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Martin Ball
Martin Ball (born October 10, 1964) is an English theatre and television actor. He was born and grew up in Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent. He trained at Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, and graduated in 1992. Career His various theatre includes originating the role of Horace in ''Top Hat'' (First National Tour and at the Aldwych) alongside Tom Chambers and Summer Strallen, Andre in ''The Phantom of the Opera'', Thénardier in ''Les Misérables'' (Queen's), George Banks in ''Mary Poppins'' (Cameron Mackintosh tour, 2008 TMA Awards Best Supporting Actor in a Musical), Harry Bright in '' Mamma Mia!'', Richard in Terry Johnson's ''Dead Funny'' at the Nottingham Playhouse; Colin in Alan Ayckbourn's '' Absent Friends'', directed by Ayckbourn at his Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough; Lord Fancourt Babberley in ''Charley's Aunt'' at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield; Hortensio in ''The Taming of the Shrew'' at the Nuffield Theatre, Southampton; originating the role of Dr. Di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. The town was a spa in the Restoration and a fashionable resort in the mid-1700s under Beau Nash when the Pantiles, and its chalybeate spring, attracted visitors who wished to take the waters. Though its popularity as a spa town waned with the advent of sea bathing, the town still derives much of its income from tourism. The town has a population of around 56,500, and is the administrative centre of Tunbridge Wells Borough and in the parliamentary constituency of Tunbridge Wells. History Iron Age Evidence suggests that Iron Age people farmed the fields and mined the iron-rich rocks in the Tunbridge Wells area, and excavations in 1940 and 1957–61 by James Money at High Rocks uncovered the remains of a defensive hill-fort. It is tho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Joseph Theatre
The Stephen Joseph Theatre is a theatre in the round in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England that was founded by Stephen Joseph and was the first theatre in the round in Britain. In 1955, Joseph established a tiny theatre in the round on the first floor of the Public Library. The theatre flourished and in 1976 moved to a supposedly temporary home on the ground floor of the former Scarborough Boys' High School. However, a permanent home proved difficult to find and it was not until late 1988 and the closure of the local Odeon cinema by Rank Leisure that the theatre's long-standing Artistic Director, Alan Ayckbourn, found a suitable venue. Ayckbourn launched a £4 million appeal to transform the old cinema with a view to opening it up in 1995. The new theatre, known simply as the Stephen Joseph Theatre, opened in 1996 and comprises two auditoria: ''The Round'', a 404-seat theatre in the round, and ''The McCarthy'', a 165-seat end-on stage/cinema. The building also contains ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Family Affairs
''Family Affairs'' is a British soap opera that aired on Channel 5. It debuted on 30 March 1997, the day of the launch of said channel and was the first programme broadcast on the channel. It was screened as five thirty-minute episodes per week, followed by an omnibus edition on Sundays. The series never achieved high ratings, so it went through a number of dramatic revamps involving wholesale cast turnover. The premise of the series was also refocused from a family in a quiet suburb just outside London, to a range of different people living on a bustling outer London street. The series was shot on video to give a film look. In 1999 and 2004, single episodes used standard video presentation for testing purposes. On 2 August 2005, Channel 5 announced they would not renew ''Family Affairs''. Production ceased on 4 November, and the final episode was broadcast on 30 December 2005. Producer Sean O'Connor changed to standard video presentation from September 2005 until the final ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Queen's Counsel
In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen regnant, queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or advocate) who is typically a senior trial lawyer. Technically appointed by the monarch of the country to be one of 'His [Her] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law', the position originated in England and Wales. Some Commonwealth countries have either abolished the position, or renamed it so as to remove monarchical connotations, for example, 'Senior counsel' or 'Senior Advocate'. Appointment as King's Counsel is an office, conferred by the Crown, that is recognised by courts. Members have the privilege of sitting within the inner Bar (law), bar of court. As members wear silk gowns of a particular design (see court dress), appointment as King's Counsel is known informally as ''rec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Lord Fauntleroy
''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was published as a serial in '' St. Nicholas Magazine'' from November 1885 to October 1886, then as a book by Scribner's (the publisher of ''St. Nicholas'') in 1886. The illustrations by Reginald B. Birch set fashion trends and the novel set a precedent in copyright law when Burnett won a lawsuit in 1888 against E. V. Seebohm over the rights to theatrical adaptations of the work.Rutherford Etymology The titular surname ''Fauntleroy'' is an Anglo-French term ultimately derived from ''Le enfant le roy'' ("child of the king"), evoking the image of being pampered and spoiled. More proximally, it is from a Middle English variant ''faunt'' from ''enfaunt'', meaning child or infant. It is attested as a real surname since the 13th Century. Plot In a shabby New York City side street in the mid-1880s, young Cedric Errol lives with his mother (known to him as "Dearest") in genteel poverty after the death of his father, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Casualty (TV Series)
''Casualty'' (stylised as ''CASUAL+Y'') is a British medical drama series that airs weekly on BBC One. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 6 September 1986. The original producer was Geraint Morris. Having been broadcast weekly since 1986, ''Casualty'' is the longest-running primetime medical drama series in the world. The programme is set in the fictional Holby City Hospital and focuses on the staff and patients of the hospital's Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department. The show has strong ties to its sister programme '' Holby City'', which began as a spin-off series from ''Casualty'' in 1999, set in the same hospital. The final episode of ''Holby City'' was broadcast in March 2022. ''Casualty''s exterior shots were mainly filmed outside the Ashley Down Centre in Bristol from 1986 until 2002, when they moved to the centre of Bristol. In 2011, ''Casualty'' celebrated its 25th anniversary and moved production to t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chalk (TV Series)
''Chalk'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom set in a comprehensive school named Galfast High. Two series, both written by Steven Moffat, were broadcast on BBC One, BBC1 in 1997. Like Moffat's earlier sitcom ''Joking Apart'', ''Chalk'' was produced by Andre Ptaszynski for Pola Jones. The series focuses upon deputy headteacher Eric Slatt (David Bamber), permanently stressed over the chaos he creates both by himself and some of his eccentric staff. His wife Janet (Geraldine Fitzgerald (British actress), Geraldine Fitzgerald) and new English studies, English teacher Suzy Travis (Nicola Walker) attempt to help him solve the problems. Because of the very good reaction of the studio audience, a second series was commissioned before the first had been broadcast. However, journalists were critical of the show, highlighting stylistic similarities to ''Fawlty Towers''. Some members of the teaching profession and its unions objected to the negative representation of teachers an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keeping Mum (TV Series)
''Keeping Mum'' is a British sitcom, written by Geoffrey Atherden and broadcast on BBC1 for two series between 1997 and 1998. It starred Stephanie Cole as the main character, Peggy Beare, Martin Ball and David Haig as her sons and Meera Syal as her daughter-in-law. Main cast Episodes Series one Series two Reception In his review for ''The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...'', Thomas Sutcliffe said that "Cole's performance is never just clownish", concluding his review by saying: "The result is a programme that is only intermittently funny, to be honest, but at least has larger ambitions for what popular comedy can do." Home media The entire series was released on DVD region 2 in 2007. References External links *{{IMDb title, id=0118371, title=K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Importance Of Being Earnest
''The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae to escape burdensome social obligations. Working within the social conventions of late Victorian London, the play's major themes are the triviality with which it treats institutions as serious as marriage, and the resulting satire of Victorian morality, Victorian ways. Some contemporary reviews praised the play's humour and the culmination of Wilde's artistic career, while others were cautious about its lack of social messages. Its high farce and witty dialogue have helped make ''The Importance of Being Earnest'' Wilde's most enduringly popular play. The successful opening night marked the climax of Wilde's career but also heralded his downfall. The John Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry, Marquess of Queensberry, whose son Lor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wicked (musical)
''Wicked'' is a 2003 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel '' Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West'', in turn based on L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film adaptation. The show is told from the perspective of, and focuses on, the witches of the Land of Oz; its plot begins before and continues after Dorothy Gale arrives in Oz from Kansas. ''Wicked'' tells the story of two unlikely friends, Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and Galinda (later Glinda the Good Witch), whose relationship struggles through their opposing personalities and viewpoints, same love-interest, reactions to the Wizard's corrupt government, and, ultimately, Elphaba's private fall from grace. Produced by Universal Stage Productions, in coalition with Marc Platt, Jon B. Platt, and David Stone, with direction by Joe Mantello and choreog ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Portsmouth and the towns of Havant, Waterlooville, Eastleigh, Fareham and Gosport. A major port, and close to the New Forest, it lies at the northernmost point of Southampton Water, at the confluence of the River Test and Itchen, with the River Hamble joining to the south. Southampton is classified as a Medium-Port City . Southampton was the departure point for the and home to 500 of the people who perished on board. The Spitfire was built in the city and Southampton has a strong association with the ''Mayflower'', being the departure point before the vessel was forced to return to Plymouth. In the past century, the city was one of Europe's main ports for ocean liners and more recently, Southampton is known as the home port of some of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Taming Of The Shrew
''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken tinker named Christopher Sly into believing he is actually a nobleman himself. The nobleman then has the play performed for Sly's diversion. The main plot depicts the courtship of Petruchio and Katherina, the headstrong, obdurate shrew. Initially, Katherina is an unwilling participant in the relationship; however, Petruchio "tames" her with various psychological and physical torments, such as keeping her from eating and drinking, until she becomes a desirable, compliant, and obedient bride. The subplot features a competition between the suitors of Katherina's younger sister, Bianca, who is seen as the "ideal" woman. The question of whether the play is misogynistic has become the subject of considerable controversy, particularly among mode ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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