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Isaac Pocock
Isaac Pocock (2 March 1782 – 23 August 1835) was an English dramatist and painter of portraits and historical subjects. He wrote melodramas, farces and light operatic comedies, many being stage adaptations of existing novels. Of his 40 or so works, the most successful was ''Hit and Miss'' (1810), a musical farce.Christine L. Krueger, George Stade, Karen Karbiener. ''Encyclopedia of British Writers: 19th and 20th Centuries'' (Infobase Publishing, 2003) p. 274-5. The mariner Sir Isaac Pocock (1751–1810) was his uncle. Life Isaac Pocock was born in Bristol on 2 March 1782, the eldest son of Nicholas Pocock, marine painter, and Ann Evans (daughter of John Evans of Bristol). William Innes Pocock (1783–1836), a naval officer and author, was his brother. About 1798, Isaac became a pupil of George Romney, with Thomas Alphonso Hayley, son of the writer William Hayley, as a fellow student. After Romney's death in 1802, he studied under Sir William Beechey Sir William Beechey ... [...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] |
Justice Of The Peace
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the same meaning. Depending on the jurisdiction, such justices dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions. Justices of the peace are appointed or elected from the citizens of the jurisdiction in which they serve, and are (or were) usually not required to have any formal legal education in order to qualify for the office. Some jurisdictions have varying forms of training for JPs. History In 1195, Richard I ("the Lionheart") of England and his Minister Hubert Walter commissioned certain knights to preserve the peace in unruly areas. They were responsible to the King in ensuring that the law was upheld and preserving the " King's peace". Therefore, they were known as "keepers of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Farren
William Farren (13 May 1786 – 24 September 1861) was an English actor, who was the son of an actor (born 1725) of the same name, who played leading roles from 1784 to 1795 at Theatre Royal, Covent Garden. Life Raised on Gower Street in London, he was raised in comparative affluence, supported not only by his father's wealth but also by a large gift from surgeon Percival Pott.Carlisle. He attended school in Soho and may have apprenticed as an attorney in Wolverhampton; by 1806, however, he had joined his brother Percy's troupe in Plymouth.Adams 493. His first appearance on the stage was at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth in Charles Macklin's ''Love à la mode''. From the beginning he specialized in comic old men and Irish parts. A decade of provincial apprenticeship followed in southern England and in Dublin (where he married); his first roles included Adam Contest in Elizabeth Inchbald's ''The Wedding Day'' and Lovegold in Henry Fielding's translation of Molière's ''The Miser ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Drury Lane. The building is the most recent in a line of four theatres which were built at the same location, the earliest of which dated back to 1663, making it the oldest theatre site in London still in use. According to the author Peter Thomson, for its first two centuries, Drury Lane could "reasonably have claimed to be London's leading theatre". For most of that time, it was one of a handful of patent theatres, granted monopoly rights to the production of "legitimate" drama in London (meaning spoken plays, rather than opera, dance, concerts, or plays with music). The first theatre on the site was built at the behest of Thomas Killigrew in the early 1660s, when theatres were allowed to reopen during the English Restoration. Initially ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Oxberry
William Oxberry (1784–1824) was an English actor. He also wrote extensively on the theatre, and was a printer and publisher. Early life Oxberry was the son of an auctioneer, born on 18 December 1784 in Moorfields, London, opposite Bedlam. After a false start as a pupil of George Stubbs at age 14, he worked in a bookseller's shop, and in the office in Tottenham Court Road of a printer named Seale, an amateur actor. At a stable near Queen Anne Street, and subsequently at the theatre in Berwick Street, he took on parts including Hassan in '' The Castle Spectre'' ( "Monk" Lewis) and Rosse in '' Macbeth''. Oxberry's indentures were cancelled in 1802, and he appeared under Samuel Jerrold, at the Watford theatre. He joined, as low comedian, Trotter's company (Worthing, Hythe, and Southend theatres). Metropolitan actor In 1807 Henry Siddons recommended Oxberry to the Kemble management at Covent Garden Theatre. He made his first appearance on 7 November 1807 as Robin Roughhead in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Dowton
William Dowton (1764–1851) was a British actor. Early life Dowton, the son of an innkeeper and grocer at Exeter, was born in that city on 25 April 1764. At an early age he worked with a marble cutter, but in 1780 was articled to an architect. During his apprenticeship he occasionally performed at a private theatre in Exeter, when the applause he obtained prompted him to run away from home and join a company of strolling players at Ashburton, where, in 1781, he made his appearance in a barn as Carlos in ''Revenge''. Career After enduring many hardships he was engaged by Hughes, manager of the Weymouth theatre, and thence returned to Exeter, where he played Macbeth and Romeo; he then (September 1791) joined Mrs. Baker's company in Kent. Here he changed his line of acting, and took the characters of La Gloire, Jemmy Jumps, Billy Bristle, Sir David Dunder, and Peeping Tom, in all of which he was well received by a Canterbury audience. He made his first appearance in Londo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lyceum Theatre, London
The Lyceum Theatre ( ) is a West End theatre located in the City of Westminster, on Wellington Street, just off the Strand in central London. It has a seating capacity of 2,100. The origins of the theatre date to 1765. Managed by Samuel Arnold, from 1794 to 1809 the building hosted a variety of entertainments including a circus produced by Philip Astley, a chapel, and the first London exhibition of waxworks by Madame Tussauds. From 1816 to 1830, it served as The English Opera House. After a fire, the house was rebuilt and reopened on 14 July 1834 to a design by Samuel Beazley. The building is unique in that it has a balcony overhanging the dress circle. It was built by the partnership of Peto & Grissell. The theatre then played opera, adaptations of Charles Dickens novels and James Planché's "fairy extravaganzas", among other works. From 1871 to 1902, Henry Irving appeared at the theatre, especially in Shakespeare productions, usually starring opposite Ellen Terry. In 1904 t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. The first theatre on the site, the Theatre Royal (1732), served primarily as a playhouse for the first hundred years of its history. In 1734, the first ballet was presented. A year later, the first season of operas, by George Frideric Handel, began. Many of his operas and oratorios were specifically written for Covent Garden and had their premieres there. The current building is the third theatre on the site, following disastrous fires in 1808 and 1856 to previous buildings. The façade, foyer, and auditorium date from 1858, but almost every other element of the present complex dates from an extensive reconstruction in the 1990s. The main auditorium seats 2,256 people, mak ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Mathews
Charles Mathews (28 June 1776, London – 28 June 1835, Devonport) was an English theatre manager and comic actor, well known during his time for his gift of impersonation and skill at table entertainment. His play ''At Home'', in which he played every character, was the first monopolylogue and the defining work in the genre. Early life Charles was born to James Mathews (died 1804), a Wesleyan Methodist bookseller, printer, and pharmacist on the Strand, who also served as minister in one of the Countess of Huntingdon's chapels. Charles was educated at Merchant Taylors' School in London, which had some openings for common boys. He was next apprenticed to his father. For religious reasons, the father forbade his children from visiting theatres. During his youth, Charles met the actor Robert William Elliston; after attending the Drury Lane theatre, he was utterly fascinated by that world. Charles left his father in September 1793 for his first public stage appearance at Ric ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Smith (singer)
Charles Smith (1786–1856) was an English singer, known also as an organist, and a composer of theatrical music and songs. Life Born in London, he was a grandson of Edward Smith who was page to the Princess Amelia, and son of Felton Smith, a chorister at Christ Church, Oxford. At the early age of five, he became a pupil of Thomas Costellow for singing. Then, in 1796, on the advice of Samuel Arnold, he became a chorister at the Chapel Royal under Edmund Ayrton, where he sang the principal solo in the anthem on the marriage of Charlotte Augusta Matilda, the princess royal, to the Prince of Würtemberg on 18 May 1797. In 1798 Smith was articled to John Ashley, and in the following year was engaged to sing at Ranelagh Gardens, the Oratorio, and other concerts. In 1803 he went on tour in Scotland, but, his voice having broken, he dropped singing temporarily, and devoted himself to teaching and organ-playing: he acted as deputy for Charles Knyvett and John Stafford Smith at the Chapel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haymarket Theatre
The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote acquired the lease in 1747, and in 1766 he gained a royal patent to play legitimate drama (meaning spoken drama, as opposed to opera, concerts or plays with music) in the summer months. The original building was a little further north in the same street. It has been at its current location since 1821, when it was redesigned by John Nash. It is a Grade I listed building, with a seating capacity of 888. The freehold of the theatre is owned by the Crown Estate. The Haymarket has been the site of a significant innovation in theatre. In 1873, it was the venue for the first scheduled matinée performance, establishing a custom soon followed in theatres everywhere. Its managers have included Benjamin Nottingham Webster, John Baldwin Buckstone, S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cookham
Cookham is a historic River Thames, Thames-side village and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the north-eastern edge of Berkshire, England, north-north-east of Maidenhead and opposite the village of Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, Bourne End. Cookham forms the southernmost and most rural part of High Wycombe urban area. With adjoining Cookham Rise and Cookham Dean, it had a combined population of 5,779 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. In 2011, ''The Daily Telegraph'' deemed Cookham United Kingdom, Britain's second richest village. Geography The parish includes three settlements: *Cookham Village – the centre of the original village, with a high street that has changed little over the centuries *Cookham Dean – the most rural village in the parish *Cookham Rise – the middle area that grew up round the railway station The ancient parish of Cookham covered all of Maidenhead north of the London and A4 road (England), Bath Road until this was severed in 189 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
