|
Progress Theatre
Progress Theatre is a local theatre company at Reading in England. It is a registered charity and it is a member of the Little Theatre Guild (LTG) and the National Operatic and Dramatic Association (NODA). History Progress Theatre was established in 1946 with the aim of presenting new and challenging work. Its first production was staged in 1947 in Palmer Hall, West Street, Reading. It moved to its present location, The Mildmay Hall, The Mount (near Reading University) in 1951. In 1964, after a fund raising campaign, the freehold of the building was bought. After modernisation, the theatre now seats 97 people. Kenneth Branagh, who was a member of the theatre in the late 1970s became Progress Theatre patron in 2011. Educational role In the 1950s a Student Group for 14- to 18-year-olds was set up. A charitable organisation, "The Progress Theatre" was established in 1962 with the object of promoting education in performing arts in Reading and the surrounding area. Since 200 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charitable Organization
A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a charitable organization (and of charity) varies between countries and in some instances regions of the country. The Charity regulators, regulation, the tax treatment, and the way in which charity law affects charitable organizations also vary. Charitable organizations may not use any of their funds to profit individual persons or entities. (However, some charitable organizations have come under scrutiny for spending a disproportionate amount of their income to pay the salaries of their leadership). Financial figures (e.g. tax refund, revenue from fundraising, revenue from sale of goods and services or revenue from investment) are indicators to assess the financial sustainability of a charity, especially to charity evaluators. This ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mort
''Mort'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett. Published in 1987, it is the fourth ''Discworld'' novel and the first to focus on the character Death, who only appeared as a side character in the previous novels. The title is the name of its main character, and is also a play on words: in French and Catalan, ''mort'' means "death". The French language edition is titled ''Mortimer'', and the Catalan language edition is titled ''Morth''. In the BBC's 2003 Big Read contest, viewers voted on the "Nation's Best-loved Book"; ''Mort'' was among the Top 100 and chosen as the most popular of Pratchett's novels. In 2004, Pratchett stated that ''Mort'' was the first Discworld novel with which he was "pleased", stating that in previous books, the plot had existed to support the jokes, but that in ''Mort'', the plot was integral.Terry Pratchett [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Breaking The Code
''Breaking the Code'' is a 1986 play by Hugh Whitemore about British mathematician Alan Turing, who was a key player in the breaking of the German Enigma code at Bletchley Park during World War II and a pioneer of computer science. The play thematically links Turing's cryptographic activities with his attempts to grapple with his homosexuality. It was adapted into a 1996 television film directed by Herbert Wise, with Derek Jacobi reprising his stage role as Turing. Characters * Alan Turing * Mick Ross, detective * Christopher Morcom, Turing's childhood friend (1911–1930) * Sara Turing, Turing's mother (1881–1976) * Ron Miller, a young man having an affair with Turing (based on Arnold Murray) * Dillwyn Knox, manager at Bletchley Park recruiting Turing for government service * Patricia "Pat" Green, a co-worker of Turing's at Bletchley (based on Joan Clarke; 1917–1996) Performance history Following an eight-month run at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket in London's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Schwartz (composer)
Stephen Lawrence Schwartz (born March 6, 1948) is an American musical theater lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over five decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as ''Godspell'' (1971), ''Pippin'' (1972), and ''Wicked'' (2003). He has contributed lyrics to a number of successful films, including ''Pocahontas'' (1995), ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' (1996), ''The Prince of Egypt'' (1998, music and lyrics), and '' Enchanted'' (2007). Schwartz has won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics, three Grammy Awards, three Academy Awards, and has been nominated for six Tony Awards. He received the 2015 Isabelle Stevenson Award, a special Tony Award, for his commitment to serving artists and fostering new talent. Early life and education Schwartz was born to a Jewish family in New York City, the son of Sheila Lorna (née Siegel), a teacher, and Stanley Leonard Schwartz, a businessman. He grew up in the Williston Park area of Nassau County, New York, where he gra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John-Michael Tebelak
John-Michael Tebelak (September 17, 1949 – April 2, 1985) was an American playwright and director. He is best known for creating the musical ''Godspell'', based on the Gospel of Saint Matthew, with the composer Stephen Schwartz, who wrote the music. Some of the lyrics are original to the show, while others were taken from either the Bible or traditional hymns in the 1940 Episcopal hymnal. Biography Education and ''Godspell'' Tebelak was born in Berea, Ohio and graduated from Berea High School in 1966. He first produced ''Godspell'' as his master's thesis, under Lawrence Carra, at Carnegie Mellon University in December 1970. He had been studying Greek and Roman mythology, but became fascinated by the joy expressed in the Gospels, with the deadline for his thesis two weeks away. He attended an Easter Vigil service in 1970 at Pittsburgh's St. Paul Cathedral, wearing his usual overalls and a T-shirt. A police officer frisked him for drugs after the service. He wrote, of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Godspell
''Godspell'' is a musical composed by Stephen Schwartz with book by John-Michael Tebelak. The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set to lyrics from traditional hymns, with the passion of Christ appearing briefly near the end. ''Godspell'' began as a project by drama students at Carnegie Mellon University and then moved to the off-off-Broadway theater La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in the East Village of Manhattan. The show was rescored for an off-Broadway production, which opened on May 17, 1971, and became a long-running success. Many productions have followed worldwide, including a 2011 Broadway revival. An abbreviated one-act version of the musical designed for performers aged 18 and under also exists, titled ''Godspell Junior''. Several cast albums have been released over the years. " Day by Day", from the original cast album, reached #13 on the '' Billboard'' pop singles chart in the summ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Debbie Isitt
Debbie Isitt (born 7 February 1966) is an English comic writer, film director, composer and performer. Early life and education Isitt was born in Birmingham. She went to Our Lady of Fatima Primary School and Lordswood Girls Secondary School and is a cousin of the footballer Darren Wassall. Career Isitt's work includes her Christmas comedy films ''Nativity!'', '' Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger'', '' Nativity 3: Dude, Where's My Donkey?'' and ''Nativity Rocks!''. She is also known for her Bafta award-winning teleplay ''The Illustrated Mum'', the stage play ''The Woman Who Cooked Her Husband'' and the feature films ''Nasty Neighbours'' and ''Confetti''. Most recently Isitt directed the ITV series ''Love and Marriage''. ''Nativity!'', Isitt's third feature film, starring Martin Freeman, was released in November 2009 and became the most successful British independent film of the year. The sequel, and her fourth film, '' Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger'', starred David Tennant. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Woman Who Cooked Her Husband
The Woman Who Cooked Her Husband is a dark comedy play written by Debbie Isitt. Plot summary Kenneth and Hillary have been married for twenty years but in his middle age, Ken find himself spending more and more time with Laura. After juggling both of these relationships, Kenneth is forced to leave Hillary. Initially, Laura is everything that he could have wanted but the one problem is she can't cook. So, when Hillary invites the pair for a meal, he accepts, unaware of what she has planned to serve. Production information The Woman Who Cooked Her Husband is written by Debbie Isitt Debbie Isitt (born 7 February 1966) is an English comic writer, film director, composer and performer. Early life and education Isitt was born in Birmingham. She went to Our Lady of Fatima Primary School and Lordswood Girls Secondary School and ... and it has previously been directed by her as well. The play is set in the 1970s. It was first seen in the early nineties at The Royal Court Theatr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sarah Kane
Sarah Kane (3 February 1971 – 20 February 1999) was an English playwright, screenwriter and theatre director. She is known for her plays that deal with themes of redemptive love, sexual desire, pain, torture—both physical and psychological—and death. They are characterised by a poetic intensity, pared-down language, exploration of theatrical form and, in her earlier work, the use of extreme and violent stage action. Kane herself and scholars of her work, such as Graham Saunders, have identified some of her inspirations as expressionist theatre and Jacobean tragedy. The critic Aleks Sierz saw her work as part of a confrontational style and sensibility of drama termed "in-yer-face theatre". Sierz originally called Kane "the quintessential in-yer-face writer of the 990s but later remarked in 2009 that although he initially "thought she was very typical of the new writing of the middle 1990s. The further we get away from that in time, the more un-typical she seems to be". Ka ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blasted
''Blasted'' is the first play by the British author Sarah Kane. It was first performed in 1995 at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in London. Synopsis The play is set in an expensive hotel room in Leeds. Ian, a foul-mouthed middle-aged tabloid journalist has brought a young woman, Cate, to the room for the night. Cate is much younger than Ian, emotionally fragile, and seemingly intellectually simple. Throughout Scene 1, Ian tries to seduce Cate, but she resists. All the while, Ian proudly parades his misogyny, racism and homophobia. The scene ends with the sound of spring rain. Scene 2 begins the next morning. Ian engages in frottage with Cate during one of her fits. Afterwards, Cate performs oral sex on Ian, biting him. Cate retires to the bathroom. A soldier unexpectedly enters the room brandishing a gun, and finds Cate has escaped through the bathroom window. The hotel room is then struck by a mortar bomb, and the scene ends with the sound of summer rain. In Scene 3, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Wood (actor)
David Bernard Wood OBE (born 21 February 1944) is an English actor, author, composer, director, magician and producer. ''The Times'' called him "the National Children's Dramatist". In 1979, he joined Bernard Cribbins, Maurice Denham, and Jan Francis in a reading of ''The Hobbit'' for the BBC Television show '' Jackanory. Early life Wood was born on 21 February 1944 in Sutton, Surrey. He was educated at Chichester High School for Boys and Worcester College, Oxford. Stage work Along with John Gould, he founded the Whirligig Theatre, a touring children's theatre company. His most famous story, ''The Gingerbread Man'' (1976), has been all across the world since its premiere at the Towngate Theatre in Basildon. Wood, FilmFair, and Central adapted the musical into an animated children's television series. The adaptation, also called ''The Gingerbread Man'', aired on ITV in 1992. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2004 Queen's Birthday Hono ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has been called "one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century". Dahl was born in Wales to affluent Norwegian immigrant parents, and spent most of his life in England. He served in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. He became a fighter pilot and, subsequently, an intelligence officer, rising to the rank of acting wing commander. He rose to prominence as a writer in the 1940s with works for children and for adults, and he became one of the world's best-selling authors. His awards for contribution to literature include the 1983 World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement and the British Book Awards' Children's Author of the Year in 1990. Dahl and his work have been criticised for racial stereotypes, misogyny a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Godspell")
