part of the 20th century. It studies the complex daily lives of the people living in the building (and surrounding neighborhood) and the sense of despair that hovers over their interactions. ''Street Scene'' received the 1929 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. History ''Street Scene'' has its origins in a play that Elmer Rice began in the mid-1920s titled ''Sidewalks of New York''—a play without words that he wrote as a technical exercise for his own entertainment. Rice devised 15 vignettes that were a microcosm of New York life. One of these scenes presented the front of a brownstone in the early morning hour ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Constant Nymph (play)
''The Constant Nymph'' is a play based on the 1924 novel of the same name by Margaret Kennedy. The stage version, adapted by Kennedy and the director Basil Dean, was first performed in London in 1926, starring Noël Coward, Edna Best and Cathleen Nesbitt. It portrays the love of two women for a young composer, and the conflicts that arise. The tragic ending has the younger of the two – a teenager – die of heart failure. Background and premiere Kennedy's novel, published in 1924, was a critical and popular success. ''The Times'' described it as "a beautiful piece of craftsmanship, built with rare firmness and economy … a genuine work of art"."New Theatre", ''The Times'', 15 September 1926, p. 10 For the West End premiere of the stage adaptation, John Gielgud was cast in the central role of Lewis Dodd, but before rehearsals began, the producer and director, Basil Dean, found that Noël Coward – then a bigger star than the young Gielgud – was available, and he demoted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hindle Wakes (play)
''Hindle Wakes'' is a stage play by Stanley Houghton written in 1910. It was first performed in 1912. Plot The play is set in the fictional mill town of Hindle in Lancashire in England, and concerns two young persons, Fanny Hawthorn and Alan Jeffcote, who are discovered to have been having what would now be called a "dirty weekend" during their holiday, during the town's wakes week. Class is a major plot point in the play; Fanny is a mill-hand in the factory owned by Alan's father and their respective fathers once worked together before Mr Jeffcote senior rose to owning a mill, while Mr Hawthorn continued as a mill worker. After initial reluctance on the part of Mr Jeffcote senior, and the outright opposition of his wife (who suspects Fanny of being a gold-digger), the families pressure the couple to get married. Greatly to the surprise of everyone (including Alan) Fanny refuses. She makes it clear that she regarded the dalliance with Alan as "a bit of fun" and considers him a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Silver Cord (play)
Sidney Coe Howard (June 26, 1891 – August 23, 1939) was an American playwright, dramatist and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1925 and a posthumous Academy Award in 1940 for the screenplay for ''Gone with the Wind''. Early life Sidney Howard was born in Oakland, California, the son of Helen Louise (née Coe) and John Lawrence Howard. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1915 and went on to Harvard University to study playwriting under George Pierce Baker in his legendary "47 workshop." (Other alumni of Baker's class included Eugene O'Neill, Thomas Wolfe, Philip Barry and S.N. Behrman. Howard became good friends with Behrman.) Along with other students of Harvard professor A. Piatt Andrew, Howard volunteered with Andrew's American Field Service, serving in France and the Balkans during World War I. After the war, Howard made use of his proficiency at foreign languages and translated a number of literary works from French, Spa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Queen Was In Her Parlour
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with pronouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of pronoun ''thee'') when followed by a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Marquise
''The Marquise'' is a romantic comedy play by Noël Coward, written as a vehicle for Marie Tempest, who starred in the original 1927 production in London. Among later players of the central role have been Lilian Gish, Celia Johnson, Moira Lister, Diana Rigg and Kate O'Mara. The play is set in 18th-century France and depicts the complications arising from the romantic affairs of two generations of an aristocratic family. Background By 1926 Coward had written more than a dozen plays, two of them – ''The Vortex'' and ''Hay Fever (play), Hay Fever'' – were big box-office successes, and he was in demand as a playwright. He had promised Marie Tempest to write a comedy for her, and completed ''The Marquise'' while recuperating from a breakdown in his health, brought on by overwork. He told his mother, "As there are several illegitimate children in it I doubt if Lord Cromer [the official censor] will care very deeply for it". The censor licensed the play, and it was put into rehearsa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
By Candlelight
''By Candlelight'' is a 1933 American pre-Code comedy film directed by James Whale. The film is based on the Austrian play ''Candle Light'' by and Karl Farkas, which was adapted to the English-speaking stage by P. G. Wodehouse. The film stars Elissa Landi, Paul Lukas, Nils Asther, and Dorothy Revier. A musical version adapted by Rowland Leigh, Cole Porter, and Edwin Gilbert premiered in 1938 under the title '' You Never Know'', but was a critical and box office flop that closed after only 78 performances. Plot During a European train journey, a nobleman's butler Josef (Paul Lukas) is mistaken for his employer Prince Alfred von Romer (Nils Asther) by a beautiful woman, Marie (Elissa Landi), and he does nothing to disillusion her. In due course, the Prince himself arrives and is mistaken for his servant. Cast *Marie - Elissa Landi *Josef - Paul Lukas *Prince Alfred von Romer - Nils Asther *Baroness Louise von Ballin - Esther Ralston *Count von Rischenheim - Lawrence Grant * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heather Gell
Heather Doris Gell (19 May 1896 – 23 October 1988) was an Australian kindergarten teacher and early proponent of Dalcroze eurhythmics to Australia. She also worked as a radio broadcaster, television presenter and theatre producer. Early life and education Gell, born in Glenelg, South Australia on 19 May 1896, was the eldest child of Annie Elizabeth (née Webster) and Adelaide accountant Harry Dickson Gell. She was educated at Tormore House School in North Adelaide. In 1915–16, she studied at the Adelaide Kindergarten Training College (AKTC) which included a course in eurhythmics. Career Gell was principal of the Norwood Clayton Montessori School for a few years, while learning piano and teaching eurhythmics at AKTC. She studied at the London School of Dalcroze Eurhythmics (LSDE), completing a two-year certificate in 1923 and scoring the highest marks. On her return to Adelaide, she opened a studio and taught children privately as well as continuing to work with train ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Alden (theatre)
John Alden, born Gordon Henry Buchanan, (19 January 1908 – 10 November 1962) was an Australian radio and theatrical actor, manager and director noted for his interpretation of Shakespeare and as the founder of the John Alden Shakespeare Company. Biography Alden was born and grew up in Taree, New South Wales, the third son of George Nathaniel Buchanan and Elizabeth Malina Buchanan (née Lee) and was a great-nephew of drover and explorer Nathaniel "Nat" Buchanan and miner and grazier William Henry. He studied to be a teacher in Sydney. In 1934 he joined Doris Fitton's Independent Theatre, and in 1937 retired from teaching to concentrate on acting. He played with Independent in most of their productions at the Savoy Theatre or their own hall at 360 Miller Street, Sydney then as producer or assistant to Doris Fitton. He spent three years working in England, including some performances at the Old Vic. From 1943 he directed Shakespeare productions at the Theatre Royal for J. C. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kensington, New South Wales
Kensington is a suburb in south-eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 6 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area (LGA) of the City of Randwick, in the Eastern Suburbs region. Colloquially, Kensington is referred to as "Kenso", "Ensington" or "Enso". Kensington lies to the immediate south of Moore Park and west of Randwick Racecourse. The principal landmarks of the suburb are the main campus of the University of New South Wales, National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), and the exclusive Australian Golf Club. Kensington is also a residential suburb close to the Sydney CBD. History Indigenous inhabitants Prior to European settlement, the area was inhabited by the Cadigal people, one of the salt-water clans of the Darug language group. The Cadigal people were known for their fishing skills and often travelled in canoes. The 1828 census showed some 50–60 clans of Cadigal people living by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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