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Leon Cooke
Leon Dominic Cooke (born 8 August 1991) is a professional British stage and screen actor, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Early life Leon Cooke was born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. His parents are Joy and Michael Cooke, a former dancer and dance teacher, respectively. He has seven siblings who are also dancers: Tara, Zena, Cassandra, Damian, Anastasia, Valentina, and Dmitri. Cooke started training at The Marilyn Jones Dance Centre at the age of two years. He learned ballet, tap, gymnastics, theatre craft, song and dance, and street dance. He was a junior and mid-associate with the Royal Ballet in Birmingham and graduated from the Millennium Performing Arts College. Career Cooke was cast as Billy Elliot in ''Billy Elliot the Musical'' in September 2005. During his time as Billy Elliot, BBC's ''Blue Peter'' followed and filmed Cooke for a day on November 18, 2005. After completing 21 months and 200 shows as Billy, Cooke left the cast on July 7, 2007. B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement in Staffordshire and is surrounded by the towns of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Alsager, Kidsgrove, Biddulph and Stone, which form a conurbation around the city. Stoke is polycentric, having been formed by the federation of six towns in 1910. It took its name from Stoke-upon-Trent where the main centre of government and the principal railway station in the district were located. Hanley is the primary commercial centre; the other four towns which form the city are Burslem, Tunstall, Longton and Fenton. Stoke-on-Trent is the home of the pottery industry in England and known as The Potteries. Formerly a primarily industrial conurbation, it is now a centre for service industries and distribution centres. History Toponymy and etymology The name ''Stoke'' is taken from the t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ben Elton
Benjamin Charles Elton (born 3 May 1959) is an English comedian, actor, author, playwright, lyricist and director. He was a part of London's alternative comedy movement of the 1980s and became a writer on the sitcoms '' The Young Ones'' and ''Blackadder'', as well as continuing as a stand-up comedian on stage and television. His style in the 1980s was left-wing political satire. Since then he has published 17 novels and written the musicals '' The Beautiful Game'' (2000), '' We Will Rock You'' (2002), ''Tonight's the Night'' (2003), and '' Love Never Dies'' (2010), the sequel to '' The Phantom of the Opera''. His novels cover the dystopian, comedy, and crime genres. Early life and education Elton was born on 3 May 1959 at University College Hospital in Fitzrovia, London, the son of Mary (née Foster), an English teacher from Cheshire, and physicist and educational researcher Professor Lewis Elton. He is a nephew of the historian Sir Geoffrey Elton and a third cousin of singer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ready Steady Cook
''Ready Steady Cook'' is a BBC daytime TV cooking game show. It debuted on 24 October 1994 and the last original edition was broadcast on 2 February 2010. The programme was hosted by Fern Britton from 1994 until 2000 when celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott became the new host. In August 2000, when Harriott took over, the duration of the programme was extended from 30 to 45 minutes. On 2 September 2019, it was confirmed that Rylan Clark-Neal would host a revived daytime series on BBC One in 2020. On 7 September 2021, it was announced by the BBC that the series ended after two series. Format Ingredients Two members of the public provided two celebrity chefs with a bag of ingredients they had bought, usually to a set budget of £5. Essential ingredients such as Bread, Milk, Eggs etc. are provided by the show. The two teams were designated "red tomato" and "green pepper" (referred to as "red kitchen" and "green kitchen" after the August 2007 revamp, though the tomato and pepper m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richmond Theatre
The present Richmond Theatre, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is a British Victorian theatre located on Little Green, adjacent to Richmond Green. It opened on 18 September 1899 with a performance of ''As You Like It''. One of the finest surviving examples of the work of theatre architect Frank Matcham, the building, in red brick with buff terracotta, is listed Grade II* by Historic England. John Earl, writing in 1982, described it as " outstanding importance as the most completely preserved Matcham theatre in Greater London and one of his most satisfying interiors." History The theatre, originally known as the ''Theatre Royal and Opera House'', is structured into the familiar stalls, dress and upper circles, with four boxes at dress level. The auditorium is a mixture of gilt detailing and red plush fabrics, covering seats and front of circles. Its interior and exterior has been used as a movie set in many films (e.g. ''Evita'', ''Topsy-Turvy'', standing in f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Threepenny Opera
''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a " play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, ''The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François Villon, with music by Kurt Weill. Although there is debate as to how much, if any, Hauptmann might have contributed to the text, Brecht is usually listed as sole author. The work offers a socialist critique of the capitalist world. It opened on 31 August 1928 at Berlin's Theater am Schiffbauerdamm. Songs from ''The Threepenny Opera'' have been widely covered and become standards, most notably "" ("The Ballad of Mack the Knife") and "" (" Pirate Jenny"). Background Origins In the winter of 1927–28, Elizabeth Hauptmann, Brecht's lover at the time, received a copy of Gay's play from friends in England and, fascinated by the female characters and its critique of the condition of the London poor, began translating it into German. Brecht at first took ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euripides
Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him, but the ''Suda'' says it was ninety-two at most. Of these, eighteen or nineteen have survived more or less complete ('' Rhesus'' is suspect). There are many fragments (some substantial) of most of his other plays. More of his plays have survived intact than those of Aeschylus and Sophocles together, partly because his popularity grew as theirs declinedMoses Hadas, ''Ten Plays by Euripides'', Bantam Classic (2006), Introduction, p. ixhe became, in the Hellenistic Age, a cornerstone of ancient literary education, along with Homer, Demosthenes, and Menander.L.P.E.Parker, ''Euripides: Alcestis'', Oxford University Press (2007), Introduction p. lx Euripides is identified with theatrical innovations that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helen (play)
''Helen'' ( grc, Ἑλένη, ''Helenē'') is a drama by Euripides about Helen, first produced in 412 BC for the Dionysia in a trilogy that also contained Euripides' lost '' Andromeda''. The play has much in common with '' Iphigenia in Tauris'', which is believed to have been performed around the same time period. Historical frame ''Helen'' was written soon after the Sicilian Expedition, in which Athens had suffered a massive defeat. Concurrently, the sophists – a movement of teachers who incorporated philosophy and rhetoric into their occupation – were beginning to question traditional values and religious beliefs. Within the play's framework, Euripides starkly condemns war, deeming it to be the root of all evil. Background About thirty years before this play, Herodotus argued in his ''Histories'' that Helen had never in fact arrived at Troy, but was in Egypt during the entire Trojan War. The Archaic lyric poet Stesichorus had made the same assertion in his "Palinode" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wonder
Wonder most commonly refers to: * Wonder (emotion), an emotion comparable to surprise that people feel when perceiving something rare or unexpected Wonder may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional entities * The Wonders, a fictional band featured in the 1996 film ''That Thing You Do!'' * Wonder (''Zoom''), a character in the 2006 American family film ''Zoom'' Film * ''Wonder'' (film), a 2017 drama based on the R. J. Palacio novel * ''The Wonder'' (film), a 2022 drama based on the Emma Donoghue novel Literature * ''Wonder'' (Sawyer novel), the 2011 conclusion of a trilogy by Robert J. Sawyer * ''Wonder'' (Palacio novel), a 2012 novel by R.J. Palacio * ''Wonder'' (comics), a comic debuting 1892 * ''Wonder'', the 2009 English translation of the 1962 novel ''De verwondering'' by Hugo Claus * ''The Wonder'', a novel by Emma Donoghue Music Albums * ''Wonder'' (Lisa Mitchell album), 2009 * ''Wonder'' (Michael W. Smith album), 2010 * ''Wonder'' (Mamoru Miyano al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miss Saigon
''Miss Saigon'' is a stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera '' Madame Butterfly'', and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover. The setting of the plot is relocated to 1970s Saigon during the Vietnam War, and ''Madame Butterfly''s story of marriage between an American lieutenant and a geisha is replaced by a romance between a United States Marine and a seventeen-year-old South Vietnamese bargirl. The musical premièred at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London, on 20 September 1989, closing after 4,092 performances on 30 October 1999. It opened on Broadway at the Broadway Theatre on April 11, 1991 with a record advance of over $39 million, and was later staged in many other cities and embarked on tours. Prior to the opening of the 2014 London revival, it was said that ''Miss Saigon'' had set a wor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Novello Theatre
The Novello Theatre is a West End theatre on Aldwych, in the City of Westminster. It was known as the Strand Theatre between 1913 and 2005. History The theatre was built as one of a pair with the Aldwych Theatre on either side of The Waldorf Hilton, London, both being designed by W. G. R. Sprague. The theatre was opened by The Shubert Organization as the Waldorf Theatre on 22 May 1905, and was renamed the Strand Theatre, in 1909. It was again renamed as the Whitney Theatre in 1911, before again becoming the Strand Theatre in 1913. In 2005, the theatre was renamed by its owners (Delfont Mackintosh Theatres) the Novello Theatre in honour of Ivor Novello, who lived in a flat above the theatre from 1913 to 1951. The black comedy '' Arsenic and Old Lace'' had a run of 1337 performances here in the 1940s, and '' Sailor Beware!'' ran for 1231 performances from 1955. Stephen Sondheim's musical ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' opened here in 1963, running for nearl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemorating the victory at the Battle of Trafalgar. The battle of 21 October 1805, established the British navy's dominance at sea in the Napoleonic Wars over the fleets of France and Spain. The site around Trafalgar Square had been a significant landmark since the 1200s. For centuries, distances measured from Charing Cross have served as location markers. The site of the present square formerly contained the elaborately designed, enclosed courtyard of the King's Mews. After George IV moved the mews to Buckingham Palace, the area was redeveloped by John Nash, but progress was slow after his death, and the square did not open until 1844. The Nelson's Column at its centre is guarded by four lion statues. A number of commemorative statu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prince Of Wales Theatre
The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre should not be confused with the former Scala Theatre in London that was known as the ''Prince of Wales Royal Theatre'' or ''Prince of Wales's Theatre'' from 1865 until its demolition in 1903. History Phipps' theatre The first theatre on the site opened in January 1884 when C.J. Phipps built the Prince's Theatre for actor-manager Edgar Bruce. It was a traditional three-tier theatre, seating just over 1,000 people. The theatre was renamed the Prince of Wales Theatre in 1886 after the future Edward VII. Located between Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square, the theatre was favourably situated to attract theatregoers. The first production in the theatre was an 1884 revival of W. S. Gilbert's ''The Palace of Truth'' starring Herbert ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
