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Letters Of Last Resort
The letters of last resort are four identically-worded handwritten letters from the prime minister of the United Kingdom to the commanding officers of the four British ballistic missile submarines. They contain orders on what action to take if an enemy nuclear strike has destroyed the British government, and has killed or otherwise incapacitated both the prime minister and their designated "second person", typically a high-ranking member of the Cabinet, such as the deputy prime minister or the first secretary of state, to whom the prime minister has designated the responsibility of choosing how to act, if they die in office. If the orders are carried out, the action taken could be the last official act of the United Kingdom. If the letters are not used during the term of the prime minister who wrote them, they are destroyed unopened after that person leaves office, so that their content remains unknown to anyone except the issuer. Process A new prime minister writes a set of l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objectives via other departments. As of December 2021, it has over 10,200 staff, most of whom are civil servants, some of whom work in Whitehall. Staff working in the Prime Minister's Office are part of the Cabinet Office. Responsibilities The Cabinet Office's core functions are: * Supporting collective government, helping to ensure the effective development, coordination and implementation of policy; * Supporting the National Security Council and the Joint Intelligence Organisation, coordinating the government's response to crises and managing the UK's cyber security; * Promoting efficiency and reform across government through innovation, transparency, better procurement and project management, by transforming the delivery of services, and impr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because there was no large-scale fighting directly between the two superpowers, but they each supported major regional conflicts known as proxy wars. The conflict was based around the ideological and geopolitical struggle for global influence by these two superpowers, following their temporary alliance and victory against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan in 1945. Aside from the nuclear arsenal development and conventional military deployment, the struggle for dominance was expressed via indirect means such as psychological warfare, propaganda campaigns, espionage, far-reaching embargoes, rivalry at sports events, and technological competitions such as the Space Race. The Western Bloc was led by the United States as well as a number of other First W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edinburgh Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 different shows in 322 venues. Established in 1947 as an alternative to (and on the fringe of) the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place in Edinburgh every August. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe has become a world-leading celebration of arts and culture, surpassed only by the Olympics and the World Cup in terms of global ticketed events. As an event it "has done more to place Edinburgh in the forefront of world cities than anything else" according to historian and former chairman of the board, Michael Dale. It is an open access (or "unjuried") performing arts festival, meaning there is no selection committee, and anyone may participate, with any type of performance. The official Fringe Programme categorises shows into sections for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Traverse Theatre
The Traverse Theatre is a theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded in 1963 by John Calder, John Malcolm, Jim Haynes and Richard Demarco. The Traverse Theatre company commissions and develops new plays or adaptations from contemporary playwrights, and also presents productions from visiting companies. The Traverse is used as a venue for Edinburgh Fringe shows in August. It is also the home of the Edinburgh International Children's Festival, previously known as the Imaginate Festival. History The Traverse Theatre began as a theatre club in 15 James Court, Lawnmarket, Edinburgh, a former doss-house and brothel also known as Kelly's Paradise and Hell's Kitchen. It was "a long, low-ceilinged first-floor room barely 15ft wide by 8ft high"Dean Gallery (2008) ''Focus on Demarco''. Edinburgh: Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art with 60 seats salvaged from the Palace Cinema placed in two blocks on either side of the stage. The theatre is named because Terry Lane mistakenly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Billington (critic)
Michael Keith Billington OBE (born 16 November 1939) is a British author and arts critic. He writes for ''The Guardian'', and was the paper's chief drama critic from 1971 to 2019. Billington is "Britain's longest-serving theatre critic" and the author of biographical and critical studies relating to British theatre and the arts. He is the authorised biographer of the playwright Harold Pinter (1930–2008). Early life and education Billington was born on 16 November 1939, in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England, and attended Warwick School, an independent boys' school in Warwick. He attended St Catherine's College, Oxford, from 1958 to 1961, where he studied English and was appointed theatre critic of '' Cherwell''. He graduated with a BA degree. As a member of Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS), in 1959, Billington played the Priest in '' The Birds'', by Aristophanes, his only appearance as an actor, and, in 1960, he directed a production of Eugène Ionesco's ''The Ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simon Chandler
Simon Chandler (born 1953) is a British film, television and theatre actor. He often plays senior establishment figures such as Members of Parliament and senior civil servants. Biography Born in 1953 and educated at Bedford School, Chandler's acting career began in 1976. His first film role was as Private Simmonds in Richard Attenborough's 1977 film '' A Bridge Too Far'' and he provided the voice of Merry in Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated film adaptation of ''The Lord of the Rings''. His most prominent recent film work includes roles in ''Vera Drake'' (2004), '' Perfume: The Story of a Murderer'' (2006), ''The King's Speech'' (2010) and '' The Iron Lady'' (2011). He starred as Ade Rutter in the first series of ''House of Anubis'' and he has taken leading roles in ''Judge John Deed'' and other television dramas, as well as prominent theatre roles. With an acting career spanning almost forty years, his other film and television credits include roles in ''Angels'', '' Another Bouqu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belinda Lang
Belinda Lucy Lange (born 23 December 1953), known professionally as Belinda Lang, is an English actress. She is known for playing Liza in the ITV sitcom '' Second Thoughts'' (1991–94), and Bill Porter in the BBC sitcom '' 2point4 Children'' (1991–99). Her theatre credits include London productions of the Noël Coward plays, ''Present Laughter'' (1981), '' Blithe Spirit'' (1997), and ''Hay Fever'' (2006). Her radio/audio credits include voicing narrator Madeleine in the podcast ''Wooden Overcoats''. Early life Lang was born in Marylebone, London, in 1953, the daughter of actors Jeremy Hawk and Joan Heal. Career Television Lang is perhaps best known for her starring roles in three sitcoms – as Kate in '' Dear John'', as Bill Porter in '' 2point4 Children'' and as Liza Ferrari in '' Second Thoughts''. After a small part as 'Girl in Bath' in ''Play for Today'' in 1980 she appeared in the 1980 miniseries ''To Serve Them All My Days'', following this she had several one-off a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicolas Kent
Nicolas Kent (born 26 January 1945) is a British theatre director. His father arrived in Britain in 1936, a Jewish German refugee, and changed his name from Kahn to Kent. Early life and education Kent, who was brought up in Hampstead Garden Suburb, was educated at Stowe School from 1958 to 1963 and at St Catharine's College, Cambridge, where he read English from 1964 to 1967. Professional career Kent began his career in theatre as a trainee director at the Liverpool Playhouse in 1967 and then worked from 1970 to 1972 at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh, before working for six years (from 1976 to 1982) as the administrative director of the Oxford Playhouse. He became artistic director of the Tricycle Theatre in 1984 and stood down from the role in 2012. Kent's work at the Tricycle included verbatim political plays. Some of these were edited by Richard Norton-Taylor: ''Half the Picture'' examined the arms to Iraq inquiry, ''Tactical Questioning'' examined the inquiry into the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tricycle Theatre
The Kiln Theatre (formerly the Tricycle Theatre) is a theatre located in Kilburn, in the London Borough of Brent, England. Since 1980, the theatre has presented a wide range of plays reflecting the cultural diversity of the area, as well as new writing, political work and verbatim reconstructions of public inquiries. The theatre has produced original work by playwrights such as Lynn Nottage, Patrick Barlow, Richard Bean, David Edgar, Stephen Jeffreys, Abi Morgan, Simon Stephens, Roy Williams, Lolita Chakrabarti, Moira Buffini, Alexi Kaye Campbell, Florian Zeller and Ayad Akhtar. The current artistic director is Indhu Rubasingham, who succeeded Nicolas Kent in 2012. The theatre's name was changed from the Tricycle to Kiln Theatre in April 2018. History Wakefield Tricycle Company The theatre opened on the Kilburn High Road in 1980 as the permanent home of the Wakefield Tricycle Company, a touring theatre company that was known for producing British premieres, new wr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Greig (dramatist)
David Greig (born 1969) is a Scottish playwright and theatre director. His work has been performed at many of the major theatres in Britain, including the Traverse Theatre, Royal Court Theatre, Royal National Theatre, Royal Lyceum Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company, and been produced around the world. Early life Greig was born in Edinburgh in 1969, and was brought up in Nigeria. Returning to Edinburgh in his teens, he was a pupil at the independent Stewart's Melville College. He later studied English and Drama at Bristol University. Career After university, in 1990 he co-founded Suspect Culture Theatre Company with Graham Eatough and Nick Powell in Glasgow; he would go on to write the texts for almost all of their shows until 2004, including ''Timeless'' (1997), ''Mainstream'' (1999), ''Candide 2000'' (2000), ''Casanova'' (2001), ''Lament'' (2002), and ''8000m'' (2004). His stand-alone plays, from ''Stalinland'' (1992) began to be picked up by major theatres; the Tra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Guardian Media Group, owned by the Scott Trust. The trust was created in 1936 to "secure the financial and editorial independence of ''The Guardian'' in perpetuity and to safeguard the journalistic freedom and liberal values of ''The Guardian'' free from commercial or political interference". The trust was converted into a limited company in 2008, with a constitution written so as to maintain for ''The Guardian'' the same protections as were built into the structure of the Scott Trust by its creators. Profits are reinvested in journalism rather than distributed to owners or shareholders. It is considered a newspaper of record in the UK. The editor-in-chief Katharine Viner succeeded Alan Rusbridger in 2015. Since 2018, the paper's main news ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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