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Laura Rees
Laura Rees is a British actress from Northampton. In 2003, she played the role of Gina the record executive in Richard Curtis' blockbuster romantic comedy ''Love Actually'' (2003). Other film work includes the short ''The Dentist'', directed by Stephen Frears and Pierre Tatarka. She has also appeared on television in ''Holby City'', '' Where the Heart Is'', '' Murder in Mind'', and as Morgana in ''Young Arthur''. In 2004 she starred in the Doctor Who audio series '' Dalek Empire III''. Her stage credits include Lavinia in ''Titus Andronicus'' and Luciana in ''The Comedy of Errors'' at Shakespeare's Globe. In 2004, she played Ophelia in ''Hamlet'', directed by Yukio Ninagawa. In 2003, she appeared in ''Brand'' for the Royal Shakespeare Company, directed by Adrian Noble. Masterpiece Mystery – ''Inspector Lewis'' – Series 2 Episode 4 – she played Beatrice Donnelly. Her radio credits include the lead role in a two-part adaptation of ''Ruth'', by Elizabeth Gaskell, first br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northampton
Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; it had a population of 212,100 in its previous local authority in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census (225,100 as of 2018 estimates). In its urban area, which includes Boughton, Northamptonshire, Boughton and Moulton, Northamptonshire, Moulton, it had a population of 215,963 as of 2011. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, Roman conquest of Britain, Romans and Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxons. In the Middle Ages, the town rose to national significance with the establishment of Northampton Castle, an occasional royal residence which regularly hosted the Parliament of England. Medieval Northampton had many churches, monasteries and the University of Northampton (thirteenth century), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ophelia
Ophelia () is a character in William Shakespeare's drama ''Hamlet'' (1599–1601). She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes and potential wife of Prince Hamlet, who, due to Hamlet's actions, ends up in a state of madness that ultimately leads to her drowning. Along with Queen Gertrude, Ophelia is one of only two female characters in the original play. Name Like most characters in ''Hamlet'', Ophelia's name is not Danish. It first appeared in Jacopo Sannazaro's 1504 poem '' Arcadia'' (as ''Ofelia''), probably derived from Ancient Greek ὠφέλεια (''ōphéleia'', "benefit"). Plot In Ophelia's first speaking appearance in the play, she is seen with her brother, Laertes, who is leaving for France. Laertes warns her that Hamlet, the heir to the throne of Denmark, does not have the freedom to marry whomever he wants. Ophelia's father, Polonius, who enters while Laertes is leaving, also forbids Ophelia from pursuing Hamlet, as Poloni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sei Shōnagon
was a Japanese author, poet, and a court lady who served the Empress Teishi (Sadako) around the year 1000 during the middle Heian period. She is the author of . Name Sei Shōnagon's actual given name is not known. It was the custom among aristocrats in those days to call a court lady by a nickname taken from a court office belonging to her father or husband.Keene 1999 : 412. derives from her father's family name "Kiyohara" (the native Japanese reading of the first character is , while the Sino-Japanese reading is ), while refers to a government post. Her relationship to this post is unknown, though—neither her father nor either of her two husbands held such a post. Bun'ei Tsunoda has suggested that it may have belonged to a third husband, perhaps Fujiwara no Nobuyoshi.Keene 1999 : 412, citing (427, note 3) Tsunoda 1975 : 30-32. Her actual name has been a topic of debate among scholars, and the name is a possibility. Early life Little is known about her life except ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Franchise Affair (novel)
''The Franchise Affair'' is a 1948 mystery novel by Josephine Tey about the investigation of a mother and daughter accused of kidnapping a local young woman. In 1990, the UK Crime Writers' Association named it one of The Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time. Plot Robert Blair, a local solicitor, is called on to defend two women, Marion Sharpe and her mother, who are accused of kidnapping and beating a fifteen-year-old war orphan named Betty Kane. Set in Milford, the novel opens with the Sharpes about to be interviewed by local police and Scotland Yard, represented by Inspector Alan Grant (who is the protagonist of five other Tey novels). Marion calls Blair and, although his firm does not do criminal cases, he agrees to come out to their home, "The Franchise", to look out for their interests during the questioning. Betty's account is that during the Easter holidays, she went to stay with her aunt and uncle, the Tilsits, near Larborough. After a week, she wrote to her adoptive parent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Josephine Tey
Josephine Tey was a pseudonym used by Elizabeth MacKintosh (25 July 1896 – 13 February 1952), a Scottish author. Her novel ''The Daughter of Time'' was a detective work investigating the role of Richard III of England in the death of the Princes in the Tower, and named as the greatest crime novel of all time by the Crime Writers' Association. Her first play ''Richard of Bordeaux'', written under another pseudonym, Gordon Daviot, starred John Gielgud in its successful West End run. Life and work MacKintosh was born in Inverness, the oldest of three daughters of Colin MacKintosh, a fruiterer, and Josephine (''née'' Horne). She attended Inverness Royal Academy and then, in 1914, Anstey Physical Training College in Erdington, a suburb of Birmingham. She taught physical training at various schools in England and Scotland and during her vacations worked at a convalescent home in Inverness as a Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse. A youthful romance ended with her soldier friend's deat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasting House, London. The station controller is Mohit Bakaya. Broadcasting throughout the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands on FM, LW and DAB, and on BBC Sounds, it can be received in the eastern counties of Ireland, northern France and Northern Europe. It is available on Freeview, Sky, and Virgin Media. Radio 4 currently reaches over 10 million listeners, making it the UK's second most-popular radio station after Radio 2. BBC Radio 4 broadcasts news programmes such as ''Today'' and ''The World at One'', heralded on air by the Greenwich Time Signal pips or the chimes of Big Ben. The pips are only accurate on FM, LW, and MW; there is a delay on digital radio of three to five seconds and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elizabeth Gaskell
Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell (''née'' Stevenson; 29 September 1810 – 12 November 1865), often referred to as Mrs Gaskell, was an English novelist, biographer and short story writer. Her novels offer a detailed portrait of the lives of many strata of Victorian society, including the very poor. Her work is of interest to social historians as well as readers of literature. Her first novel, ''Mary Barton'', was published in 1848. Gaskell's ''The Life of Charlotte Brontë'', published in 1857, was the first biography of Charlotte Brontë. In this biography, she wrote only of the moral, sophisticated things in Brontë's life; the rest she omitted, deciding certain, more salacious aspects were better kept hidden. Among Gaskell's best known novels are '' Cranford'' (1851–53), ''North and South'' (1854–55), and ''Wives and Daughters'' (1865), all having been adapted for television by the BBC. Early life Gaskell was born Elizabeth Cleghorn Stevenson on 29 September 1810 in Lindsey ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruth (novel)
''Ruth'' is a novel by English novelist Elizabeth Gaskell, first published in three volumes in 1853. The plot Ruth is a young orphan girl working in a respectable sweatshop for the overworked Mrs Mason. She is selected to go to a ball to repair torn dresses. At the ball she meets the aristocratic Henry Bellingham, a rake figure who is instantly attracted to her. They meet again by chance and form a secret friendship; on an outing together they are spotted by Mrs Mason who, fearing for her shop's reputation, dismisses Ruth. Alone in the world, Ruth is whisked away by Bellingham to London where it is implied she becomes a ''fallen woman''. They go on holiday to Wales together and there on a country walk Ruth meets the disabled and kind Mr Benson. Bellingham falls sick with fever and the hotel calls for his mother who arrives and is disgusted by her son's having lived in sin with Ruth. Bellingham is persuaded by his mother to abandon Ruth in Wales, leaving her some money. A distrau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lewis (TV Series)
''Lewis'' is a British television detective drama produced for ITV, first airing in 2006 (pilot) then 2007 (series 1). It is a spin-off from ''Inspector Morse'' and, like that series, it is set in Oxford. Kevin Whately reprises his character Robert "Robbie" Lewis, who was Morse's sergeant in the original series. Lewis has now been promoted to detective inspector and is assisted by DS James Hathaway, portrayed by Laurence Fox, who was promoted to inspector before the seventh series. The series also stars Clare Holman as forensic pathologist Dr. Laura Hobson, likewise reprising her role from ''Inspector Morse''; and, from the seventh season, Angela Griffin as DS Lizzie Maddox. On 2 November 2015, ITV announced that the show would end after its ninth series, following the decision made by Kevin Whately and Laurence Fox to retire from their roles in the series. Whately announced that the show had gone on long enough, with his character having done many stories between ''Morse'' a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mystery!
''Mystery!'' (also written ''MYSTERY!'') is a television anthology series produced by WGBH Boston for PBS in the United States. The series was created as a mystery, police and crime drama spin-off of the already established PBS show ''Masterpiece Theatre''. From 1980 to 2006, ''Mystery!'' aired mostly British crime series purchased from or co-produced with the BBC or ITV and adapted from British mystery fiction. In 2002, due to pressure to include more American material, a series based on the novels of US mystery writer Tony Hillerman was produced, but the vast majority of ''Mystery!'' programming has always been and continues to be British literary adaptations co-produced with UK-based production companies. In 2008, PBS combined ''Mystery!'' with its predecessor ''Masterpiece Theatre'' under the umbrella title '' Masterpiece'', which includes the sub-brands ''Masterpiece Classic'', ''Masterpiece Mystery!'', and ''Masterpiece Contemporary''. Edward Gorey, Derek Lamb, and the ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adrian Noble
Adrian Keith Noble (born 19 July 1950) is a theatre director, and was also the artistic director and chief executive of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1990 to 2003. Education and career Noble was born in Chichester, Sussex, England. After leaving Chichester High School for Boys, he studied at the University of Bristol, where he studied English. He began his professional career as a director at Drama Centre London. In 1976 he moved on to the Bristol Old Vic and worked at the same time for TV. From 1980 till 1981 he worked at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, producing the ''Duchess of Malfi'', which won him the London Drama Critics' Award and the Circle Theatre Award (also for his production of ''Doktor Faust'', and as Best Director for ''A Doll's House'' in 1980). He also directed the French version of his production of ''The Duchess of Malfi'' under a tent at the Carré Silvia Monfort in Paris (1981). During his career, he received over 20 Olivier Award nominati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratford-upon-Avon, and on tour across the UK and internationally. The company's home is in Stratford-upon-Avon, where it has redeveloped its Royal Shakespeare and Swan theatres as part of a £112.8-million "Transformation" project. The theatres re-opened in November 2010, having closed in 2007. The new buildings attracted 18,000 visitors within the first week and received a positive media response both upon opening, and following the first full Shakespeare performances. Performances in Stratford-upon-Avon continued throughout the Transformation project at the temporary Courtyard Theatre. As well as the plays of Shakespeare and his contemporaries, the RSC produces new work from living artists and develops creative links with theatre-make ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
